CSc 302 Computers and Society Student_____________
Ethical Analysis and Decision Making Worksheet
Case
Study______________________
Step 1: Understanding the situation
A. List and number the relevant facts.
Number Fact
B. Which of these raises an ethical issue? Why? (Indicate which guideline in "Ethics in a Nutshell" suggests an ethical decision needs to be made)
Fact (number) Guideline
C. List the stakeholders involved and what they have at stake.
Step 2: Isolating the major ethical dilemma
What is the ethical dilemma to be resolved NOW?
State it using the form: Should someone do or not do something? (Note: Just state the dilemma here; leave any reasoning for Step 3.)
Step 3: Analyzing the ethicality of both alternatives in Step 2.
Consequentialism
A. For
each
alternative in Step 2, whom will be harmed and how? Whom will benefit
and how?
Which
alternative
results in the least harm or the most benefit? Explain.
Rights and Duties
B. What
rights have been or may be abridged? What duties have been or may be
neglected?
Identify the stakeholder and the right or duty. When listing a right,
show its
corresponding duty and vice versa.
Kant’s Categorical Imperative – The Principle of Consistency
C. For
each alternative
in Step 2, will anyone be treated unlike others and how?
D. For
each alternative
in Step 2, describe the benefits if everyone (or nobody) acted this way.
Step 4. Making a decision and planning the implementation
A. Make a defensible ethical decision. What is your answer to the question in Step 2? Explain how your analysis in step 3 leads to your conclusion. Where there are conflicting rights, duties, or consequences, explain the values that you used to assign precedence. (Note: Just make and justify your choice here; leave any action steps for parts B and D below.)
B. List the specific steps needed to implement your defensible ethical decision.
C. Show how the major stakeholders are affected by these actions.
D. What other longer‑term changes (political, legal, technical, societal, organizational) would help prevent such problems in the future?
E. What should have been
done or not done in the first place
(at the pivot point) to avoid this dilemma?