A. Briefly assess the law from a deontological perspective (intentions, principles, non-consequential).

To assess the law from deontological perspective, we would have to define first what deontological means:

Deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek deon, "obligation, duty"; and -logia) is an approach to ethics that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules. Deontologists look at rules and duties.

In the wake of natural disaster, essentials -- such as food, ice generators, lanterns, lumber, etc. -- may be in short supply. By Florida law, charging exorbitant or excessive prices for these and other necessities following a disaster is not only unethical, it's illegal.

Assessing the law from a deontological perspective we would have to say that the Florida law is trying to pursue “the moral thing to do” in this kind of situations where people are desperate to obtain these items that in a state of emergency become basic needs for survival. Stating the deontological ethics there would not be bad consequences from the act of prohibit price gouging in the market neither the consumers because we would be following the rules of helping one to each others. Morally people should not take advantage of difficult times to increase prices that would harm the consumer and his ability to obtain the products that would help him/her survive.

B. Assume that you manage a retail business in a low to medium income area of Miami which emphasizes such itrms as food, ice, bottle water, fuel etc. How might the florida law impact (changes in some way?) your decisions involving the above products (eg. Installed capacity, store hours, inventory, pricing, employee hours, etc) in each of the following 3 circumstances? Carefully incorporate the concept of risk into your discussion.

I. Many months before “the hurricane season”?

In a retail business, The Florida law would not have any impact under the circumstances of been many months before the hurricane season. The business would be focused in the immediate needs of the consumers, and the regular conditions of the market. Would have stocked the necessary products to cover the actual demand considering that there is not possibility of a hitting a hurricane. There would not be any changes in store hours or employee hours. Risk is low considering that we are many months before the hurricane season begins. There would be no winners or losers in this situation simply because the law is not being implemented derived of any state of emergency.

II. The 72 hours before a major storm is expected to Miami (Miami is in the “cone”), although the exact path and strength of the storm is still “probabilistic”.

* Start preparing for the hurricane by checking the emergency list that every retail store should have. Check that shouters are in place, check that everything is working properly, and if the store owns a generator, verify that is in good conditions and ready for an emergency. If the store is in a high risk of flooding, order or buy bags of sand to put in the doors. * Store hours will remain the same until the 24 hours before the emergency, and then will take any decisions in order to face the emergency. * Check inside stockroom and look for products like candles, gas, lanterns, batteries, that could be displayed on the sales floor to gain profit before the emergency. * Start ordering water, candles in big quantities in order to cover the demand in case of a major storm hitting Miami. * Prices will continue to be the same, no increases should be implemented. * Good time to update contact information from all the employees. Employee hours will remain the same until further decisions.

The risk of losing profit is high because the exact path and strength of the storm is still probabilistic. We are starting to order merchandise, in order to have enough products in stock to cover the demand. We know that by law, we are not going to be able to raise the prices in case of an emergency, so we have to have enough merchandise to offer. The winners are the suppliers, and the loser is the retail store.

III. The 48 hours following a direct hit by a major hurricane.

* Restore power as soon as possible if there’s no power. Store hours should return to normal conditions when power gets restored. * Maintain prices between the average prices for the last three months and keep it until emergency is passed. * Have contact with all employees, and make changes to the employee hours along the way. * Report any vendors whose prices unreasonably exceed those ordinarily charged for comparable goods and services in the same market area both before and at the time of a declared emergency. * If hiring contractors and repairmen, select contractors who are well known in the community. Obtain estimates from more than one source and always ask for references. Only sign contracts and work orders which completely identify the work to be performed, estimated cost of work and warranty on work. Inspect work as it is completed; especially work areas that will be hidden from view such as basement and foundation work, walls, sewers, etc.

IV. Given A and B above, briefly explore the ethics of the FL law using a teleological (utilitarian, consequential) perspective. Focus on the impact in costumers.

The consequences of not allowing merchants to make up for increased costs are likely to be bad—for merchants, of course, but for customers as well. For, while the statutes under consideration punish selling items at above a certain specified level of price, they do not punish those who choose not to sell at all. Rather than continuing to sell needed goods such as generators, then, merchants might respond to anti-gouging statutes by closing up shop altogether. Because of the law, merchants will lose out on potential profits and customers will lose out on the opportunity to decide for themselves whether the goods they could have bought would have been worth the higher price.