Ethical Issues at Nerdcomp

There are various ethical issues in the case. They include deplorable working
conditions of the workers in the company’s factory, waste disposal that harms the
environment, and bribing of government officials for favorable reports. The use of ethical
theories helps in resolving these issues.

The ethical theories that are applicable to the case are deontological and utilitarian
theories. Deontological theory argues that an action is right or wrong depending on whether it
is right or wrong under a set of given duties and rules (Brusseau, 2012). The rules include not
using a person as means to an end but an end in itself and choosing an action that can be
universalized (Brusseau, 2012). Having people work in deplorable factories that have poor
ventilation and air conditioning in order to maximize profits amounts to economic
exploitation. Thus, the practice violates deontological theory because it uses people as a
means to an end and not an end in itself. Additionally, the practices of issuing bribes to
government officials and disposing off waste in an environmentally harmful way violate
deontological ethics because they cannot be universalized.

The other ethical theory that applies to the case is utilitarian. A utilitarian approach
requires that one chooses an action that maximizes benefits or happiness for the majority of
the people (Smart, 2020). Working in deplorable factories and being paid relatively low
wages is bad. However, millions of people who use computers benefit from such practices
because they are able to buy the computers cheaply. Therefore, the practice is acceptable
under utilitarian ethics because few workers are harmed but far more people benefit. Bribing
government officials and disposing off waste in a manner that harms the environment goes
against utilitarian ethics because it benefits few people (government officials and the

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factory’s management) but harm potentially thousands of people who have to deal with the
effects of the poor waste disposal.

Thus, based on the two ethical theories that have been analyzed, the company should
stop bribing government officials and disposing off its waste in a manner that is
environmentally unfriendly. However, there is no clear resolution with regards to working
conditions. A deontological approach would recommend improvement of the factory
conditions. However, a utilitarian approach would let them stay as they are because the
increased costs may be passed down to consumers who may have to pay for computers.

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References

Brusseau, J. (2012) The Business Ethics Workshop. Washington, DC: The Saylor
Foundation.

Smart, J. J. C. (2020). Utilitarianism and its applications. In New directions in Ethics (pp. 24-
41). Routledge.