Question

Your daughter is applying to a prestigious university. Since admission to the school is difficult, your daughter has planned the process carefully. She has consistently achieved high marks, taken preparatory courses for entrance exams, and has participated in various extracurricular activities. When you tell one of your best customers about her activities, he offers to write her a letter of recommendation. He's an alumnus of the school and is one of its most active fund raisers. Although he's a customer, you also regularly play golf together and your families have socialized together on occasion.

Is this a conflict of interest? Why or Why not?

Resolve using the consequential approach and think about what would benefit the most people.

Resolve using the deontological approach. What issues are raised? What’s fair? What situation would put all players on level playing field? What is your duty or obligation?

Use virtue ethics and determine what would a virtuous person do? What does it mean to be a person of integrity in this situation? What ethical community would hold me to the highest ethical standards?  

Answer 1

Ans

There is no conflict of interest here as there is no quid pro quo demanded by the customer in return for giving recommendation for my daughter's admission. The customer seems to know me socially and personally well and this generous behaviour of his is perfectly fine and acceptable. My daughter is well qualified for this admission and is not getting any undue favor in the process.

Using the Consequential approach by giving recommendation for my daughter's admission all stakeholder's would be benefiting. My daughter would get admission which would elate me and my daughter. The customer would get a sense of satisfaction for having done a public good and the University would get a meritorious student. Thus it good for everyone concerned.

Using the Deontological approach, the question that arises is whether my customer exceeded his duties in the process of helping my daughter by giving her a recommendation as he does not know her as well. Also is it fair on other applicants some of whom might be more talented then my daughter? It is difficult to answer these questions given the information provided in the case as we don't know the qualification of other candidates and whether they too had got recommendations and the motive behind the customer's generosity. Ideally by this theory my daughter should not seek recommendation if other candidates were not doing so.

Using the virtuous approach I would recommend my daughter to not accept the recommendation and apply solely on the basis of merit even if that meant that she did not get accepted at the university. However as mentioned earlier we don't know whether other candidates were seeking recommendations as well or not. We also don't know if providing recommendations was legally and morally acceptable at the school.