Mark Bonney 

17 Nov 2019 
Moral Minefield 
  
1. Screenshot 

 
  
  
2. Reflect on the scenarios presented in the game. Was there anything you found 
particularly difficult? Anything that surprised you? 
  
In the first scenario you are asked whether or not it is ethical to “freeze out” Stella 
Ennis (an employee) from the meeting that you are going to have about the product 
launch. I answered “yes” because it doesn’t seem ethical. My reasoning was that just 
because Stella raises concerns and wants the company to do things correctly doesn’t 
mean that she should be gossiped about and snubbed at a meeting. Apparently the 
answer is “no.” You can mistreat employees and it’s perfectly fine is the message I am 
taking away from the first scenario. Perhaps it isn’t unethical but I don’t think people 
should be treated like that. If shes a problem employee then she should be let go from 
the company. If she is just a hard worker that wants to do things right then we need to 
figure out a way to work together as a team. 
The second scenario asks if it is ethical to implement a policy in a workplace that 
rewards top performing employees and fires the bottom performing employees. I 
answered that this was an unethical policy and that was the correct answer. Employees 
should be able to come to work without the fear of being fired. It creates a toxic working 
environment if employees aren’t treated with dignity and respect. It also becomes an 
environment of “everyone out for themselves.”  
The bonus scenario to lay people off in order for other people to get bonuses is 
unethical. You hired those employees and no employee should be let go because you 
hired someone without first making sure that you had the funds to pay money and 
bonuses other employees. This is lazy, unethical, unfair, and just incompetent. Basically 
this scenario is teaching people that when you hire someone you have no responsibility 
to them. Forget bonuses. If people want to walk and leave a company and would rather 
have a bonus than see an employee be able to provide for their family. Bye! Adios! It’s 
selfish. All hiring should be completed within the financial means of the company and 
all bonuses should be paid within the means of the company. If there is no money for 
bonuses then no bonus. Sorry, not sorry. If the employee is so important that you have 
to fire another employee in order to give the important employee a bonus you aren’t 
running your company right and you aren’t hiring people correctly.  
  
3. Explain one of the decision-making scenarios you were given in this level and 
analyze it in terms of one of this week’s theories. 
 
The third scenario is difficult and I don’t really agree with it at all. Apparently the 
company standard is to fire someone if they submit a “false expense report.” An 
employee took 10 of her staff to a dinner and wrote it off as a dinner with “industry 
leaders.” Apparently, that is a fireable offense at this fake company. The reason is that 
policy can’t be changed because it makes the company look weak and sets a double 
standard. However, this employee has zero prior incidents and is really beloved within 
the company. Take the policy and throw it in the trash. Seriously, okay so you didn’t like 
that she went to dinner with her staff and wrote it off. Then write her up for it and get it 
in writing that she understands the policy. Firing someone for one incident isn’t right. 
Who cares if your company looks weak. At least employees will know that you care 
about them even when they mess up. Also, her staff could be considered “industry 
leader,” so technically her report isn’t even false. In summary I disagree with this 
scenario. All the employees like this person so what is the actually ethical discourse? 
The textbook states, “And a person’s opinion about what is ethical may be different 
from their view of what is in their interests or what they prefer” (p.255). Amongst the 
employees there may be disagreements on what is ethical in this situation. My differing 
opinion proves the fact that consus on what is right might be difficult and idea is 
presented in Chapter 8 on ethical discourse.  
 
4. How could you use the concepts discussed in this simulation in your job today? 
Relate these concepts to the other course materials and to your own experiences. 
 
​ In my work it is important that we follow a standard that was established by 
corporate. Following the standard insures that we produce quality products and allows 
products to be made in sequences in a timely manner. It is important that we follow the 
standard. There are employees that don’t follow standard. According to chapter 8 on 
ethical discourse: a lot of people might be in agreement about something and have 
found ways to justify their beliefs but that doesn’t mean that disregarding the standards 
is ethical. It seems confusing but so it applying ethics without a moral code.  
 
References 
 
Fryer, M. (2015). /Ethics theory et business practice/. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.