Unit V Reflection Paper
Unit V Reflection Paper
Select a significant tragic event (either domestic or global) that has occurred during the last 50 years. The interactive PowerPoint in this unit provides some ideas of historical tragic events but understand that these are just ideas. After
describing the event and the post-tragedy events, discuss the ethical aspects revolving around this incident. This may require some additional research to understand the ethical situations and the impact these had on affected people being able to move on with their lives.
1. Describe the actions of people and organizational leaders directly and indirectly involved with the tragedy. Specifically, address the ethical issues they faced. MBA 6301, Business Ethics 3
2. What were some of the actions of local, state and federal personnel with respect to dealing with this tragedy?
3. Explain the strategies of organizations that attempted to assist with the clean-up after the tragic event. Describe several of the pressures that influenced their strategies. Distinguish between social responsibility, integrity and simple
business ethics.
4. How has this event affected the ethical culture here in the United States? What other affect has it had on society as a whole?
Your response should be a minimum of two double-spaced pages. References should include, at minimum, one additional credible reference beyond the required reading. All sources used must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations, and cited per APA guidelines.
MBA 6301, Business Ethics Unit V Presentation Slide 2: What is Crisis? Crisis is defined as a difficult or unstable situation that typically involves significant traumatic change.
Reactions to tragedy vary widely and can change quickly as well. o Denial, false sense of reality o Shock, terror o Feeling vulnerable, unsafe o Irritability, anger o Headaches, fatigue o Sadness, despair o Inability to concentrate o Withdrawal, isolation o Confusion, forgetfulness o Use of alcohol or other substances to cope
Slide 3: Tragic Events in History Each of these historic events represents unbelievable amounts of killing and/or death of innocent human beings.
Holocaust o Innocent Jewish people killed simply because they were Jewish (January,
1933-May, 1945)
World War II o Demonstrated how far man will go to gain power (September, 1939-
September, 1945)
9/11 World Trade Center Attacks o Airplanes were purposely flown into buildings, representing an attack on the
United States (September, 2011)
Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki o Innocent people died as a result of corruption initiated by their leaders
(August, 1945) Slide 4: Tragic Events in History
Sinking of the Titanic o A disaster on the seas that should have never happened (April, 1912)
The Black Plague o 1/3 of the world population killed by this illness (1330s)
Pearl Harbor Attack o 40,000 American soldiers died in this assault executed by the Japanese
(December, 1941)
Korean War o A war between North and South Korea in which a United Nations force was
involved (June, 1950-July, 1953) Slide 5: Tragic Events in History
Hurricane Katrina o The devastation of this hurricane was a wake-up call to the power of Mother
Nature (August, 2005)
Columbine Massacre o Mass execution within the confines of a high school in the United States
(April, 1999)
Haiti Earthquake o Death and destruction as a result of an earthquake (2010)
Great Depression o A time of deep economic downturn in the United States (1929-1939)
Slide 6: Effective Management in Times of Crisis
Collaborative leadership o Process of problem solving and decision making that is complicated in times of
crisis o This process is characterized by the group defining the problem and deciding on
the action to be taken. The leader supports this effort. o Collaborative leadership is leadership of the process instead of leadership of
people. Effective and clear communication is key! Provides a means for the management team to cope with the crisis
