Steel Plants

Question 1

Shokun Steel Co. owns many steel plants. One of its plants is much older than the others. Equipment at that plant is outdated and inefficient, and the costs of production at that plant are now two times higher than at any of Shokun’s other plants. The company cannot raise the price of steel because of competition, both domestic and international. The plant employs more than a thousand workers and is located in Twin Firs, Pennsylvania, which has a population of about 45,000. Shokun is contemplating whether to close the plant.

What factors should the firm consider in making its decision? Will the firm violate any ethical duties if it closes the plant? Analyze these questions from the two basic perspectives on ethical reasoning .

Question 2

submit a summary of a current (within the last 12 months) business incident—found via the news media– describing its ethics parameters. The document should include the student’s assessment of the ethics issues, decisions, and actions within the situation. Application of the course “decision model” should be demonstrated. (Content of the paper will be no more than seven, double-spaced, stapled pages. A cover page is optional. A citation of information sources page should be at the end. Cover and sources pages do not count in page total. “Style” is “business efficient”, i.e., prose is acceptable, along with bullet points, checklists, tables or whatever structure clearly, efficiently communicates to the reader.)

Try to go through every step of the model as thoroughly, clearly, and concisely as you can. There is no need to write a formal essay- bullet points for step 1, for example, are totally fine. You could also use a table for step 5, as suggested in class. As long as you go through the entire model and do so clearly, you should be on your way to a decent paper.

Question 3