Project 1 Case Scenario:

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic required Americans to shelter in place thus causing the U.S. economy to freeze-up, resulting in millions of lost jobs. The U.S. Congress passed legislation to try and limit the economic damage. Included in the legislation was a stimulus package that would give $1,200 to single tax filers making $75,000 or less and $2,400 to married couples making $150,000 or less. The purpose of the payment was to give people emergency funds and to stimulate the economy. Also included was the CARES Act that provided the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP was a program administered by the Small Business Administration that was targeted at small business. It provided for a government loan that was forgivable if used to pay employees' salaries and benefits, mortgages, rent, and utilities. According to the SBA website, "[t]he Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll."

USAA is a member-owned organization that provided insurance and financial services exclusively to current and former members of the military as well as their family members. USAA has an excellent reputation as a well-run organization and for giving its members good service. Many USAA members maintain checking accounts with it. Some of those members who have checking accounts had overdrawn their balances and had a negative balance in their accounts. When the $1,200 or $2,400 stimulus check were deposited, USAA used those amounts to offset the negative balances in some of its members' accounts. Members were not informed in advance that this would be the case. This resulted in some USAA members not having any access to the stimulus money. The action USAA took in crediting the funds to existing account deficits was perfectly legal.

Shake Shack is a corporation that owns and licenses restaurants selling traditional American fare like hamburgers and milk shakes. It currently operates 124 locations in the U.S. and overseas. As of May 4, 2020, the company had a market capitalization of $2.06 billion. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2019, Shake Shack's CEO received $2.3 million in compensation. Shake Shack applied for and received a loan of $10 million under PPP. The loan was permissible under a provision in PPP the allows restaurant chains to apply when each location has fewer than 500 employees. Shortly after Shake Shack received the loan, the PPP ran out of funds and many small businesses did not receive loans.

• Identify and discuss the ethical issue(s) related to USAA and Shake Shack

Stakeholders Implications

• Identify the stakeholders involved in the actions of both companies.
• Discuss the potential implications of the company's actions on each stakeholder or stakeholder group. Give examples.

Kantian Viewpoint

• Explain how Kant would view the actions of both USAA and Shake Shack.

Utilitarianism Viewpoint

• Explain how a utilitarian would view USAA and Shake Shack's actions.

Recommended Actions

• Regardless of what these companies actually did, recommend the actions that you think they ethically should take. There is no right or wrong action, but rather it is about supporting the actions you choose from your ethical arguments.