Service Case Analysis

Service Case Analysis

Ethics dictate most actions and activities. The choice between a right and wrong action constitutes ethics (Ruggiero, 1). Accordingly, action has consequences; therefore, an ethical action has a result, and unethical actions also have consequences. There are various approaches to ethics, such as utility, rights, duty, and care. Subsequently, ethical action is dependent on one or more of these approaches, while unethical actions overlook either one or more of these approaches to ethics. Therefore, for every action, there are parties involved, and moral issue issues arise.

This paper is a service activity analysis of a written case. In this case involving the damage of a car, the parties involved are the narrator and the owner of the scratched car. The moral issue is that the narrator of the case damaged a car and got away before informing the owner. Despite the explanation given, the action was unethical, and the consequences of the said action would impact the car owner negatively.

The first approach to the action is based on utility. Utilitarianism involves individual morality with a focus on the consequence of the action (Scarre, vii). Utilitarianism is measured based on the consequence’s ability to imply happiness; the expected probability should reflect happiness and be based on the common currency, whereby the question ‘Which is better’ determines the most appropriate action. In the first instance, whereby the action is measured based on the consequence’s ability to imply happiness, the narrator of the case will be happy that they saved time by not having to confront the damaged car owner because it would be time-consuming. In contrast, the damaged car owner wouldn’t be happy to find the car in that state and would be in distress. In the second instance, whereby an action is approached on the common currency, the question asked is, ‘Would it be better to inform the car owner of the mishap, or would it be better to withhold the information?’ The latter question is the most appropriate because informing the car owner would prevent them from being in distress because a suitable outcome would have been met. Therefore, based on the utilitarianism approach to ethical actions, the action was unethical.

The second approach based on virtues impacts ethical actions. Accordingly, three conditions influence virtues: the condition to be just, the condition for the appropriate action, and the condition that influences moral worth. These conditions influence the virtues that impact an action. On the first condition of being just, all parties involved are put under consideration. The action of scratching another person’s car and getting away with it is unjust because the car owner is not compensated for the accident. For the action to be just, the owner must be compensated. Under the second condition of appropriate action, the action should be one that satisfies all parties involved. In this case, only the narrator is satisfied as they get away without consequence while the car owner is left to deal with the challenge; therefore, the action wasn’t the most appropriate action.  Under the third condition that influences moral worth, actions influence the moral worth of the perpetrator. Accordingly, the unethical action whereby the narrator gets away with perpetrating a wrongful action, their moral worth is derailed. To build on their moral worth, the perpetrator ought to have informed the car owner of the accident and come to an agreement, but instead, they escaped and got away with it. Therefore, based on the three conditions that influence the virtue of an individual perpetrating an action, the action was unethical on all three conditions.

The third approach to ethical actions is based on rights. An action is defined as a claim for rights approach to ethical action. In this case, the claim is, ‘informing the car owner of the accident is a mistake’ that determines the appropriate action. Three types of rights influence an action: ideal ethical right, conventional ethical right, and conscientious ethical right (Smith and Davis, 1465). Based on the ideal ethical right, the action should be the most appropriate; hence, the claim is wrong because this action isn’t the most appropriate. Based on conventional ethical rights, the claim should be supported by the expected action; hence, the expected action would involve informing the car owner of the accident, as would normally occur. Therefore, the claim is wrong because the action goes against what is expected in a normal situation. Based on conventional ethical rights, the claim is dependent on a knowledgeable conscience. Accordingly, in this case, the action resulted from an enlightened narrator obtaining clarity on how much they would lose in solving the dispute yet to arise in terms of time wasted and costs.

In conclusion, the action was unethical in all aspects that influence ethical actions. Therefore, the ethical action would involve informing the car owner of the accident.

Work Cited

Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan. Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues. McGraw-Hill Education, 2010.

Scarre, Geoffrey. Utilitarianism. 1st ed., Routledge, 1996, p. vii.

Smith, Sharon Jeanne, and Anne J. Davis. “Ethical Dilemmas: Conflicts Among Rights, Duties, And Obligations”. The American Journal Of Nursing, vol 80, no. 8, 1980, p. 1465. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/3462695. Accessed 2 May 2021.

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Choose from Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues, Case 11, p. 189, or Case 16, p. 181, and compose an 800-word written analysis in which you identify the moral issue(s) and the parties involved. Take a balanced moral position by offering a recommendation or a policy resolution. Please draw on any three approaches to ethics: utility, duty, rights, virtue, or care. Click here to see the grading rubric for this assignment.

Service Case Analysis

If you have chosen the service activity analysis option, the questions are the same, and the assignment will be assessed for depth, breadth, and judgment. The assignment will also be assessed by taking into consideration the description of the service activity. You may proceed with the service activity analysis option only if you have received prior approval from the instructor. Taking care to identify the moral issue(s) and the parties involved, take a balanced moral position offering a recommendation or a policy resolution. Please draw on any three approaches to ethics: utility, duty, rights, virtue, or care.

11. Anticipating the possibility that their soldiers may one day be captured by the enemy, some modern armies include in their basic training exposure to torture techniques. That is, they subject their own troops to mild forms of torture in order that they may learn how to resist it. Is this practice justifiable morally? If you believe it is justifiable only under certain conditions, specify the conditions.