CRG650/TEST/Semester March-July 2019

This test package consists of two questions. Answer all questions as required.
Time given is 1.5 hours. Question & answer are to be submitted at the end of
the test. All the best!

Question 1 The Release of Act to Prohibit Smoking in All Public Areas 24 marks
Harmoni States is a developing country and continuously commit to promote a healthy living
lifestyle among its citizens. One of the efforts materialised when the Ministry of Health
enacted the Tobacco Control Act in March 2019. The Act designates all public places as
non-smoking areas. The move is to ensure the public, especially children, will not fall victims
to second-hand smoke. In his speech, the Minister said, “It is heart-breaking to see some
adults who just puff away while carrying a child in their arms”.
The government of Harmoni States is actively revising the existing laws that relate to
smoking and tobacco to ensure its citizens are adequately protected against the threats from
tobacco smoke.
The smoke contains thousands of toxic chemicals, known to cause cancer, heart disease,
lung infections and other serious health problems. In the near future, Harmoni States will
legalise the provisions to prohibit smoking near a minor, regardless of where the offence
takes place.
Even though the drive can be very challenging, but with good supports from all sectors,
particularly civil societies, other government agencies and the private sector, things would
turn out well.
(Source: New Straits Times, April 9, 2019- with amendment)

Required:

a. i) State any three (3) appropriate factors that would affect public expectation in
relation to the effort undertaken by the Ministry of Health of Harmoni States in
promoting a healthy living lifestyle among its citizens.
(3 marks)

a. ii) Identify two (2) stakes for Ministry of Health of Harmoni States.
(5 marks)

b. The deontologists would have agreed to the above mentioned effort undertaken by
the Ministry of Health of Harmoni States. Describe your agreement by providing one
(1) reason.
(3 marks)

c. Using the 3-Question Approach designed by Velasquez, namely; (i) Well-offness, (ii)
Fairness and (iii) Rights, explain the ethicality of those individuals who publicly
smoke without concerning the negative effect of second-hand smoke to the children.
(7 marks)

d. i) Comment on the action of those smokers who continue to smoke and ignore the
act enacted by the government of Harmoni States. Relate your answers to ethical
relativism.
(3 marks)

d. ii) Refer paragraph four (4) of the above case. Conclude the statement based on
ethical egoism perspective.
(3 marks)

1
Question 2 The Workplace That Kills 26 marks
Cotton Mill Factory is an established factory in Country B. The factory processes yarn from
cotton which is sold to local markets to produce cotton fabric. It employs about 3,000
workers and 10% of them are children. The official minimum working age in the country is
14, but the management of the factory claims that hiring children as labourers at younger
age is regarded as humanitarian gesture on their part as the families are in need of the
income brought home by the children.

Recently, a newspaper reported the arrest of the supervisor of the factory in relation to the
death of a 9-year-old worker, who died due to suffocation. The father of the boy filed a
complaint to the police accusing the supervisor of killing his son. In the police report, the
father stated the supervisor has pumped the air from the compressor machine into his son’s
mouth. The air compressors are mostly used to clean yarn dust from machines. The father
rushed over to the mill and found his son was unable to speak, his abdomen was also
swollen. He was pronounced dead upon reaching the hospital.

The investigation also revealed that it was common for the supervisor to speak abusively to
workers and beat them obsessively even for small mistakes in their work. The boy was
believed to be killed because he had protested about the abuse. The case is still under
investigation.
(Source: The New York Times, July 25, 2016- with amendment)

Required:

a) (i) The supervisor’s actions had reflected the character of dogs, as described by Al
Ghazzali’s psychological nature of a man. State three (3) characters that symbolise a
dog.
(3 marks)

a) (ii) Explain how Cotton Mill Factory can practice the responsibility axiom in serving its
employees at workplace.
(5 marks)

b) Cotton Mill Factory seemed to ignore fair treatments of employees at workplace through
hiring children as labourers. Explain one (1) reason to support the statement.
(5 marks)

c) The supervisor of Cotton Mill Factory had abused the workers through his uncivil
conducts. Discuss two (2) of the important reasons of providing a healthy and safe
working environment to the employees.
(5 marks)

d) The treatment of Cotton Mill Factory towards its employees had negatively affected the
trust of the public towards the business. Elaborate the statement by providing one (1)
answer.
(5 marks)

e) Employer-and-employee-interest-model is introduced to replace the employer-interest-

only-model. Suggest one (1) rationale for the change in the model.
(3 marks)

End of Test Questions