Ethics are essential for organizational success. They influence the decisions made by the employees and managers on issues affecting the performance of the firm (Project Management Institute, n.d.). An organization that upholds ethical behaviors has a culture that fosters not only productivity but also excellence in service and product provision to its target markets. Managers are tasked with the role of ensuring that ethics are upheld in a firm. However, they often face a wide range of ethical dilemmas that demand their use of ethical decision-making to come up with effective solutions that are beneficial to all the stakeholders involved. One ethical dilemma that a manager can face relates to cover an employee who has done something contrary to the policies and regulations of the firm. An example is a bank manager having to either choose to report or keep quiet concerning one of his close employee who had informed him earlier about his seriously ill child and he took $5,000 from the dormant bank account to pay for his child's surgery. Upon further inquiry, the employee informs the manager that he will repay back the loan in installments and has indeed paid the first installment. The second example is a project manager faced with the challenge of either reporting or keeping quiet on specific shortcomings of a product to be released to the consumer market.Question...
In the first example, it is evident that the employee violated the stated regulations within the firm. It is always expected that employees explore the use of the right channels of communication before using the resources of the firm. In this case, formal means of communication such as writing a letter or email to the senior manager could have been used. Besides, the employee could have considered other options such as seeking for a loan from the bank. However, this is not the case. The manager knows that the employee was wrong in what he did because he violated the rules and regulations of the firm. The manager's morals might prevent him from making instant decisions because he already understands the reasons that led to the employee's actions. Therefore, if he reports the issue, the employee risks being dismissed for violating the policies of the company. If he chooses to keep quiet, any failure to pay back the amount or discovery by the management will have dire consequences to both of them. Therefore, this acts as an ethical dilemma.
Ethical Decision Making: Ethics refers to principles that define behavior as fair and proper and they are concerned with how a moral person should behave when it comes to making an ethical decision (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2002). Evaluating and deciding among competing options is often key in making a fair choice since principles do not always dictate a single "moral" course of action. The decision of whether to lay off workers
279-306) and therefore sets the foundation for the development of an ethical culture in the organization. Finally and most importantly, the product manager must concentrate on those customers served with the appliance and put their well-being, safety and satisfaction above personal gain both from a financial and career recognition standpoint. When the corporate culture, exposure to customers of a potentially unsafe product, and the need for staying in compliance to
This step entails communicating the decision to the concerned person or parties along with the penalties. This step also entails communicating the future course of action to concerned parties. Close the case- the big errors that companies frequently make is that at times they let the case hang around on without any accomplishment on it. An imperative part of ethical decision making is to close the case by taking action
COOPER'S ETHICAL MODEL Cooper's Ethical Decision-Making Model The ethical decision-making model: Application to the workplace According to Cooper (2012), ethical decision-making encompasses different 'levels' of analysis. The first, expressive, level is based upon gut instincts. Often, these may run counter to formal ethical systems, since they may be based upon impulses of disgust or prejudice. Conversely, our favorable feelings for certain employees may bias us in one way or the other. Next, the
The Price of Doing Good: Consequences of Ethical Decision MakingIn their day-to-day lives, people encounter a wide range of ethical and moral problems � which do not necessarily have straightforward solutions. As a matter of fact, there are ethical dilemmas which present complicated challenges for the decision maker. During ethical dilemmas, there is need to to establish ideal solutions that are firmly rooted in various ethical theories and sound moral
Decisions by School Superintendents Improper Attitude and Unprofessional Conduct of Teachers To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society - President Theodore Roosevelt. That teaching is at one and the same time an intellectual as well as a moral endeavor, is an idea that is well entrenched in the minds of men since centuries past. The sayings of great teachers of ancient times bear
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