Assessment Cover Sheet MGMT3006 Business Ethics

Student Name: Tan Jia Cheng

Student Number: 19871680

Tutor: Mr Sean O'Hara

Assessment Number / Name: Assessment 2 Case Study Report

Word Count (excluding cover page, Executive Summary, References list, and appendices): 1936

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Student Name Tan Jia Cheng

Campus Singapore

Student Signature Cheng

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Date 5/8/2021

Executive Summary

The objective of this report is to use the different types of ethical principles to relate to
the case study of Indonesian doctors face tough choices of who will live or die at
overrun Covid-19 hospitals. The three normative theories which are utilitarianism,
Kantian ethics, virtue ethics and awareness of the major ethical issues raised by the
case as well as cover the actions and potential actions of the key actors in the case.
Only one of the three normative theories will be considered as the most suitable
theory to use in the case study. However, all three will be discussed further below to
show how they relate to the case study. The stakeholder approach will be used to
identify and categorize each of the persons involved into several groups. The
salience model will be used to categorize the stakeholders. While capitalism is not
participating in the activities that have occurred in Indonesia, there are no indications
that the invisible hand is at work in this case. Nonetheless, the argument of whether
the concept of the ‘Invisible Hand' implies that enterprises and consumers acting in
their own self-interest will eventually serve the greater good will be discussed.

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Table of Contents
Cover sheet 1

Executive Summary 2

1.0 Case Summary 4

2.0 Application of three normative theory to the case 5

2.1 Application of Utilitarian ethics to the case 5

2.2 Application of Kantian ethics to the case 6

2.3 Application of Virtue ethics to the case 7

3.0 The stakeholders (key actors) and the actions and potential actions they do 8

3.1 Indonesia Government’s hospitals 9

3.2 Doctors 9

3.3 Indonesians Covid 19 patients 10

4.0 Capitalism: Invisible Hand 10

References 12

Appendix 1 – Marking Guide 14

Appendix 2 – Selected case 15

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1.0 Case Summary

This report is discussing about the case study of Indonesian doctors face tough
choices of who will live or die at overrun Covid-19 hospitals. In East Jakarta, a doctor
(Dr Nur Chandra Bunawan) who works in a government run hospital (Kramat Jati
general hospital) stated that the doctors are frequently faced with the task of
determining which patients have a better probability of surviving these times due to
the high number of patients infected Covid 19 virus. Furthermore, due to a lack of
beds, oxygen, ventilators and high amount of Covid 19 infectors in Indonesia, they
must choose which patients have a better chance of surviving and give up those
patients that have lower chance to survive although they think all lives are equal.
Only patients who have a better chance of surviving can receive the beds, life
support and proper medical treatment and patients who likely can survive will be
saved first. Priority will be given to the young people. The patients will also be asked
by the hospital whether or not they are married. If married, only the earner, has no
comorbidities, and has a better chance of recovery will be selected to stay in hospital
to receive proper treatment. A couple of medical personnel have also infected Covid-
19 because of an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients at the hospital. As a
result of overcrowding, hospitals are turning away patients, leading to people rushing
to get oxygen cylinders so they can take care of their family members at home,
including the dying.

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2.0 Application of three normative theory to the case

2.1 Application of Utilitarian ethics to the case

Utilitarian ethics means the rightness or wrongness of an action is directly explained

by the ‘goodness' or ‘badness' of its effects. These two notions, when combined,
provide the broad foundation of utilitarianism (Robertson 2007, 1). This refers to the
quantity of happiness or unhappiness (pleasure or pain) of people that is caused
under utilitarianism (the most popular version of consequentialism) and acts such as
lying, killing, donating to charity, and hypocrisy are not classified for being correct or
wrong action. (Curtin University 2021, 3). In summary, the utilitarian concept is saying
that everything that results in the greatest total happiness is the appropriate thing to
do, and both happiness and unhappiness will be included.

Looking in the chosen case, from the utilitarian point of view the action done by the
Indonesia government’s hospital was ethical because of the action of young people,
the breadwinner has no co-morbidities and people who possess a greater chance of
recovery had a priority to accept the help from hospitals. This action can maximize
the chance and speed of the Covid 19 infected person to recover from the disease
and after they recover the hospital will be able to accept new patients to the
hospitals. This means the faster people recover from the disease, the more people
can get the proper treatment from hospitals. Maximizing the speed and number of
Covid 19 infected people recovered from the disease will also result in the greatest
total happiness from the Indonesian because people who recovered and their family
and friends will be happy. Although people who did not meet the requirement to get
the assistance from the hospital will be unhappy, but the ratio compared to people
who can get proper treatment is much overwhelming. In conclusion, the action done
by Indonesia government and the doctor maximizes the total happiness to all people
so it is considered ethical.

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2.2 Application of Kantian ethics to the case

Alternatives to utilitarian ethics include Kantian ethics. It is thought to be a type of

'deontological' or 'duty-based' ethics. Kantian ethics is like utilitarian ethics in that it is
based on reason, but it does it in a totally different way and produces very distinct
ethical conclusions (Curtin University 2021, 3). To determine whether the action is
ethical or unethical the two tests need to be applied which are the formula from the
universal law and the formula from humanity (Curtin University 2021, 12). The
formula from universal law acts only on that idea by which people can simultaneously
wish for it to become a universal law. It also responds in such a way that people hope
everybody who sees themselves in a similar situation would act similarly (Curtin
University 2021, 14). Everything humans do, Kant claimed, can be traced back to
some "maxim," which was Kant's term for a general rule of behavior. A given action is
moral if the basic rule underlying it can be universally applied. The behavior is
immoral if a universal application of the underlying rule would result in the kw of non-
contradiction (Jones, 41). The formula from humanity acts solely in such a way that
humanism (in yourself or others) is treated as a goal in and of itself, never as a mere
means (to an end) and not just real-life people whose goals must be accepted as
their own. In the abstract, the end of humanity itself should also be their end (Curtin
University 2021, 17). As a result, the human intellect is the only thing in the cosmos
capable of differentiating between right and wrong, and as such, it deserves the
highest level of respect (Jones, 43).

According to the formula from humanity, the action of the selected case that priority of
hospital treatment will be given to the young people, the earner, has no comorbidities,
and has a better chance of recovery is also meaning to give up rescuing those
patients that have lower chance to survive and older people. This action can be seen
as treating those patients that have lower chance to survive and older people as a
'mere means to an end’ to save young people, the earner, has no comorbidities, and

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has a better chance of recovery. In summary, Kantian ethics would say that what
Indonesia government and the doctors did was unethical. The correct ethical action
they do according to Kantian ethics is doing what like before Covid 19 appears which
is accept the patient in sequence (first come first serve) because they do not have
the right to treat anyone as a mere means.

2.3 Application of Virtue ethics

Virtue ethics, on the other hand, focuses on the growth of the character of the person
who must deal with ethical difficulties. Virtue ethics emphasizes that the ability to
solve complicated challenges is dependent, first and foremost, on the character (i.e.,
virtues) of those who make choices. It's vital to remember that virtue ethics is
concerned with character rather than specific actions (Morris 2016, 202). The core
notion of virtue ethics is that ‘virtues' are used to promote human flourishing
(wellbeing). Eudaimonia (Flourishing), Virtues, and Judgement are the three basic
components covered (Curtin University 2021, 6). Eudaimonia (Flourishing) says it's
not just about happiness. The unique form of happiness that comes from a happy
human life. It is the goal (telos) of living beings, according to Aristotle, compassion,
courage, kindness, and temperance are examples of virtues that fulfill this purpose,
but this is not an incidental or just functional link between virtues and flourishing
which also means the virtues are not subjective (Curtin University 2021, 7). The
Virtues tell us the set of qualities that contribute to human wellbeing. The virtuous
person acts for a purpose other than the moral rule, as Kant would have us believe.
Emotion, unlike Kant, has a legitimate role in inspiring us to behave (Curtin University
2021, 9). They require judgment and competence to act "in the right way, at the right
moment, and in the right amount." The ‘Golden Mean,' for example, is to be brave but
not reckless (Curtin University 2021, 11).

In virtue ethics, the flourishing life of all the Indonesian that infected Covid 19 is
related to recovery from the suffering Coronavirus disease. The value of happiness
between all young and old people should be the same. However, the judgment of the
Indonesia government and the doctors action had fulfill to act ‘in the right way, at the
right time, to the right amount’. During Covid 19 times, too many Indonesian had

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been affected by the Coronavirus disease and it is impossible to save all, so the
judgement of Indonesia government and the doctors is to greatest the probability and
amount of the people who could recover from the disease. According to the above
judgement, what the Indonesia government and the doctors do may be ethical.

3.0 The stakeholders (key actors) and the actions and potential actions they do

According to Curtin University (2021, 61), Edward Freeman stated that a stakeholder
is impacted by or has the potential to impact a corporation. The stakeholder approach
tries to consider the interests of everyone who is affected by the business. The
combined traits of power, urgency, and legitimacy determine the stakeholder salience
associated with a stakeholder group (Boesso and Kumar, 818). The salience model
shown below will be used to categorize the stakeholders.

Figure1 (Mitchell, Agle and Wood 1997, 874)

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3.1 Indonesia Government’s hospitals

Corporate governance is to ensure that businesses accept responsibility for

monitoring and coordinating their operations in a way that is fair to all stakeholders
(Rossouw 2005, 32). The way an organization is founded has a big impact on how
country governance is regarded. The concept of what a business operates for will
establish for whom it is controlled and, as a result, will rank the business's
stakeholders appropriately. It will also influence how a corporation's ethical essence
and moral requirements are seen (Rossouw 2005, 34). The Indonesia government
possesses the power, legitimacy, and urgency that the salience model classifies as a
definitive stakeholder.

The Indonesia government had the power to set the rules which prioritized the young
people and the earner that has no comorbidities and has a better chance of recovery
to receive proper treatment. They also had the legitimacy and urgency to help the
patients recover faster so the hospital can help more patients. However, Indonesia
government did not provide enough help to the Indonesian Covid 19 patients. The
Indonesia government chose to give up saving those Covid 19 patients with a lower
recovery probability instead of increasing oxygen cylinders and convalescent plasma
to help more people.

3.2 Doctors

The doctors had no power, but only legitimacy, and urgency that the salience model
classifies as dependent stakeholders. The doctors have no power, they only can
follow the government’s decision which is to decide which patient meets the
requirement to receive proper treatment from the hospital and give up those who did
not meet the requirements. They have the legitimacy and urgency to help the patient
recover faster so the hospital can receive more new patients.

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3.3 Indonesian Covid 19 patients

The Indonesian Covid 19 patients are regarded as one of the key actors as well
because they have legitimacy and urgency, but not power. As well as the Indonesian
Covid 19 patients being impacted by the federal government and doctors, so they
were classified as dependent stakeholders. They had the legitimacy and urgency to
receive proper treatment so they could recover from the disease. However, the
Indonesian Covid 19 patients will decide by the doctors whether they could receive
the proper medical treatment from the government’s hospital or not. They do not have
the right to save their own life.

4.0 Capitalism: Invisible Hand

Capitalism is commonly thought of as a market structure in which private companies

or individuals own and manage property according to their own interests, and
demand and supply freely set market prices in ways that benefit the community
(Jahan and Mahmud 2015, 44). Capitalism is a legal, social, economic, and cultural
system based on equal rights for all that motivates distributed invention and trial-and-
error procedures (Palmer 2011, 1). Adam Smith used the phrase "invisible hand" to
characterize the unanticipated social advantages of individual self-interested actions
(Curtin University 2021,10). The theory behind the Invisible Hand is that all of us,
while pursuing people's own self-interest, eventually serve the larger good (even
though that is not their intention) (Curtin University 2021, 9). Ordinarily, the invisible
hand does not have the authority to alter those rules and institutions (Scott 2011, 12).
For those who might argue that the ‘Invisible Hand’ means that businesses and
consumers pursuing their own self‐interest will produce the best outcomes overall is
true in some cases. For example, a cake seller earns their self-interest by selling
cake. The cake seller needs to buy the egg and milk as ingredients from the
supermarket so the supermarket will earn money also. Moreover, supermarkets will

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purchase eggs and milks from the farms which make the farms also own their self-
interest. These actions produce the best outcome for the cake seller, supermarket
and farm due to all of them pursuing their own self-interest. The ‘Invisible Hand’
cannot be applied to the case due to there being no individuals or companies
pursuing their own self‐interest with demand and supply. Furthermore, the hospital
was run by the government which made the patients no need to pay for any fees for
treatment so the ‘Invisible Hand’ theory cannot be applied to the chosen case.

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References

Boesso, Giacomo, and Kamalesh Kumar. 2016. “Examining the Association Between
Stakeholder Culture, Stakeholder Salience and Stakeholder Engagement Activities:
An Empirical Study.” Management Decision 54(4): 815-831.
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1786770188/fulltextPDF/8EE3CA4011414380PQ/
1?accountid=10382

Curtin University. 2021. “MGMT3006 – Business Ethics MODULE 4 – Justifications of

Capitalism.” Powerpoint Lecture Notes. https://lms.curtin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-
9117957-dt-content-rid-55300292_1/xid-55300292_1

Curtin University. 2021. “Lecture 2- The Normative Theories Part 1.” Powerpoint
Lecture Notes. https://lms.curtin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-9117935-dt-content-rid-
55300316_1/xid-55300316_1

Curtin University. 2021. “MGMT3006 – Business Ethics Virtue Ethics.” Powerpoint

Lecture Notes. https://lms.curtin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-9117947-dt-content-rid-
55300318_1/xid-55300318_1

Curtin University. 2021. “Module 3 – Section 2: Kantian Ethics.” Powerpoint Lecture

Notes. https://lms.curtin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-9117946-dt-content-rid-
55300485_1/xid-55300485_1

Curtin University. 2021. “Worked Examples – Applying the Theories to Cases.”

Powerpoint Lecture Notes. https://lms.curtin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-9117896-dt-
content-rid-55300631_1/xid-55300631_1

Jahan, Sarwat, and Ahmed Saber Mahmud. “What is Capitalism?” Finance &
Development 44-45.
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2015/06/pdf/basics.pdf

Jones, Harold B, Jr. 2021. “The Kantian Ethic of Capitalism.” Journal of Private
Enterprise 22(1): 37-50.
https://www.proquest.com/docview/215108180/fulltextPDF/5DBBC129C907425FPQ/
1?accountid=10382

Mitchell, Ronald K., Bradley R. Agle and Donna J. Wood. 1997. “Toward a Theory of
Stakeholder Identification And Salience: Defining The Principle of Who and What
Really Counts.” Academy of Management Review 22(4): 853-886.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/259247?origin=JSTOR-
pdf&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

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Morris, Marilyn C, and Jason Z Morris. 2016. “The Importance of Virtue Ethics in the
IRB.” Research Ethics 12(4): 201–216.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1747016116656023
Palmer, Tom G. 2011. “The Morality of Capitalism.” Jameson Books, Inc. Students for
Liberty & Atlas Network. https://www.atlasnetwork.org/assets/uploads/misc/The-
Morality-of-Capitalism-PDF.pdf

Robertson, Michael, and Garry Walter. 2007. “A Critical Reflection on Utilitarianism as

the Basis for Psychiatric Ethics.” Journal of Ethics in Mental Health 2(1): 1-4.
https://jemh.ca/issues/v2n1/documents/JEMH_V2N1_Article1_UtilitarianismAsAnEthi
calTheory.pdf

Rossouw, G. J. 2005. “Business Ethics and Corporate Governance: A Global Survey.”

Business & Society 44(1): 32-39.
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Scott, Bruce R. 2011. “Capitalism: Its Origins and Evolution as a System of

Governance.” Springer ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?
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%3A282509263818752%401444366865206

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Appendix 1

Assessment 2 marking guide 20210805.pdf

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Appendix 2

Indonesian doctors face tough choice of who will live or die at overrun Covid-
19 hospitals, SE Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times.pdf

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1