| Course | BMB 670 Music Business Leadership and Ethics |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | graduate assignment applying an ethical decision-making framework to a music event crisis |
| Length | About 1,000 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MBA in Music Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BMB 670 Module 5
Ethical Decision Analysis: Festival Day Two Heat Emergency
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
BMB 670: Music Business Leadership and Ethics
Module Five Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The organization, setting and figures below are a composite written as a model document. No real employer, client, colleague or patient is described.
Ethical Decision Analysis: Festival Day Two Heat Emergency
Introduction
The festival's second day, a Saturday in late July 2025, opened at 11 a.m. with 22,000 tickets sold. The forecast had called for a high of 93 degrees, but by noon the National Weather Service had raised its heat advisory to an excessive heat warning, with a heat index reaching 108 degrees in the afternoon. By 1 p.m. the medical tent had answered fourteen heat-related calls and sent two people to hospital. The main stage, in an open field with little shade, was scheduled to run from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. The chief operating team, the founder, the operations director, the medical lead and the head of security, met at 1:15 p.m. This paper analyzes the decision they faced.
Facts and Stakes
The site had eleven water refill stations, three shaded stages and a medical tent with twelve staff. About 900 volunteers and 300 contractors were working outdoors. Day-two revenue, from tickets already sold, bar, food and sponsors, was about $1.9 million, and artist fees and production costs for the day, about $1.1 million, were committed whatever happened. Ebi et al. (2021) describe how heat illness rises steeply with temperature and humidity, especially for people exerting themselves, drinking alcohol or unused to the heat, all of which described much of the crowd.
Stakeholders
Fans faced the most direct risk, along with volunteers and crews working outdoors. Artists had traveled and expected to play. Medical staff were already stretched. The township's emergency services would carry any overflow. The company faced financial loss, reputational harm and legal exposure. Some stakeholders had little voice in the meeting: volunteers, who would not complain, and the township's ambulance crews, who would bear the cost of a mass casualty event.
Moral Intensity
Jones (1991) argued that how ethically weighty a situation is depends on features such as the size of possible harm, its probability, how soon it would occur and how many people it would affect. Each was high here: the harm could be fatal, the medical calls showed it was already happening, it would peak within hours and it affected thousands of people. High moral intensity, Jones suggests, makes people more likely to recognize an ethical issue and act on it, which helped the team set aside the financial question as secondary.
Options
Options evaluated
| Option | Consequences | Rights and duty of care | Fairness | Care for the vulnerable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continue, add water | Revenue kept; high risk of more casualties | Weak; known risk accepted | Burden falls on those least able to cope | Poor |
| Delay main stage to 5 p.m., free water, cooling | Most revenue kept; risk sharply reduced | Strong | Costs shared by company and artists | Good |
| Move afternoon sets to shaded stages | Partial relief; overcrowding at small stages | Moderate | Uneven | Mixed; crowd density risk |
| Cancel day two | Risk eliminated; $1.9 million lost or refunded | Strong | Fans who traveled lose out | Good, but strands people in heat while leaving |
| Cancel and reschedule | Risk eliminated; rescheduling uncertain | Strong | Better for fans if date works | Good |
Evaluation
A purely consequential view favors the delay: it reduces the expected harm to near what cancellation would achieve while preserving most of the day's value for fans, artists and the company. The duty-of-care view rules out continuing as planned, because the company knew of a serious risk and could reduce it. Fairness raises a concern with cancellation, since fans who had traveled and paid would bear the loss, and also with continuing, since the heat burdens the oldest, youngest and those working hardest. Care for the vulnerable points toward measures that protect people who cannot easily protect themselves, such as volunteers and fans already showing symptoms.
Moving sets to shaded stages looked attractive but would concentrate crowds in smaller areas, a risk the head of security raised. Helbing and Mukerji (2012) show that crowd disasters usually arise from systemic failures in which several reasonable decisions interact badly, which is a warning against fixes that move people quickly into confined spaces.
The Decision and Its Implementation
At 1:40 p.m. the company announced that main stage sets would start at 5 p.m., with the afternoon artists moved later or to the shaded stages in shortened sets, that all water would be free, that two air-conditioned buses would park beside the field as cooling stations and that anyone who wished to leave could request a full day-two refund. Volunteers were put on shorter shifts with mandatory breaks. Artists were paid in full. Messages went out by text, app and stage announcements, and the founder recorded a short video explaining the change, which was shown on stage screens every half hour. Volunteers were told first, by their shift leads, so they could answer questions from fans. Two afternoon artists objected to shortened sets; both were offered a return booking at a club show in the fall at full fee, which both accepted. The cost was about $260,000, including refunds requested by about 1,900 people, lost bar sales and cooling equipment.
Results and Reflection
The medical tent treated thirty-one heat cases over the day, and three people went to hospital, all released the same evening. No one died. The festival's reputation among fans improved, judging by social media and the following year's early sales. But the company had no written heat plan, and the decision depended on four people meeting under pressure. The company should adopt written heat thresholds that trigger set actions automatically, budget for shade and cooling every year, and give the medical lead authority to delay performances without waiting for a meeting.
Conclusion
Delaying the main stage, making water free, cooling people and offering refunds protected attendees and workers at a moderate cost, and it was the option that best balanced the consequences, the company's duty of care and fairness among stakeholders. The broader lesson is to decide such questions in advance, so that the next hot Saturday does not depend on a meeting. The company's leaders acted well under pressure, but good outcomes should not rely on that.
References
Ebi, K. L., Capon, A., Berry, P., Broderick, C., de Dear, R., Havenith, G., Honda, Y., Kovats, R. S., Ma, W., Malik, A., Morris, N. B., Nybo, L., Seneviratne, S. I., Vanos, J., & Jay, O. (2021). Hot weather and heat extremes: Health risks. The Lancet, 398(10301), 698-708. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01208-3
Helbing, D., & Mukerji, P. (2012). Crowd disasters as systemic failures: Analysis of the Love Parade disaster. EPJ Data Science, 1, Article 7. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds7
Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. The Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366-395. https://doi.org/10.2307/258867
What the BMB 670 Module 5 instructions ask for
The Module Five assignment in BMB 670 asks you to apply an ethical decision-making process to a music industry situation. You typically identify the facts, the ethical issues and the stakeholders, develop options, evaluate them using one or more frameworks such as consequences, rights, justice and care, choose and justify a course of action and consider how to carry it out. Strong submissions work through options that are genuinely available rather than an obvious right and wrong pair, show the trade-offs honestly and connect the decision to the organization's values and obligations. Many versions also ask what the organization should change afterward, so the next decision does not depend on improvisation.
How this BMB 670 Module 5 ethical decision assignment example is built
The paper lays out the morning: a heat index of 108 degrees, fourteen heat-related calls by 1 p.m., two people taken to hospital, a sold-out crowd and about $1.9 million in day-two revenue and costs at stake. It identifies fans, volunteers, crews, artists, medical staff, the township and the company as stakeholders. Five options are tested: continue with extra water, delay the main stage to evening, move sets to shaded stages, cancel the day or cancel and reschedule. Each is judged by consequences, rights, fairness and care. The company delayed the main stage to 5 p.m., made water free, brought in cooling buses and offered refunds, at a cost of about $260,000. The paper evaluates the outcome and lists changes for future years.
Where the BMB 670 Module 5 rubric puts the points
Instructors marking this assignment typically look at the clarity of facts and issues, identification of stakeholders, development of realistic options, application of ethical frameworks, the justification of the decision, implementation and reflection. Strong papers present several feasible options, test each with more than one lens, recognize that frameworks can point in different directions and explain how the chosen course balances them. A table comparing options across lenses is often the clearest way to show this. They also describe how the decision was communicated and carried out. Papers lose credit for presenting only two options, for applying frameworks superficially, for ignoring stakeholders without a voice in the decision and for skipping what should change afterward.
BMB 670 Module 5 help: the mistakes that cost points
Ethical decision papers often set up an easy choice between a clearly right and a clearly wrong option. Real decisions involve several defensible options with different costs, so develop at least four. Apply more than one framework and show where they disagree, for example where the option with the best total outcome treats one group unfairly. Name stakeholders who are easy to forget, such as volunteers or neighbors. Describe implementation, since a good decision badly communicated can still cause harm. End with what the organization should change so the next decision is easier, and say who would own each change.
Get BMB 670 Module 5 written to your instructions
Send the BMB 670 Module 5 assignment and your scenario. You get the facts and stakeholders laid out, options tested against several ethical lenses and a reasoned decision with its costs and follow-up. Two days, as a rule; a first paper is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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BMB 670 Module 5 questions, answered
Where can I find a free BMB 670 Module 5 Ethical Decision sample?
This page includes a complete BMB 670 Module 5 ethical decision analysis of a festival heat emergency.
What are the steps in ethical decision making?
Establish the facts, identify the ethical issues and stakeholders, develop options, evaluate them with ethical frameworks, decide and act, and reflect on the result.
What is moral intensity?
A measure of how ethically significant a situation is, based on factors such as the size and likelihood of harm, how soon it would occur and how many people it affects.
How should event organizers handle extreme heat?
By planning thresholds in advance, providing free water, shade and cooling, adjusting schedules, monitoring medical calls and being prepared to delay or cancel when risk rises.
Can an ethical decision also be good business?
Often; protecting attendees and staff preserves trust, reduces liability and protects future ticket sales, though the immediate costs can be significant.