Ethical Issue
Introduction
It is a common phenomenon for an employee, employer, or organization to experience conflict between a given course of action and morality. The conflict occurs when an activity, scenario, or decision collides with existing society’s moral expectations and principles. For instance, a co-worker has been consistently late for the past month, unbeknownst to the supervisor. Reporting such behavior could mean that the co-worker is dismissed or put on a performance improvement plan. Yet, the co-worker is dealing with a personal tragedy because her 5-year-old son was diagnosed with Leukaemia. Do you report?. Such situations that require a person to decide what is wrong or right are referred to as ethical issues that pose specific ethical dilemmas. Ethical theories have been developed to aid in the decision-making process with ethical issues(s)/ dilemmas. The theories provide a viewpoint from where an individual can receive guidance to make an ethical decision(s) and overcome dillema. Therefore, the co-worker can adopt ethical theories to solve the ethical issue/dilemma on whether to report his colleague who has been consistently coming late due to his child’s Leukaemia diagnosis.
Ethical issues in the workplace
In every organization, there are established ethical and moral codes that dictate the actions and behavior of the employee on what is wrong or rights. The employees must adopt the ethical codes in the decision-making process when faced with an ethical issue(s). An example of an ethical issue in the workplace includes a situation where an employee recognizes that the management is not cognisant of his colleague’s lateness over the last few months. Reporting the situation will mean his colleague would be placed on a performance improvement plan or be dismissed. However, the co-worker is aware that his colleague’s five-year-old son was recently diagnosed with Leukaemia. Essentially, both workers are employed by an organization that is family-owned with over seven decades of experience in the construction sector. The company employees a large population of contractual employees to work on various constructions projects across the country.
From the above-mentioned example of a workplace ethical issue, it can be observed that the employee is experiencing multiple ethical dilemmas. By definition, an ethical dilemma is a situation where an individual is faced with the choice between two or more courses of action, but neither of which requires the transgression of moral principles. Additionally, an ethical dilemma can be viewed conflict of alternative where moral and ethical principles may be altered or compromised. Thus, the employee knows it is wrong and unprofessional for his colleague to come to work late. However, he is conflicted on whether to report the incidences of lateness because he “understand” or “relates” with the personal struggle of his colleagues that is linked to his son’s leukemia diagnosis. The decision to ethically report his colleague to the employer or tolerate the co-worker’s lateness poses an ethical dilemma. This is because reporting his colleague would mean loss of employment or suspension in a period his co-worker requires steady income to facilitate leukemia treatment. Alternatively, he failed to report his co-worker and violated the company’s ethical code but tolerated his colleague’s lateness while sympathizing with his situation.
Moreover, it is worth noting that the decision-making process that involves both utilitarianism and deontology can be implemented based on the decisional framework. Based on the evidence provided, the duty framework will be suitable in enabling the employee to make the decisions. The duty framework approach perceives obligations and duties as the main motivations to make ethical decisions.
Ethical theories
The prevalence of ethical dilemmas in various facets of societies prompted most of the classical and contemporary philosophical thinkers to develop theories, which can assist individuals to make informed decisions based on existing ethical challenges or dilemmas (Playford, Roberts & Playford, 2015). Ethical theories can be categorized into two fundamental groups’ utilitarian and deontology. Utilitarianism is a moral and ethical theory that focuses on the consequence or results of individual action by viewing intentions as irrelevant. Utilitarianism is based on the need to provide the greatest good, which can benefit many individuals. Basically, to make the decisions that will amount to more happiness to the majority of the people. Utilitarian ethics require people to make decisions that will significantly impact the entire organization even if the decision cause harm to a few individuals. The modern utilitarian was developed by British John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham in the eighteenth century. The theory has ancestral roots among Greek philosophical thinkers such as Epicurus. As mentioned earlier, all of the thinkers agree that individual actions ought to be measured in terms of the pleasure or happiness produced. The utilitarian require people to make decisions that would ultimately lead to the ultimate goal of “happiness” or “pleasure.” Conversely, Bonnemains, Saurel & Tessier (2018) point out that utilitarian ethics tends to account for justice as it may neglect the interest of the vulnerable or minority in the work environment.
In contrast, deontology is an ethical theory that requires the distinction between wrong from right when faced with a dilemma. Ideally, philosopher Immanuel Kant is typically credited with deontology. The latter suggests that moral laws precede ethical actions. Kant stated that moral laws are responsible in guiding ethical actions such as “don’t lie,” “don’t cheat,” and “don’t lie.” Deontology eliminates the need to “overthink” when making decisions. This is because it requires people to follow the stipulated rules when making ethical decisions. Thus, eliminating the need to weigh the cost and benefits of an ethical decision. This eliminates uncertainty and subjectivity since an individual is only required to follow the outlined rules. However, there are various drawbacks associated with the deontology ethical approach. A recent study conducted by Tseng & Wang (2021) noted that individuals who rigidly follow the deontology principle might produce results or decisions not popular with most people. Both the deontology and utilitarian theories of ethics are critical in enabling employees in a work environment to make decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas.
Explore ramifications
The employee faced with the ethical dilemma can rely on utilitarianism or deontology ethical theories to make informed decisions in order to overcome the dilemma. From a utilitarian perspective, the employee has to identify the “majority” when making the decisions. In his case, the company can be perceived as the “majority.” Therefore his decision has to reflect and the interest of the company at the expense of his co-worker. This is because the consistent lateness of his co-worker may have negative implications for the company, especially if the latter holds a senior position in the company. Therefore, the employee should report the co-worker to the company despite the prevailing personal challenges present.
In regards to deontology, the employee should follow the moral and ethical laws dictated by the organization. Employees are required by their organization to report any unwarranted or suspicious activities engaged by their colleagues. Therefore, the employee has to adhere to the rules, reporting the co-worker’s lateness behaviors to the company supervisor. In a practical setting, making such a decision may be deemed unpopular because the interest of the co-workers has not been factored in the decision-making process. However, philosopher Immanuel Kant claimed that the applicability of the deontology approach in moral ethics relies on linearity in the decision-making process. Overall, from the deontological or utilitarian perspective, the employee will be required to report the co-worker for lateness as unbeknownst to the supervisor. The consequence of the decision would imply that the co-worker may be placed on a performance improvement plan or fired from the company.
Conclusion
Overcoming an ethical dilemma can be challenging, especially if the decision involves family, friends, or colleagues. Most people are usually unable to make uncomfortable decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma in the workplace. My participation in the situation would be to assist the employee in making the “best” decision in order to cover the dilemma. The consequence of the intervention would be sharing the guilt after deciding to report the co-worker’s actions to the supervisor despite his personal experience with a child with cancer. The main approach to deal with the consequence is to understand that the decision had to be made to fulfill the moral and ethical obligations as required by the company. Given the circumstance, the interest of the organization has to supersede those of individuals.
Reference
Bonnemains, V., Saurel, C., & Tessier, C. (2018). Embedded ethics: some technical and ethical challenges. Ethics and Information Technology, 20(1), 41-58.
Playford, R. C., Roberts, T., & Playford, E. D. (2015). Deontological and utilitarian ethics: a brief introduction in the context of disorders of consciousness. Disability and rehabilitation, 37(21), 2006-2011.
Tseng, P. E., & Wang, Y. H. (2021). Deontological or Utilitarian? An Eternal Ethical Dilemma in Outbreak. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(16), 8565.
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