Answer either Part A or Part B EITHER Part A Research conducted in the US involv

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Answer either Part A or Part B EITHER Part A Research conducted in the US involving consumer surveys has revealed that people generally want automated (driverless) cars to be utilitarian (i.e. to prevent the greatest loss of life overall) but when pressed, admit that they would prefer to buy a driverless car that protects themselves primarily Drawing on your knowledge of ethics, discuss this ethical dilemma for car manufacturers. Explain different theories of ethics and ethical frameworks that can be used to guide behaviour and decision-making in business (Total 25 marks) OR Part B There is evidence that easily accessible, comprehensible and consistent nutrient information on the front of packaged goods could assist shoppers to make healthier food choices. The Health Star Rating (HSR) system has been introduced in New Zealand as a voluntary initiative, with the aim to make it quicker and easier for New Zealand consumers to make better informed, healthy food choices. However, as some high-sugar products such as breakfast cereal can achieve high star ratings, the rating system initiative has received criticism as being misleading for shoppers looking to make a better food choices Explain different approaches to dealing with ethical issues that food manufacturers could draw upon to guide the decision of whether to use the voluntary Health Star Rating (HSR) system initiative as an on-pack promotional tool to help increase demand for a product. (Total 25 marks)

Explanation / Answer

Ethics are the rules or standards that govern our decisions on a daily basis. Many equate “ethics” with conscience or a simplistic sense of “right” and “wrong.” Others would say that ethics is an internal code that governs an individual’s conduct, ingrained into each person by family, faith, tradition, community, laws, and personal mores. Corporations and professional organizations, generally will have a written “Code of Ethics” that governs standards of professional conduct expected of all in the field. It is important to note that “law” and “ethics” are not synonymous, nor are the “legal” and “ethical” courses of action in a given situation necessarily the same. Statutes and regulations passed by legislative bodies and administrative boards set forth the “law.” Slavery once was legal in the US, but one certainly wouldn’t say enslaving another was an “ethical” act. Ethics is a code of conduct but violating it does not lead to any penal action. However, it may lead to social outrage and other repercussions.

In the case of driverless cars, ethics do play a very important role, as it has to do with the safety of human beings. The problem is that of deciding whose safety is more paramount, that of the people inside the car or those on the road. This is a new problem that has arisen in recent years and there are various schools of thought with regard to this. My opinion is that ethics is a code of conduct which is to be approved by a majority, be it the organization, society or the world at large. In this case, the best practice would be to look at what is acceptable to the world at large as this issue transcends countries and continents and is concerning all of humanity. So it needs to be discussed on a world level and ethical frameworks developed.

Now there are different theories of ethics that can be broadly classified as follows and using these theories we can draw up ethical codes and see what would be most widely accepted. As of now, we can use these as arguments to support our decisions.

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