You are the Vice President for Human Resources of a Fortune 500 corporation. You hear a rumor that an employee named Oswald has been subjected by his supervisor and coworkers to a relentless campaign of teasing, derision, and insults. When you ask him about this, he denies that anything is wrong. However, others with knowledge of the situation tell you that months of this badgering have caused Oswald to become severely depressed and unable to do his work, which he used to find very stimulating and rewarding. He is too stressed out to look for another job, and he is close to abandoning a career that means a great deal to him.

You call in Harry, Oswald’s supervisor. He explains that morale in his unit had been very low, and that he hit on the idea of suggesting to his other subordinates that they should have some fun ganging up on Oswald, the least popular member of the staff, while taking care not to violate the law or any formal company policies. This has worked like a charm: morale and productivity have skyrocketed and everyone but Oswald got big bonuses at the end of the year. Oswald has never uttered a word of complaint, and has never put up any resistance.

The company attorneys tell you no laws or company policies are being broken, but you still find Harry’s treatment of Oswald to be ethically unacceptable. You call in the company’s resident ethicists, Aristotelea and Emmanuella, and ask them for their expert opinions. Emmanuella, a staunch Kantian, says that the behavior of Harry and his subordinates is a clear vi- olation of the second formulation of Kant’s Categorical Imperative (CI-2, in Dimmock and Fisher), and is therefore unethical. Aristotelea, an equally staunch Aristotelian virtue ethicist, agrees that the mistreatment of Oswald is unethical, but she points out that Oswald is also at fault: he should have acted more courageously by standing up to his co-workers and reporting the situation to you instead of suffering passively in silence.

Essay Assignment

Your assignment is to explain the ethical theories employed by Emmanuella and Aristotelea, and to show how those theories lead to their moral evaluations of this situation. Your essay must include:

1. A concise but thorough explanation of the second formulation of the Categorical Imperative (CI-2). Be sure to explain what Kant means by treating someone as an end, treating them as a means and treating them solely as a means. Your answer should also explain what is about human beings that entitles them to be treated as ends.

2. An explanation of the reasoning that would lead Emmanuella, on the basis of CI-2, to conclude that the treatment of Oswald is unethical.

3. A concise but thorough explanation of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Be sure to explain what Aristotle means by flourishing, and what he means by virtue. Your answer should also explain why virtue is a mean between vices of deficiency and excess, and why courage in particular is a mean.

4. An explanation of the reasoning that would lead Aristotelea to conclude that Oswald has shown a culpable lack of courage in his response to this situation.

2.1 Important Points to Note

As you write your essay, take careful note of the following points:

• You need not (and should not) summarize the case. Presume that the “facts” are known. You will have your hands full with the summary and application of the two moral theories.

• While you will not automatically lose points for paraphrasing from the assigned readings, you cannot get better than a C on any portion of the essay that makes heavy use of such paraphrases: an A answer will consist almost entirely of explanations in your own words.

• Remember that you will lose points for using outside sources, and that using such sources without proper attribution constitutes plagiarism and will lead to a failing grade on the exam, which cannot be made up.

• You must accept the “facts” of the case as given. No well-run company would tolerate this kind of behavior, which in the real world would probably provide grounds for a successful lawsuit. You may not appeal to these facts about the real world in your essay.

Write a short essay using the information provided. 

Article: Aristotelian Virtue Ethics