New Services Called How Would The Philosophers H
Read the Case Scenario
Ang Lee owns and operates a well-respected
online tutoring firm, Tutoring University (TU). The firm was started in 1996 by
a group of Johns Hopkins University college students who wanted to make extra
money to help defray their school costs. Originally, students offered their
services to only Hopkins students. Lee sought out the best students in
every field at the University and created a team of students that encompassed
every major offered by the school. The tutors charged hourly fees. The service
proved to be very successful. The student tutors who started with the company
were able to pay most of their college expenses by offering tutoring.
From the outset TU established a code of
conduct for its employees. The code’s underlying principle was that all
employees 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 that
learning 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 by
creating materials that would be presented as the student’s own work or create
templates that answered an assessment with little to no work from a student.
Upon graduation in 2000, Lee decided to
partner with one of the student tutors, Josh Jenkins. Jenkins was a
business school graduate. The partners initially expanded the business by
setting up tutoring services at other universities across the country. TU
became well known and its tutoring services were recommended by the NCAA for
teams in the association. The business had $10 million in gross sales by
2004. Riding high on success, and recognizing the growth of online
education, Lee and Jenkins decided it was time to expand the business by
offering services to students taking online courses.
Once the partners established services for
students taking online courses, in 2005, the partners once again sought to
expand the business by looking into tutoring students for the standard testing
programs used by college and university admission boards. By 2010, the
company had increased its gross sales to $20 million and by 2013, the company
boasted $35 million in gross sales.
Although TU’s online tutoring market
experienced significant growth, the industry saw many new entrants into the
marketplace. Companies such as Course Hero, Homework Market, and Chegg
began to offer tutoring services. The business model of these companies
include several features that TU did not offer. First, students have
access to a document and quiz repository and secondly, students are able to
purchase or exchange quizzes or papers from the repository for a fee.
Lastly, students could solicit the assistance of tutor by paying them to
enter an online classroom to complete the required discussions and
assessments.
Lee and Jenkins recognized the potential
growth for TU, especially since the popularity of these organizations were
growing exponentially. In an effort to compete with the market trend, Lee
and Jenkins decided to move the company forward by adding the following
services to its model:
·A repository of term papers, flash cards, projects,
PowerPoints, videos and exams created by the tutors that can be purchased by
students.
·A repository of term papers, projects, PowerPoints, and
exams created by the students that can purchased by other students looking for
help on current assessments.
·All purchases will earn points that the students can use
toward future services.
·A subscription to a citation machine that will perform
all academic in-text citation and reference formatting for the student.
·Tutors for hire (these tutors would offer services to
write papers for a price per page or for approximately $500, enter an online classroom
taking 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 commercials
entice students to purchase the papers, videos, etc. by telling customers that
the product would be customized to the assignment requirements.
Further, some of the services are
advertised as being less costly since many of the papers are written by
students submitting his or her work into the repository. Tutoring
services are marketed as top quality individuals knowledgeable in many
disciplines. One commercial features a tutor seated at a computer working
while the student is at home watching the TV.
Spencer Tracy, a former tutor and Director
of Tutors is worried about the promotion and finds the content unethical.
Further, he is concerned that this promotion will place the tutors in a
compromising position with respect to the expectations of the customer – the
student!
Instructions
Step 1: Write the Introduction
Create the introductory paragraph. The
introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and tells a reader
the main points covered in the paper. To help you know how to write an
introduction, view this website to learn how to write an introductory
paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro….
Step 2: Answer the
following
·Identify
and discuss the two business dilemmas presented in the case scenario.
Identify the facts relied upon to make the selection. Use the
course material to support your reasoning and conclusions.
·Explain
the role “Conduct of Behavior” played in the dilemma selection process. Did it
create either of the dilemmas? If so why, if not why?
·Identify
and discuss the two common ethical issue categories to which each of the
business dilemmas belong. Use the course material to support your
reasoning and conclusions.
·State
the dilemma in question form and then apply the ethical theories of Rand, Kant
and Bentham to answer the question: How would each of these theorists solve the
dilemma? Explain in detail the reasoning and conclusions using the facts
from the case scenario, and any additional resources necessary to respond to
the answer.
·In
a final paragraph, compare the results and select one theorist who would best
solve 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 the
case scenario.