Joelle has a dilemma in which she needs to make a good decision to resolve. Due to this dilemma, she needs to think about how these decisions will affect her career as well as her conscious. Should she jeopardize her career or should she keep the world safe? It would appear that she needs to apply the Utility principle and the principle of duty to this situation.
The Utility principle is “the idea that the morally right action is the action that produces the best consequences for everyone involved, not just for one individual. (Goree, 2006). Joelle has to develop a decisive plan of action to successfully fix the problem, keep the citizens safe, and possibly stay in good standing with her employer. She will need to figure out if there is a way to dispose of the waste without adding addition cost to company. If she uses this approach, she will be developing something that benefits everyone. The citizens are now safe; the company can represent their environmental friendly side and Joelle receives the credit and praise which will overall improve her stock in the company.
In making her decision in this situation, Joelle must also apply the Principle of duty which “maintains that you should do what is ethically right purely because you have a moral obligation to do what is ethically right. (Goree, 2006) Although it was stated earlier, to use the Utility principle, Joelle must first think of the people who are suffering due to this dumping in the lake and is it right for her company to illegally pollute the city with hazardous materials just because they can. Her morality instantly comes into question when it is at the expense of hurting others.
These are a few examples of avenues the Joelle can take. I would also have to follow suit with my suggestions ...