Veronica Flores

It’s Just Part of the Game

Chapter 8/Module 4

June 10, 2023

Dimension 1: Define the Ethical Challenge

a. From the commissioner’s point of view the current situation in the league is that the

players are finding ways to signal each other what pitch is going to be thrown so that they

can prepare for it. From the perspective of Rob Manfred, would not want this to be able

to happen because that would give the players an unfair advantage, effectively ruining the

fun of the game.

b. The current situation is a problem because it is cheating. It favors one team winning over

the other. This will ruin the game for the fans and also makes it unfair to the teams that

are not winning. This behavior is an example of incivility (Fugate, 2022, p.156). From

the perspective of the fans, they are invested in the ability to have a game with fair play

because they want the team they are rooting for to win.

c. The current problem is that some players are using techniques to cheat by signaling what

pitch is going to be thrown ahead of time. The desired outcome is for everyone to play a

fair game the way it was intended.

d. The key stakeholders in this problem are the players, the managers, and the fans.

Dimension 2: Determine the Causes

a. The managers are responsible at the end of the day for keeping the players in line. The

league is responsible for keeping the managers accountable to their team. The players are
 responsible for their individual actions, and while they are protected, they should want to

play a fair game for themselves and the fans.

b. The policies in place are meant to prevent this type of situation from happening. The

organizational values (Fugate, 2022, p.152) of the league have the goal of keeping the

game honest. However, people are still going to try to find their way around these rules. I

do not think that the policies are the cause of the problem.

Dimension 3: Describe your potential solutions and the intended and unintended consequences

for stakeholders

a. I recommend that there be a penalty for the individual players as well. If there are

consequences for them there is more opportunity for them to decide to stay in line. With

no consequences, the players are left virtually unchecked. While the manager is still

responsible at the end of the day, they should fine the players just as they do in other

sports.

b. This would fall under the utilitarianism approach because it has the best interest in mind

for all the players. If some teams are cheating and getting away with it it would not be

good for the other teams it would fall under egoism.

c. The desired effect is that everyone will be held accountable to their actions. There needs

to be better supervision on the players and even if it takes time to go through and assign

blame, people need to be held accountable. The goal is to decrease these types of

problems over time.

d. It could potentially cost more money to track down everyone who is accused of cheating.

People who are innocent have the possibility of being blamed or fined. Then the situation

would not be fait to those players who are innocent.

e. The fans could form any biases and become involved which could cause more drama

surrounding the players.

f. I believe that my solution will work in an ethical manner, if it is executed properly. If not,

people could be blamed for things they are not responsible for.
 References

Fugate, M. (2022). Managing business ethics and your career. Chicago Business Press.