Prepare: In preparation for yourfirst post in this discussion, you will become familiar with the caseof Perdue Farms by means of the material listed under Required Resources(Generally). You will also find more material under Required Resources(Per Subject Heading) because the specific task for this discussion isto examine this case with an eye for any one of the following foursubject headings in business ethics: (1) the environment, (2)advertising, (3) consumer safety and (4) moral responsibility. You mustselect one of these subject headings and your selection will be thespecific focus of your work for your discussion. Accordingly, you willbe responsible to complete the readings and videos listed under yourchosen subject heading. Reflect: If you choose theenvironment subject heading, reflect on the sheer density of chickensraised at any given time in the Perdue facilities. The disposal of theirdiscarded remains and their processing for distribution, eitherindividually and most definitely together, pose a number ofenvironmental concerns.If you choose the advertising subject heading,reflect on how the two videos on Perdue farms present the sharpcontrast between the way the company presents its product and the way inwhich it has been discovered to run its chicken farms. Consider whetherthis is an example of failure to provide truth in advertising and howyou would support such a stance.If you choose the consumer safety subjectheading, reflect on the way in which chickens raised in factory farmsrisks consumer safety. These might include (a) bacterial contamination,(b) the effects of antibiotics on the meat that is consumed, or (c) therelease of adrenaline, cortisone, and other chemicals resulting from theacute stress endured by factory farm animals, which then becomes partof the meat that is later consumed by humans.If you choose the moral responsibility heading,reflect on the stewardship role that may fall upon humans towardnon-human animals. Can we utilize them as mere means to an end (forentertainment, companionship, or food)? Or do we have specialobligations toward them (e.g., not to mistreat or torture them and toslaughter them quickly and without stress) because they are sentientbeings?Once you have completed the indicated readingsand videos, reflect on the ethical theories that we have covered in thediscussions thus far and identify one that you want to apply for youranalysis in your discussion post.Also, reflect on the regulations (or lackthereof) in the factory farming industry in order to be able to examinehow our nation’s laws affect the operations of the business. You will need to research the applicable laws on the factory farming industry.Finally, since Perdue Farms is an Americancorporation, reflect on the mixed economic system in the United Statesin order to articulate the setting for the operations of factoryfarming, and then, be able to analyze the ethical actions of Perduegiven this setting. Write: In the first part of yourinitial post, you will need to introduce the Perdue case within theparticular subject heading that you have chosen. In this introduction,you will also need to (1) articulate the relevant characteristics of ourmixed economic system and (2) present the regulations for the factoryfarming industry. These will provide the setting for you to be able toexamine how the nation’s laws affect its operations.In the second part of your initial post, presentyour analysis of the problem in a way that identifies which entities(Perdue as a corporation, the economic system in the USA, the regulatorycontrol of the state, or all of these) have a role in the problem thatyou have presented. In your analysis, you must assess the negativeeffects of the interplay between business activity and one of thefollowing: the environment, advertising, consumer safety, or corporatesocial responsibility. Your focus must be an ethical analysis of thisinterplay, and it must be well supported by reliable and/or scholarlysources by clearly identifying the ethical theory that you are applyingin your analysis. Revise: Read the feedbackprovided by your professor to your initial post, either directly to youor to your fellow students. Use this as an opportunity to learn fromyour professor, especially with regard to the best ways to apply thecourse material and your research to your analysis. On the basis of whatyou have learned in this process, post an improved revision of yourinitial post that applies the additional knowledge that you have gained.Remember that your grade depends on the qualityof your initial and revised responses, not just on the submission of anattempt at improvement. It is thus to your advantage to post the bestinitial post you can and then to also improve that best effort as muchas you can through revision. Taking this process seriously will help youdevelop the skills you need to do well on the Final Project. Requirements for Your Initial Post:Your initial post should be at least 400 words in length and have citations and references in APA notation.It should address the prompt in its entirety. This means that youshould not split your response to the prompt in multiple posts. Yourexamination should be both thorough and succinct. This is a combinationthat demands time and thought, so give yourself sufficient time to draftand revise.Please be advised that until you post, youwill not see what your fellow students are posting. Once you submit yourpost, you will be able to view the posts from your other classmates.You can then proceed to reply to at least two different threads based onthe required material for this discussion.Your list of references for your initialpost should include the videos and the other required reading materialfor this discussion, the Instructor Guidance, and any otherannouncements presented to you by your professor. List all the coursematerial that informed your work in the list of references and citethese too where appropriate. In addition, your references should includeany other sources that you consult to inform yourself (but notWikipedia or similar sources).Your initial post for this discussion should be submitted no later than the end of Thursday (11:59 pm, U.S. Mountain time). Requirements for Replies to Other Threads:At least two of the four posts required should be in the form of replies to fellow classmates in threads other than your own.Each of your replies should be at least 200 wordsand informed by the course material. As such, the replies must havecitations and references in APA notation. Your list of references foreach reply should include all of the course material that has informedyour reply, in addition to any research that you have obtained on yourown.Your replies should focus on the specificexamination presented by your fellow student, and these should includean examination of whether or not the characteristics of the ethicaltheory and/or economic system were identified well, and whether or nottheir application and analysis was also carried out successfully.Providing such an examination is not an attack on your fellow studentbut an attempt to work together with your fellow student toward thebetter understanding of the ethical theories employed, as well as theirapplication. Requirements for Revising Your Initial Post:Submit a revision of your initial post byeither replying to your own post, or to the feedback provided to you byyour professor.There is no minimum word requirement foryour revised initial post. But you should always explain the reasons forrevising your post so that it is clear what you are doing. If you arerevising only a few words, or an ethical theory, you should not justsubmit a post with vague language such as: “duty ethics works betterhere” or “I did not consider the economic system.” It is important torecognize that no one can read your mind so you need to provide thesetting for your revision (Why? What prompted it? What course materialinformed you?) , and it is important to write in clear language andcomplete sentences.Your revised initial post is your chance tocorrect any oversights or errors in your initial post, or show yourimproved understanding of the material and its applications to the caseat hand. You may, for example, come to the realization that anotherethical theory is better than the one that you initially chose.Accordingly, your revision should indicate that you chose anotherethical theory and an explanation why you find the replacement moresuitable. You may also find the need to revise any relevant portions ofyour analysis. Or, you might have realized that your conclusion did nottake into account important factors necessary for your evaluation of thesituation.You should maximize the improvement of your initial post by employing your professor’s feedback as a guide.Keep in mind that you may not always receive direct feedback from yourprofessor. But your professor will have submitted feedback in thediscussion to other posts. So read your professor’s feedback whether itis addressed to you directlyor to other fellow students. This will giveyou much to think about and apply to your own post.If your professor or a fellow classmateresponds to your revised initial post, and on this basis, you find goodreason to submit yet another revision, then by all means do so. The moreyou improve your initial post, the more you will benefit both in termsof your learning and most likely your grade.Required Resources TextFieser, J. (2015). Introduction to business ethics [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/Chapter 2: Capitalism (attached)Read only the Media Feature titled Capitalism: Perdue located in Section 2.1, at the end of the Capitalism subheading.Ashford Course MaterialZúñiga y Postigo, G. (2015). The moral good in three traditional ethical theories [PowerPoint Slides]. (attached)This PowerPoint document covers the maincharacteristics of utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, andwhat is the moral good in each of these.MultimediaCompassionUSA. (2014, December 3). Chicken factory farmer speaks out [Video file]. Retrieved from Chicken farmer opens his farm that is run by Perduein order to share the realities of raising chicken according to thecontractual arrangements with Perdue. TranscriptAccessibility StatementPrivacy PolicyPerdueChicken. (2014, August 1). Perdue cartoon commercial–Fresh taste [Video file]. Retrieved from This is a cartoon commercial aired by Perdue topromote the freshness and quality of Perdue chickens, who are depictedas living well.
