A case study question: is this good business ethics?

Case Study: You're a large nat'l non-profit org who needs a puppet made for library gigs of your computer animated PBS character. A custom puppet will cost five thousand $$. But library gigs means low budget.





So you hold a contest with a month deadline. You offer four hundred $$ as a prize for the best puppet. Email it to Puppeteers鈥?groups %26amp; teachers鈥?groups. Promise to put a pic of the winner up %26amp; do a newsletter %26amp; website article about them.





You specify it exactly...stating that all puppets submitted must match those specs. Implying that this contest can't be won if the entries don't measure up. From your specs: the materials could run a hundred $$ or more. Time involved for an amateur = a min of 40 hrs


Thus:


-The winner gets reimbursed for materials %26amp; paid $7.50 an hour for labor requiring considerable skill


-All losers get nothing, loose $$ in materials/time %26amp; end up with a puppet they can't use or sell (copyrighted)


-You get a puppet for $4,500 off.





Ethical?A case study question: is this good business ethics?
PBS is not a television network in the commercial sense of the term. If any local PBS station got wind of this happening, they would certainly cancel their subscription to the show, which they have the right to do. suppose a child in their town lost out in the contest, how would they explain the ';ethics'; to the parents?





the series would not be renewed by PBS for another season. and your 'free' puppets will probably cost hundreds of thousands in future production value.A case study question: is this good business ethics?
life is a big risk any contest at someones expense is their choice
If the material cost is significant, then the losing puppets should be returned(or at least available for pick-up) to their creators. If the puppet was created with the permission according to specs supplied by the non-profit, the creator should be free to sell it.





The losers were competing for a prize that is more valuable than the monetary prize/reimbursement. The possibility of winning has to be factored into evaluating the fairness of this situation.
I think as long as all rules and risks are known up front it is ethical. After all, are we promised any kind of reward or reibursement when we play the lottery? No, we know we're likely to lose our money. I don't see how this would be any different.
Yes its ethical. Basically the people are donating time and money to the non-profit org that helping kids at libraries.
Yes it's ethical. Anyone entering the contest would know the rules, and be aware that they will most likely be out the cost of making the puppet and that it will take a certain amount of their time. In the hopes of winning and getting publicity, they would be willing to take the chance.
The amateur might do it as a hobby and take pride in the fact what they have made will even be considered. Therefore, the 40 hours of labor could actually be considered enjoyment.





For some reason, this makes me think of ';America's Funniest Home Video's';. Amateurs compete for 10k but all of their ';work'; filming may be lost, as well as the cost of the tape and their rights to the content.