1. What are the ethical issues or concerns in this Energy Cooperative Case study?
The main ethical issue seems to be related to the last paragraph and whether or not the board of directors can use their position on the board of the Energy Cooperative for personal gains by stating "I am calling as director of the Energy Cooperative" -the board of directors are self employed consultants with no allegiance (duty) to any particular company. Each director signed something to this effect.
Therefore, the ethical issue is: Is this a conflict of interest, where the board of directors would be using their positions for personal gains? Or, since they have signed a statement to the effect that they have no duty to any particular company, does this negate the conflict of interest? In other words, the members of the broad directors would be using their position to gain new clients if when calling their personal potential clients, they would be able to state," I am calling as director of the Energy Cooperative."
To support this, taken from one Code of Ethics for a Board of Director developed to avoid conflicts of interest:
"Directors may not: (a) take for themselves opportunities that are discovered through the use of Company property or information or through the director's position; (b) use the Company's property or information or the director's position for personal gain; or (c) compete with the Company, directly or indirectly, for business opportunities that the Company is pursuing" (http://www.airproducts.com/Responsibility/Governance/Code_of_Conduct/BoardCodeofConduct/directors.htm)
2. How can this be resolved applying KANT"s Categorical Imperative?
Kantianism is a rights-based theory that holds that rational agents should follow a basic moral principle known as the categorical imperative. Kant believes only actions performed for the sake of duty have moral worth. Two