UPSC Mains 2024 GS4 Q14 — Corporate Environmental Ethics
There is a technological company named ABC Incorporated which is the second largest worldwide, situated in the Third World. You are the Chief Executive Officer and the majority shareholder of this company... (a) What is your immediate response to the challenges posed in the above case? (b) Discuss the ethical issues involved in the above case. (c) Your company has been identified to be penalized by technological giants. What logical and ethical arguments will you put forth to convince about its necessity? (d) Being a conscience being, what measures would you adopt to maintain balance between AI innovation and environmental footprint? (Answer in 250 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- DiscussIdentifyAdoptPut forth
- Scope keywords
- ABC IncorporatedThird Worldpenalized by technological giantsethical issuesAI innovationenvironmental footprintconscience being
- Implicit sub-parts
- The geopolitical-economic power dynamics between 'Third World' companies and global 'technological giants'.
- The conflict between shareholder profit maximization and environmental stewardship.
- Justification for 'Right to Development' for firms in developing nations versus global environmental standards.
- Crisis management strategy for immediate damage control vs long-term sustainability.
- Common pitfalls
- Focusing only on the 'AI' aspect while ignoring the 'Third World' context which implies resource constraints and developmental needs.
- Providing a generic CSR answer instead of addressing the specific threat of being 'penalized' by competitors/giants.
- Overlooking the 'majority shareholder' status, which gives the CEO unique power and higher accountability for the company's ethical direction.
- Failing to provide 'logical' arguments in part (c), relying only on emotional or ethical pleas.
- Dimensions required
- Global North-South DivideCorporate GovernanceEnvironmental Ethics (Anthropocentrism vs Biocentrism)Economic SovereigntyTechnological Utilitarianism
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate 40-50 words for the immediate response (Part A) focusing on crisis stability. Dedicate 60 words to the ethical analysis (Part B). Use 70 words for the logical/ethical defense (Part C) to address the 'penalization'. Reserve the final 70-80 words for the conscience-led environmental roadmap (Part D) to ensure a high-impact conclusion.
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