What should instacart do
The company should the following several courses of action, Enlist drivers as traditional employees/ offer minimum wage per hour active shopping in addition to tips. Offer drivers some form of protective gear in the in-store locations at either tops or wegmans, The way in which someone proves they are an active instacart worker is by using a code or something similar to have the items given to them (Instacart boasts its status as a technical company so this should be no issue). Lastly the company should move to entirely left at door orders for the time being because while many customers respect social distancing many do not understand/ or don’t respect it and it puts drivers at risk. The ethical framework behind my reasoning is utilitarianism ( doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people) , this framework provides a better outcome /insights into my solution because it explains the reasoning behind my solutions. More workers over all means more deliveries which means less people traveling overall and that stops the spread. The reason this framework is more advantageous than for example an egoistic approach is that in times like this focusing on oneself could result in death,illness and overall harm to oneself and others. If everyone considers the next person and not themselves then the spread of the virus will stop and we can lower the curve at an exponential rate.
Now while there are other options such as closing down the service or reducing the staff they aren’t as efficient or effective and would not deliver the best results to customers nor employee’s.
Ethical Standpoint 
10 replies on “Blog #5”
I agree that the drivers should have a form of protection to try to protect themselves. Also, leaving their items at their door is great during this pandemic because we need to social distance. That framework is a good example of Instacart’s ethical situation.
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Yes the protection is about keeping as many parties safe as possible , its not all just self interest the people we deliver to are people who deserve good health.
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I think the workers should just be more cautious about their jobs. Especially knowing that grocery stores are basically the worst place to go to right now. They should be provided a face mask, gloves, and disinfecting wipes. That is my opinion at least. They could be doing their job, and keeping clean. You provided a good example for this ethical situation and gave great added information to backup your opinion.
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Caution is definitely a desirable trait that shoppers should have , The equipment would just give the extra level of help
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I agree that the drivers should be delivering orders in a left-at-door style. While this won’t completely eliminate the possibility of transmission of the virus, it can minimize the possibility of getting it while delivering the groceries. I think that utilitarianism is definitely the way to approach the situation. With the current pandemic, the only thing that should be considered is doing the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. Your explanations helped me to understand why you chose utilitarianism very well.
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Helping everyone is what the entire country needs to focus on right now the rest of the world seems to be understanding but there is so much still going on and so many bad choices being made right now its very disheartening. If we cant halt something completely then minimizing it is whats next.
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I’m confused as to how Instacart is going to prevent the spread of disease if they are operating. It seems like the only way to ensure everyones safety is to halt all operations .
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The only way to halt the disease is to close everything down , however this will more than likely not happen in the united states. Instacart shutting down hurts more than it helps.
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I agree that Instacart should enforce a left at door policy for groceries. I agree that the ideal approach would be utilitarianism. But from what you describe it sounds like they are currently practicing a teleological approach because they are only focusing on the end result, maximum profit. And not the process which is that their employees feel that they are being underpaid and in danger due to being more exposed to the coronavirus.
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The process is definitely what needs to be focused on , the mindset of the company needs to switch up and adapt so everyone can remain healthy , Teleological approaches aren’t what the Us needs right now if ever.
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