Wendy Weidman Module 1 Case Should Ebbers have gone to Jail? When talk about Normative Ethics we talk about why people make the decisions they make in their lives based on morals. Most of the decisions that are made are based on the values that they are important to them. In theory most also make those decisions based on the consequences that will come of whatever decision that they make. When we are looking into the Bernie Ebbers case and trying to decide if he should have went to jail we must do several things. First, we need to figure out where his moral code or value based thinking comes from. Second, was he a the type of individual that makes moral decisions to maximize the good stuff for all or does he only think of his own needs? Finally, was he a utilitarian who promotes the greatest utility and the least dis-utility and did he think of the consequences of his actions for the company as a whole or was he just out to make the most for himself. In order for us to answer any of these we must first discover who Bernie Ebbers really was and what kind of moral code he stood for. Bernie Ebbers began his business career operating a chain of motels in Mississippi. Then seeing the opportunities present in the telecommunications industry, Ebbers sat down with three of his pals, discussing how they could benefit by the recent break-up of AT&T. They developed a plan to buy up long distance time and sell to local companies on a smaller scale, in a process somewhat akin to commodities trading. They named the business Long Distance Discount Service. LDDS was a success on account of being unhindered by the costs of installing and maintaining telephone lines. As Long Distance Discount Service obtained other companies and grew, it spread out around the globe. By the mid-late nineties, WorldCom had established a place for itself in America's telecommunications market. The company acquired over 60 other independent telecommunications firms, changing its name to WorldCom...