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Johnson, Organizational Ethics 3e, © 2015 – Instructor Resources
Case Study 0.1 Federal Employees Behaving Badly
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Department of Defense officials believe that government employees learn more from bad
examples than from good ones. To that end, they publish the Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure.
This document recounts the actions of federal employees who violated standards of conduct in
18 different categories, including fraud, misuse of government resources and conflicts of interest.
The Encyclopedia describes abuses in the federal government but employees in other types of
organizations engage in the same types of unethical and illegal acts.
Learning Objectives
*Students will recognize the value of learning from the failures of others.
*Students will recognize common ethical failures found in all types of
organizations.
Discussion Guide
Case Study 1.1
Free Tilly?
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Sea World is under pressure to end its captive orca program featuring Tilikum (Tilly) and other
killer whales that star in shows at the company’s theme parks. Tilly has been responsible for the
deaths of three people, two of them trainers. Opponents (some of the them featured in the
documentary Blackfish) argue that the animals suffer in captivity and should never be allowed to
swim with humans. Sea World contends that the benefits of captivity (e.g. education, research,
entertainment) far outweigh any costs to the animals or to humans.
Utilitarian reasoning can be used to reach opposite conclusions. Opponents believe that the costs
of the orca program outweigh any benefits while the company and its supporters believe that the
benefits outweigh the costs.
Discussion Guide
Johnson, Organizational Ethics 3e, © 2015 – Instructor Resources
Case Study 1.2
Is This Any Way to Run a Prison?
The Norwegian prison system is based redeeming inmates, not punishing them. Prison staff
members build caring relationships with prisoners who are housed in facilities that feature such
amenities as climbing walls, jogging trails, flat screen televisions and mini-refrigerators.
Norway’s commitment to rehabilitation was severely tested after Anders Behring killed 77
citizens (many of them children) in 2011. His countrymen appear comfortable with Behring’s
light sentence (21 years), seeing it as a reflection of their national values.
Norway’s radically different approach to incarceration highlights the tension between two
perspectives presented in the chapter: care and justice. A caring system appears to be unjust to
victims and their families.
Learning Objectives
*Students will apply ethical perspectives to a real world case.
*Students will determine the relative weight they give to justice as opposed to care.
*Students will determine if a rehabilitative approach to incarceration is more ethical
than one based on punishment.
Discussion Guide
Case Study 1.3
The (Accused) Terrorist as Rock Star
Case Synopsis and Analysis
Johnson, Organizational Ethics 3e, © 2015 – Instructor Resources
Rolling Stone magazine outraged Bostonians and many other Americans when it published a
cover photo of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that portrayed him as a
rock star. Critics accused Rolling Stone of “glamorizing terrorism” but editors claimed that the
photo and accompanying article provided important background information for the publication’s
young readership. A number of national retailers refused to sell the issue; a Massachusetts state
trooper released photographs of the alleged bomber’s capture to counteract the glamorous cover
image.
This case highlights complexity of many ethical controversies. A number of competing values
are in play in this situation: free speech, concern for victims, journalistic integrity, public safety,
profit, the public’s need to know, obedience to authority, serving the greater good.
Learning Objectives
*Students will apply ethical perspectives to resolve an ethical dilemma.
*Readers will recognize the competing demands present in a complex ethical
dilemma.
Discussion Guide
