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CHAPTER PROBLEMS
1. Dr. Eddingfield and the duty to rescue
This relates to the duty to rescue. Legally, it is not clear that there is any duty on the part of
Dr. Eddingfield to leave his location to seek out the sick patient. Dr. Eddingfield is not
present at the place of the illness and we assume did not cause the illness. The only potential
argument that there is a duty to rescue comes from the history or special relationship between
Dr. Eddingfield and the patient. Ethically, Dr. Eddingfield has theoretically signed the
Hippocratic Oath which is a promise to aid humanity in terms of medical assistance. Under
this oath, Dr. Eddingfield may be ethically obligated to assist the patient.
2. Research: Laws that require or encourage rescue
This first research assignment that asks students to locate statutory material can be a
frustrating experience. It helps to offer search tips. Note that a student may be able to find
some information about these laws on Wikipedia. Faculty should be clear on what
acceptable sources are and how much material students should be expected to find.
(a) International: Most of the information easily available on the web about the French duty
to rescue relates to the death of Princess Diana. It may be helpful to have those sorts of
examples to demonstrate how people were prosecuted in France for this incident and
compare it to the Kitty Genovese situation in America.
(b) Domestic: An internet search of “Duty to rescue state statutes” will provide students
with information they need to compare statues from two states.
(c) Good Samaritan: These laws will also be easy to find. The phrase "Good Samaritan"
usually works. Have students check to see if their home state protects people who are not
medically trained from liability. Case law connection: have students check to see if any
defendants lost cases on the grounds of having been "grossly negligent."
3. Duty of Care and the Drowning Stranger
Students should apply the ethics of care philosophy to the Yania case. Things to consider
include:
How did the failure to rescue impact Mrs. Yania?
Did Mr. Yania have other family? Children?
How did his death impact employees who worked for him? Did his business shut
down?
The pros of adopting such a rule include possibly saving a life. The cons include the
potential harm (and perhaps even loss of life) to the rescuer.
4. Nigerian Oil
These question provides a good opportunity for the faculty member to discuss corporate
social responsibility from many perspectives. There is a utilitarian discussion about the
potential negative publicity and then sales declines from operating in a country like
Nigeria. This also can tie in to the discussion about the Citizens United case and whether
it is the role of the corporation to make political statements through financing speech or
through decisions not to do business in a country where profit may exist. Students should
be encouraged to look at this situation using all of the different tools mentioned in the
chapter to see if any of those tools result in different opinions.
5. Research: The American Petroleum Institute
In May 2013, the transparency rule was vacated and sent back to the SEC to reconsider. As
of January 2014, a new rule has not yet been proposed.
1. Green Oil
This case introduces the potential ethical obligation of wealthy nations to work with less
wealthy nations as corporate citizens. Other variations include the obligation of wealthy
nations to develop cleaner technologies and then share them at reduced cost (or no cost) with
less wealthy nations in order to achieve cleaner plants across the globe. Other issues that
could be discussed in relation to this question would be the pollution credit system under the
Clean Air Act where the government allocates pollution allowances to companies or plants
and then those who pollute less than their allocation can sell their allocations. A secondary
market has developed for those credits. At times, environmental groups have been able to
purchase and “retire” those credits, creating a reduction in overall pollution allowed.
2. BP
Deepwater Horizon is framed as an accident with no mention of BP’s role in why it
happened. The focus is on the response and money spent following the incident. The
website provides a wealth of information about the company and an in-class discussion
should elicit several ways in which BP is trying to reinvent its culture.
3. Executive Compensation
From a business perspective, this pits the free market theory (demand and supply are the
foundations for salary) against deontological theories. The question is a good one for an
in-class discussion about how the different theoretical approaches can lead to different
results.
4. Gas and Oil Lobbying
The website www.opensecrets.org provides extensive information on money spent by the
gas and oil majors.
5. Fossil-Fuel Fake Grassroots Organizations
This question is also good for class discussions. A web search will identify some fake
organizations including Donors Trust and Donors Capital.
6. Social Responsibility
Another good classroom discussion can revolve around this question. The discussion should
consider the benefits to society and the environment. The costs to companies which will
ultimately be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher priced goods and services must
also be considered.
CHAPTER PROJECT
Preparation: There are several companies that claim to be socially responsible. See for example,
Ben & Jerry’s, (http://www.benjerry.com/company/sear/).
A ranking of socially responsible companies can be found here:
http://www.money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2012/best_worst/best4.html
A recent Motley Fool article about socially responsible companies can be found here:
http://www.fool.com/investing/etf/2013/12/13/socially-responsible-companies-doing-good-and-d
oin.aspx
