As defined by the Oxford dictionary, an ethical dilemma is "a situation in which the

decision is given between two options, both involving violating moral principles," as
defined by Gerald (2022). According to the definition above, Facebook’s ethical
dilemma was exposing the personal data of its clients without their consent. Looking at
the common good approach to ethics underscores the networked aspects of society and
emphasizes respect and compassion for others, especially those who are more
vulnerable (Brown University, (nd). Facebook did the opposite in this case, exposing
clients' personal information. This was wrong and stated as an ethical issue.

My approach to the dilemma was through the negligence shown by Facebook, looking
at "Respect for Boundaries" by White (nd), within a company’s values as a culture. In an
act of disrespect, Facebook failed to comply with this, putting the reputation of their
clients at risk. The framework I used is the Common Good Approach, which
emphasizes the networked aspects of society and acknowledges respect and
compassion for others, Bonde et al. (2013). My recommendation to Dr. Vij is to not
pursue a partnership with Facebook because they have an awful history, based on my
analysis. Facebook jeopardized data on approximately 270,000 people who took a
personality quiz – a generic questionnaire of the sort that rewards you with a
classification in 2014 ("Andropoulos," 2018). Facebook lost more than $60 million in
market capitalization ("Tuttle,"2018). This number means they will require a couple of
years to restore the loss, justifying my decision. If their clients no longer trust Facebook,
what more impact will it have on our business? However, there are two possible
solutions:

general partnership. This is the most basic form of partnership. It does not require
forming a business entity with the state. In most cases, partners sign a partnership
agreement for their business (Score, 2020).

The advantages are:

A general partnership is easy to form. Ownership and profits are usually split evenly
among the partners, although they may establish different terms in the partnership
agreement.

The disadvantages are:

The partnership dissolves automatically if any partner dies or goes bankrupt (Score
2020). That's a lot of power.

and

There's a lot of mutual responsibility. For example, say a general partnership has three
partners. One of the partners takes out a loan that the business cannot repay. All
partners may now be personally liable for the debt score (2020).
Partnering with the Facebook Company under additional conditions

The advantages are:

This will give our company full control when making important decisions that may affect
the future. To avoid unnecessary scandals with Facebook’s previous history, they will
not be able to access some personal data of the company.

The disadvantages are:

Working with Facebook under these conditions may result in their not fully trusting the
company. Facebook may feel the need to refrain from contributing ideas that may
benefit the company because they may not be involved in fully implementing that idea.

The third option available is to buy Facebook. Our advantage here could be not starting
from the ground up. The company is well established and Facebook is widely exposed,
giving us a great chance in the business industry.

The disadvantage to this decision is that the previous losses they suffered mean a huge
gap needs to be filled in first and the history they have with clients will take a while for
trust to be restored.

Ethical principles which support my findings

information confidentiality, keeping relevant details within the company. Harm to

participants must be avoided, and people who are considered harmful must be removed
by management (nd).

My personal ethics are equality and fairness. My decision was influenced by respect,
which I in turn deserve too. That’s why I couldn't accept Facebook’s proposal, in which
they violated Discretion is one of my personal values that aligns with my
recommendation. Exposing personal data is wrong, as mentioned. The Common Good
Approach supports protecting vulnerable people, which in this case, are our clients,
from experiencing this in the future. The advantages of my recommendation are that we
pressure our company’s reputation and keep us safe from lawsuits coming from the
public. However, my recommendation means, as a company, we have to build our own
popularity to be well known, which could take yours to achieve, and we could be taking
a path that will lead us to partnering with other companies that might have even worse
scenarios than Facebook. My final conclusion is to not work with Facebook. A solid
foundation is critical to the growth of any business. We can still build the company and
expand well without a partnership that could ruin everything.
1. Create a table with inflation rates from the last four years. Be sure to include the data
from the most recent quarter, too.

Time Inflatio
n rate

Last 8,3%
quarter

1 year 7%
 ago

2 years 1,4%
ago

3 years 1,8%
ago

4 years 2,4%
ago

2. Create a graph using the data in the table to visually represent the inflation rates.
 Part 2: Conclusions

Based on all of the data you collected in Part 1, explain where the United States is in the
economic cycle and how you formed your conclusion.
By observing the data above, it is clear that the Unites States has not been having a steady
growth. There have been ups and downs in percentage rates of inflation, GDP, Unemployment
and labor force participation. “The US and other major economies remain in the mid-cycle
phase of the business cycle, but an increasing number of indicators suggest that the late cycle
when economic growth slows may be approaching. The US expansion continues to mature amid
an increasing flavor of late-cycle dynamics. The expansion remains underpinned by a healthy
consumer sector bolstered by solid household balance sheets and nominal income growth.
Inflationary late-cycle pressures represent a challenge, as tight labor markets push up wages,
supply constraints disrupt production, and rising commodity prices raise costs for both
businesses and consumers. While bank lending and overall credit conditions remain relatively
benign, rate hikes by the Federal Reserve have begun to tighten financial conditions. Recent
trends suggest a higher probability that the US may move through the cycle faster than during
prior mid-cycle phases, but near-term recession risks remain low.” (Hofschire, D. 2022).

Explain how the GDP growth rate, unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and the
select inflation index are calculated.

“GDP can be calculated by adding up all of the money spent by consumers, businesses,
and the government in a given period. It may also be calculated by adding up all of the
money received by all the participants in the economy.” (Investopedia. n.d.).

“The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed by the

labour force x 100.” (UNISA. n.d.).

“To calculate the labor force participation rate, divide the labor force by the population.
Convert that decimal into a percentage to see the labor force participation rate."
(Indeed Editorial Team. 2020).
 "Inflation Index = 75% of the average rise in the Consumer Price Index* (urban) for the
immediately preceding year." (Wadhwa, J. n.d.).

REFERENCE LIST

Hofschire, D. (2022). Business cycle update: Sunset of the mid-cycle. Fidelity.

https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/trading-investing/markets-sectors/
business-cycle-update#:~:text=Key%20takeaways,growth%20slows%20may
%20be%20approaching.

Indeed Editorial Team. (2020). How to calculate labour force rate. Indeed.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-calculate-
labor-force-participation-rate

Investopedia. (n.d.). How to calculate the GDP of a country.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/051415/how-calculate-gdp-
country.asp
Trading Economics. (n.d.). United States unemployment rate.

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate

UNISA. (n.d.). Unemployment.

https://demo.econdev.co.za/lesson/unemployment/

Wadhwa, J. (n.d.). What is cost inflation index.

https://www.quora.com/How-is-cost-inflation-index-calculated
References

Brown university, (nd) A FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS

https://www.brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/framework-making-
ethical-decisions

PAULA STEPHANIE ANDROPOULOS , (“10 April 2018 - 11:12 )

WHAT FACEBOOK KNOWS ABOUT YOU WILL MAKE YOU FEEL DIRTY

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2018-04-10-what-facebook-knows-
about-you-will-make-you-feel-dirty/

Score (June 23, 2020) 4 Types of Business Partnerships: Which Is Best for You?

https://www.score.org/news/4-types-business-partnerships-which-best-you

Sheila Bonde and Paul Firenze, with critical input from James Green, Margot Grinberg,
Josephine Korijn, Emily Levoy, Alysha Naik, Laura Ucik and Liza Weisberg. It was last
revised in (May, 2013)

A FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS

A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions | Science and Technology Studies

(brown.edu)

Gerald (March 1, 2022) , WHAT IS AN ETHICAL DILEMMA OXFORD DICTIONARY

What Is An Ethical Dilemma Oxford Dictionary? – june29.com

Management (nd), SIX ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

Six Ethical Principles - QS Study

Tuttle, Hilary. "Facebook Scandal Raises Data Privacy Concerns." Risk Management
May 2018: 6+. Business Insights: Global. Web. 30 July 2022.

URLhttp://bi.gale.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA538250056?
u=nhc_main

Mary Gormandy White, (nd) , EXAMPLES OF CORE VALUES: 100 POWERFUL

PRINCIPLES

Examples of Core Values: 100 Powerful Principles (yourdictionary.com)