You are an ethics consultant who has been hired to prepare a report for Rachel Lander, the senior project manager of a major construction company called FastBuild.
Rachel Lander is currently overseeing the construction of a gigantic condominium complex in a developing country. This project is by far FastBuild’s biggest contract. If successful, not only will Rachel almost certainly be promoted, but everyone on her team will likely receive large bonuses.
Shortly before construction is scheduled to begin, Rachel is informed that soil tests from the site have indicated high levels of toxic radiation (likely due to nuclear weapons tests in that area in the 1980s). The radiation poses significant health risks for those working on the construction site. The country does not have strict environmental or labor regulations, and there are currently no laws against building on the contaminated site. However, in order to avoid future legal ramifications, Rachel decides that it is in the best interest of the company to undertake a cleanup operation to reduce the levels of radiation. She has two options:
Option one: employ local workers to clean up the site. Rachel knows that this part of the country has very few employment opportunities and that workers will be willing to do almost anything to support their families. Given the lack of labor regulations, the local workers will not have access to proper safety training or equipment and will likely be willing to work long hours in order to earn as much as possible (exposing them to higher levels of radiation). On the one hand, hiring the local workers will allow construction to begin on time, and is clearly the most profitable option. On the other hand, Rachel knows that high levels of radiation pose serious health risks for these workers (e.g., radiation poisoning, cancer, infertility, etc.).
Option two: hire a subcontractor called Nuklean which specializes in the safe cleanup of radioactive sites. Nuklean has an exceptional reputation for its commitment to safety. Its workers receive extensive safety-training, and they use state-of-the-art protective equipment to reduce the risk of exposure to radiation. Because of these precautions, Nuklean will take much longer to clean the site (causing costly delays to construction). Moreover, the upfront cost of hiring Nuklean will be substantially higher than that of hiring the local workers. In fact, hiring Nuklean could jeopardize the profitability of the entire project.
The senior executives of the construction company have told Rachel that they want the cleanup to be performed as quickly as possible. They do not seem to be concerned about the health or safety of the workers. Ultimately, as project manager, the choice between these two options is up to Rachel.
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Your job is to prepare a report in which you analyze the ethical decision outlined above and offer a recommendation about what to do. Your analysis must consider how the decision should be approached from the perspectives of both act utilitarianism and Kantianism.