Ethical Decisions

Chapter 6 Ethics Issue
Brenton T. Percell
BUS323 Commercial Law

Salem University
In your opinion, was it ethical for Mr. Trump to broadcast this type of information to the public?
When making an ethical decision, the following questions should be asked is it a utilitarian decision approach, deontological approach or virtue ethical approach. The utilitarian decision meaning was the firing for the greater good for the mass of people? No. Was it a deontological decision based on, treat others how one would want to be treated, No. The last philosophical reasoning being virtue decision. Virtue decisions are defined to be genuine and honest and should be handled in that manner is a public relation leader. When decisions are made with virtue in mind, all decisions should be made ethically to ensure honesty is conserved. (Bennett-Alexander & Harrison, 2012, pg16-18) (Media, 2018)
With the above steps in understanding an ethics decision defined in my opinion the manner that Mr. Trump chose to terminate his employment with Mrs. Carolyn Kepcher, publicly on his BLOG, stating,” She loved her fame, and she loved celebrity Apprentice, and it was affecting her work.” was unethical. If this was the case was it any progressive action to make Mrs. Kepcher aware of her performance or was she just terminated? These are grounds of termination depending on a contract agreement, state laws (at- will). The action that makes this judgment unethical is the hiring of his daughter proceeding after the termination of Mrs. Carolyn Kepcher. (Bennett-Alexander & Harrison, 2012, Pg154)
In your opinion, where should we, as a society, draw our (1) legal and (2) ethical lines regarding the type of information shared in this context? [Please keep in mind, for a variety of reasons, an ethical behavior may require more restrictions and restraint on actors than one would want to codify in law.]
The legal implication in this situation cannot be made soundly due to the unknown variables such as contract, state that contract was signed legally no laws were broken, Mr. Trump was on his account that solely reflects on himself and his brand. Which is within his right, freedom of speech. The reasoning for the termination may not be the best or ethically sound but it is a reason. In my opinion, it is more of an ethical/ moral issue rather than a legal issue. No-one rights were violated during the firing of Mrs, Kepcher.
References

Bennett. (2012). The Legal, Ethical & Regulatory Enviorn of Business in a Diverse Society. [VitalSource]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1259582132/
Media, W. (2018). Ethical Theories. Retrieved from https://pagecentertraining.psu.edu/public-relations-ethics/introduction-to-public-relations-ethics/lesson-1/ethical-theories/