ETHICS AND MORALITY

Ethics and Morality: Ethical Competencies

Part 1: Value Conflict Scenario

Recently, the business's cost-cutting in health insurance plans has raised some serious concerns for the employees. The businesses want to shrink their medical bills coming from insurance plans, especially for those who have chronic conditions, for which the companies have found a solution (Abelson, 2015). The solution is beneficial for the firms themselves but not for the employees. Companies heavily rely on high deductibles of premiums from their employees salaries. This has imposed an extra burden on employees family incomes since they have to pay big amounts for medical bills, particularly serious treatments. Consequently, the employees feel discouraged from seeking treatment of such diseases and find it disappointing on their employers side that they have created a conflict in their business values and ethics.

Keeping a businesss employees healthy so that the firm keeps running is the primary objective of employers these days. Some of them have to make difficult decisions regarding the deductibles to avoid disappointment from employees side in fear of not losing the best ones. Since there is a conflict in cutting costs of business incurred on health insurance plans for employees and my costs for cancer treatment, I have to make a strategic decision on the entire cost-cutting proposal. To keep the business going in tough times of pandemic, when everyone else also needs medical attention besides my cancer issue, I have to rely on ethical decision making (EDM), mainly Rests four-component psychological model that should include moral awareness, moral judgment, and intent of creating maximum benefit for all (Crossan, Mazutis & Seijts, 2013).

I plan to revise a health insurance plan based on value design (Miller, 2019). This method requires matching evidence-based practices to their practical application via contacting health professionals. This would prevent re-admissions and the period for an illness to be treated so that health insurance costs are reduced naturally. This procedure includes bundled payments, which is another feasible cost-cutting for the business.

Personalized health insurance plans could help identify each employees needs better since their health concerns would be targeted individually. In this way, the employees would notice that their employers acknowledge their individual needs and would be more connected to the firm that cares for them so deeply. Knowing the employees and their desires personally creates a natural sense of trust in them, leading to personalized healthcare decisions. It would not put more burdens on the genuinely needy ones and not be lenient on those already privileged.

Although this might lead to other concerns of business ethics, one more feasible option of cutting down health coverage costs is scrutinizing the employees' medical data. This would give an in-depth insight into the employees in dire need of insurance, such as my cancer treatment, whose heavy medical expenses should be covered, and to what extent. Analyzing the benefits of the employees improved health conditions would, in return, benefit the company. The company has to be extremely vigilant while extracting and studying big data and that too, by first informing the employees about the purpose.

Further in the ethical debate of healthcare coverage, the immense consequences of managements decisions would greatly impact the entire workforce and their families. I also contemplate initiating the proposal of cutting on 100% free insurance plans by letting the employees have meaningful healthcare benefits and options choices. It would help them make informed decisions and know about their authentic needs.

Part 2: Personal Analysis

From my life experiences, I have faced security and abandonment issues since I was adopted at the age of four years. I have been looking for security and protection as I...

…2013). The counterarguments would lie on the locus of loyalty and trust in a conversation. I would try to reason with them that figuring out what is right and wrong is what I am aiming at in a stressful situation so that maximum benefit is delivered to all. Since it has been mentioned earlier that a similar situation has not been experienced before and that the company is small with 50 employees only, I would like to make these arguments with my leadership virtues and values to build a strong foundation of trust (GBH Forum Network, 2014). I would try to convince them not to get disappointed that I have snatched them of their right and that once the business gets back on to its feet and is in a better financial situation, things would turn around soon. The conversation would take place in a group.

Conclusion

After analyzing the given scenario, I feel that transforming personal values to the virtues of the firm and benefits for the employees requires the toughest of decisions to be made sometimes. The decisions are not only to be made under the current laws and codes of conduct from the outside, but it also needs to be taken into account that the countrys regulations serve those fromculturally diverse backgrounds in a firm. Diversity inclusion must be an imperative part of value-based leadership and its resulting decision-making process. Cultural competence delivers the best possible products and services to the customers, regardless of the small company with 50 employees only. The initial days of a business lay strong foundations for virtuousness and a powerful culture for the upcoming years and more employees who would be a part of the company.

References

Abelson, R. (2015, September 22). Health insurance deductibles outpacing wage increases, study finds. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/health-insurance-deductibles-outpacing-wage-increases-study-finds.html

Bachman, C.,…