Question

These wildlife mounts were the gifts of Mrs. McCaffrey, the widow of Ronald E. McCaffrey. Ron was an avid outdoorsman and hunter. Six years ago, he passed away. Because he and his wife had no children, Mrs. McCaffrey donated land and money to construct and maintain a nature center.

Mrs. McCaffrey had contacted you about a new nature center. Actually, it was a stretch to even call the old building a nature center, as it was hardly big enough to hold any exhibits and it was crowded with more than 10 people. On your first visit to the McCaffrey mansion to discuss the possibility of a gift, you noticed a few wildlife mounts and mentioned them to Mrs. McCaffrey. "Oh my," she explained, “Ronnie was so proud of these. And this isn't even half of them. There are twice as many in other rooms. They are important to me because I know what they meant to Ronnie."

Over the next 6 months an agreement was reached. The McCaffrey estate would donate $5 million and 50 acres of land for the nature center. It would be operated by your organization, and because Mrs. McCaffrey had known and trusted you from the start, you would continue as director. There was to be a plaque recognizing the donation and the McCaffreys' lifelong commit ment to outdoor conservation. Early on Mrs. McCaffrey stated that she would like to have several of the wildlife mounts in the new building for people to view. You recalled telling her that it would be impossible to display all of them. She had responded, "Well honey, I'm sure you could at least save one wall for them. Couldn't you?"

"Yes," you agreed, "we can put several of them up in a prominent place when we get the center built."

She went on to say that her husband had been especially proud of sev eral of the larger head mounts as they were in record books, and she would like to see them displayed. You had thought at the time that it was a mixed blessing. The heads might be a hassle to maintain but they did have some educational value and they were part of a deal that would benefit the entire community. There was certainly no other way a new nature center was going to happen.

The first 2 years of operation came off without a flaw, but there had been an increasing number of complaints about the mounts over the past year. Last week a family had stopped by the center and looked at the displays of animal tracks, discarded antlers, snake skins, and tree identifications. The mother and father complimented you on the nature center but asked about the appropriateness of displaying the heads of deer, elk, and other animals. You explained the educational value of the animal mounts. "Well, it just seems so contradictory to what the center is all about," the father answered. “How can you talk about caring for nature and educating people and then have a wall full of the heads of dead animals?"

Consequence-Based Questions

• What are the consequences of displaying or not displaying the mounts

(long- and short-term)?

• Who will benefit and who will suffer if the mounts are displayed (long

and short-term)?

Rule-Based Questions

• To whom do you owe an obligation in this situation?

• What are you required by law to do? ?

• What are you prohibited by law from doing?

• What are the expectations for directors of nature centers?

Virtue-Based Questions

• What virtues are relevant in this situation?

• How have you acted in a situation similar to this one? What did you

learn from that experience?

• What would the most ethical person you know (e.g., professional mentor,

community leader, religious leader) do in a similar situation? Final Questions

• What ethical theories are relevant in this situation?

Answer 1

1. What are the consequences of displaying or not displaying the mounts?

Case 1: Displaying the mounts :

Short Term Consequences :

Gratitude to the McCaffrey Family's wish about displaying the mounts in the form of mutual respect , this respect which will be in the mind of The Widow Mrs.MCCaffery will lead to a positive emotion's in the mind of Mrs.McCaffery. ​​​​​​​

Long Term Consequences :

The mount wall will help create a historical significance for Mr. Ronald E. McCaffrey who will be identified through his works and will also lead to a memory in the minds of the people visiting the center.

​​​​​​​Case 2: Not displaying the mounts :

Short Term Consequences :

It can cause despair in for Mrs. McCaffery who desperately wants the mount to be present for the memory of her now-deceased husband, it can cause further grief for Mrs.McCaffery.  ​​​

Long Term Consequences :

The nature center will remain true to its cause i.e the conservation of nature and its beings rather than signifying the act of poaching which the mount will portray.

2. Who will benefit and who will suffer if the mounts are displayed (long and short-term)?

The beneficiary will be Mrs.McCaffery who will have a figment of memory of her now-deceased husband in the form of the wall mount.

The suffering party would be the McCaffery family as well as the team which completed this task as they will be linked to the portrayal of the act of poaching and destroying the beings of nature which the wall mount shows.

​​​​​​​Rule-Based Questions

1. To whom do you owe an obligation in this situation?

Being a project director, I owe my obligation to the client i.e Mrs. McCaffery as she is the one who is the person funding the project.

2. What are you required by law to do?

By law I am can follow the discourse that I find suitable according to my understanding and my decision making will be considered.

3. What are you prohibited by law from doing?

I am prohibited from doing anything unethical and something which is by nature against the law.

4. What are the expectations for directors of nature centers?

The expectations of the directors of the nature center is simple: TO PROPAGATE THE IDEA THAT THE CENTER INTENDS TO REPRESENT: THE VALUE OF NATURE.

The expectations fo the project director of the nature center is to truly value and represent the intent with which the nature center has been set-up

​​​​​​​Virtue-Based Questions

• What virtues are relevant in this situation?

The virtues relevant to the present case are :

Loyalty ( Loyalty to the trust bestowed upon by Mrs.McCaffery)

Determination ( Determination to the cause: The portrayal of nature and its importance )

Responsibility ( responsibility as a project director for a nature center )

• How have you acted in a situation similar to this one? What did you learn from that experience?

When I was faced with the dilemma of a similar kind it was when I was working in a cancer NGO, the person who donated us with the resources was a huge cigarette manufacturer and we were faced with the issue of portraying his/her deeds in our annual newsletter as it would promote the activity that was against our principles. We finally decided to just publish the name and not the work of the donor and it was done after proper consultation with the donor only when he was comfortable with this idea.

• What would the most ethical person you know (e.g., professional mentor, community leader, religious leader) do in a similar situation?

The most ethical person I knew was the Ex-President of India: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He was a man of action and not mere words. The only President of India who did not have any political affiliations and the only affiliation he had was to his work and the idea of making India a superpower in terms of education .

• What ethical theories are relevant in this situation?

There are two ethical theories which seem relevant in this situation :
Deontology: The theory which signifies loyalty to a friend or loyalty to the promises made.

Virtue Theory : This theory is basically a medium where an individual judges a person by not his/her actions but his/her character.