Elements of Analysis for An Ethics Case Research Paper

Elements of Analysis for An Ethics Case Research Paper
[Adapted from: http://www.umb.edu/editor_uploads/images/college_management/Framework%20for%20Case%20Analysis.pdf]

1) Using the resources available to you (e.g. libraries, databases, the web, etc.) identify a real life ethical case.
2) Develop an objective chronology of the key events in the case—both major events and those that seem, on first reading, relatively minor. In doing so, pay careful attention to how certain you can be about each event. This step is where you will create a summary of the key elements of the case.
A) Describe the key economic and policy issues and organizational culture in the locations where the organization operates.
B)Describe the industry or area in which the organization is operating, including such information as competitors, new entrants, substitute products, suppliers, or public groups served.

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3) Identify the relevant cast of characters (often called stakeholders). This step should never be ignored but is especially important if you are dealing with a public/governmental organization.
A) Acknowledge to yourself whether you like some of these stakeholders better than others. Have you tended to jump to conclusions about what kind of people they are (e.g. he can’t be trusted; she’s the perfect boss; that procurement department is full of obstructionists)?
B) Look carefully for evidence that might contradict, in any way, your first impressions.

4) Describe each stakeholder’s problems, goals (or demands), and concerns. Out of this step you want to identify the key ethical problem or problems that your case paper will be analyzing.
A) For each stakeholder, look for evidence that something has happened in the case that the stakeholder finds troublesome and seems to consider a problem.
B) Identify the assumptions and any apparent biases of each stakeholder.
C) Identify the goals (sometimes stated as explicit demands) of each stakeholder.
D) Then, as best you can, identify the concerns underlying these demands. In other words, what does the behavior (words, actions) of the stakeholder suggest to you about why that person (or group) wants what he/she seems to want?

5) Identify the theories, concepts, models, and the data from your research that are relevant to the key problems you identified in step 3.
A)Your team will have to decide on the most appropriate theories/models for the problem. You may use some of the models we have studied in class, or alternatively discover and or develop your own from research. To do so, use the following format: How does __________ (theory/model/concept) help me understand ___________?
B)Your write up should include a section justifying the theory/model. Your paper should answer the question: Why is this model the correct one for the problems (you/your team) has identified?
C)What assumptions does the model(s) make?

6) Apply the model/concepts to the problem(s) you’ve identified. This is the most important step in the analysis. Among the things to note for this section:
A)Does the analysis line up with the facts?
B)Have you taken into consideration all the key facts of the case, and acknowledged those potentially important facts that you do not know?

7) Evaluate any relevant quantitative information that you may have available in the case.
A)Identify assumptions underlying the data.
B)Determine the quality of data, e.g. completeness, accuracy, possible biases, consistency among multiple sources.
C)Use estimation to gauge whether results “seem right.”
D)Identify ways in which the data may oversimplify an issue or situation.
E)Summarize the quantitative information.
F)Be prepared to express the summary in a variety of forms: in words, in visual/graphical displays, in tables of numerical results, in analytical formulations.
G)Look for patterns among the results that help you gain insight into the issues of the case.

8) When you have finished your analysis of the evidence, express in your own words how you would solve the ethical problems you identified in the case. The outcome of this step should be a series of results (that you will describe in paragraph form) that describe in detail what happens when your model is used on the ethical situations you’ve identified. Be sure to:
A) describe how confident you are about your conclusion, given the amount of evidence you have found; (it is wise not to be overly confident).
B) describe how your conclusion is affected by the direction of the evidence (e.g. the evidence all points in one direction, is evenly divided, or is mixed but slightly weighted in one direction).
C) Identify additional information that you need to fully analyze this case. In analyzing a case, you often find that you must make certain assumptions because essential information has not been included in the case. In real life, too, key pieces of information often are missing, or cannot be obtained because the collection of the information would take too long or be too costly. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that relevant pieces of information are missing and that your conclusions, therefore, might be flawed.

9) Keeping in mind the whole array of problems that must be solved, create as at least two different courses of action, each of which seems likely to solve these ethical problems. Be specific and practical in your write up.
A) In creating courses of action, you should carefully consider at what level (e.g. individual, team, department, organization) action must be taken. It may be that many levels need to be considered.

10) For each possible course of action, think through the consequences. Almost every action has negative as well as positive consequences. Think carefully about:
A)how each course of action will be perceived by each stakeholder.
b)how each course of action will affect other problems that must be resolved.
c)the difficulties you will encounter in actually implementing the course of action under consideration.
d)how implementing the course of action you propose may create new problems.
e)how uncertainties in your evidence and assumptions you have made during your analysis might affect the courses of action that you are considering. Consider what you can do to prepare for the possibility that the assumptions you made might prove to be wrong.

11) Decide on a set of recommendations.
a) Prepare a rationale for your recommendations, based on other elements of your analysis, that anticipates challenges and counter-arguments that are likely to made by others.
b) Create a plan for implementing your recommendations.
c) Establish criteria for assessing how well the implementation plan is working.
12) Prepare the list of References
a) This plan assumes that you have been doing research throughout this process and that all evidence—the problem, the model, the key facts, etc.—derived from research has been cited in text.
b) All sources (articles, websites, books, etc. must be cited. (Any paper submitted without a list of References will automatically receive a failing grade.)