Read the Case Scenario

Ang Lee owns and operates a well-respectedonline tutoring firm, Tutoring University (TU). The firm was started in 1996 bya group of Johns Hopkins University college students who wanted to make extramoney to help defray their school costs. Originally, students offered theirservices to only Hopkins students. Lee sought out the best students inevery field at the University and created a team of students that encompassedevery major offered by the school. The tutors charged hourly fees. The serviceproved to be very successful. The student tutors who started with the companywere able to pay most of their college expenses by offering tutoring.

From the outset TU established a code ofconduct for its employees. The code’s underlying principle was that allemployees were expected to live up to the traditions of a tutor, namely;

·Tutors are individuals who provide private instruction,coaching, or mentoring to one student or to a small group of students.

·The role of the tutor is to help the student to learn,think critically, and problem solve on their own.

·Tutors take steps to help the student understand thatlearning is a process that requires acts of reading, listening, comprehending,application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

·Tutors would never agree to do the work for the student.

·Tutors would never encourage the student to cheat bycreating materials that would be presented as the student’s own work or createtemplates that answered an assessment with little to no work from a student.

Upon graduation in 2000, Lee decided topartner with one of the student tutors, Josh Jenkins. Jenkins was abusiness school graduate. The partners initially expanded the business bysetting up tutoring services at other universities across the country. TUbecame well known and its tutoring services were recommended by the NCAA forteams in the association. The business had $10 million in gross sales by2004. Riding high on success, and recognizing the growth of onlineeducation, Lee and Jenkins decided it was time to expand the business byoffering services to students taking online courses.

Once the partners established services forstudents taking online courses, in 2005, the partners once again sought toexpand the business by looking into tutoring students for the standard testingprograms used by college and university admission boards. By 2010, thecompany had increased its gross sales to $20 million and by 2013, the companyboasted $35 million in gross sales.

Although TU’s online tutoring marketexperienced significant growth, the industry saw many new entrants into themarketplace. Companies such as Course Hero, Homework Market, and Cheggbegan to offer tutoring services. The business model of these companiesinclude several features that TU did not offer. First, students haveaccess to a document and quiz repository and secondly, students are able topurchase or exchange quizzes or papers from the repository for a fee.Lastly, students could solicit the assistance of tutor by paying them toenter an online classroom to complete the required discussions andassessments.

Lee and Jenkins recognized the potentialgrowth for TU, especially since the popularity of these organizations weregrowing exponentially. In an effort to compete with the market trend, Leeand Jenkins decided to move the company forward by adding the followingservices to its model:

·A repository of term papers, flash cards, projects,PowerPoints, videos and exams created by the tutors that can be purchased bystudents.

·A repository of term papers, projects, PowerPoints, andexams created by the students that can purchased by other students looking forhelp on current assessments.

·All purchases will earn points that the students can usetoward future services.

·A subscription to a citation machine that will performall academic in-text citation and reference formatting for the student.

·Tutors for hire (these tutors would offer services towrite papers for a price per page or for approximately $500, enter an online classroomtaking the place of the student completing all graded assessments).

Shortly after the new model was rolled out,the Marketing Department came out with a promotion of the new services called“Let Us Do Your Homework for you.” Television and radio commercialsentice students to purchase the papers, videos, etc. by telling customers thatthe product would be customized to the assignment requirements.

Further, some of the services areadvertised as being less costly since many of the papers are written bystudents submitting his or her work into the repository. Tutoringservices are marketed as top quality individuals knowledgeable in manydisciplines. One commercial features a tutor seated at a computer workingwhile the student is at home watching the TV.

Spencer Tracy, a former tutor and Directorof Tutors is worried about the promotion and finds the content unethical.Further, he is concerned that this promotion will place the tutors in acompromising position with respect to the expectations of the customer – thestudent!

Instructions

Step 1: Write the Introduction

Create the introductory paragraph. Theintroductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and tells a readerthe main points covered in the paper. To help you know how to write anintroduction, view this website to learn how to write an introductoryparagraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro….

Step 2: Answer thefollowing

·Identifyand discuss the two business dilemmas presented in the case scenario.Identify the facts relied upon to make the selection. Use thecourse material to support your reasoning and conclusions.

·Explainthe role “Conduct of Behavior” played in the dilemma selection process. Did itcreate either of the dilemmas? If so why, if not why?

·Identifyand discuss the two common ethical issue categories to which each of thebusiness dilemmas belong. Use the course material to support yourreasoning and conclusions.

·Statethe dilemma in question form and then apply the ethical theories of Rand, Kantand Bentham to answer the question: How would each of these theorists solve thedilemma? Explain in detail the reasoning and conclusions using the factsfrom the case scenario, and any additional resources necessary to respond tothe answer.

·Ina final paragraph, compare the results and select one theorist who would bestsolve the dilemma. Since this last part is reflective of your personal opinion,be sure to support the conclusion with the class material and facts from thecase scenario.