Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace
Michele Wallace
BSHS/332
July 10, 2013
Sean Jones
Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace
There are many different types of ethical dilemmas in the workplace. For example, conducting personal business on company time, taking credit for other’s work, harassment from coworkers or management, high pressure sales and theft* I have been in the situation to experience each one of these at my former job, Petsmart. Even though they are a large corporate company there are problems that fall through the cracks.
Conducting Personal Business on Company Time It clearly states in the employee handbook, “no
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These tips would have been beneficial to me in this work situation. These steps are: State the background and context of the dilemma. Identify the main ethical issues causing the dilemma. List possible solutions to the dilemma. Consider the likely impact of each solution. Eliminate the totally unacceptable solutions. Consider which company values are upheld and violated by each of the remaining solutions. Identify your solution, state it clearly including why it is best, then justify and defend it against criticism (Mhonderwa, 2012). High Pressure Sales One of my biggest complaints as an employee at Petsmart was the enforcement of high pressure add-on sales in the grooming salon. The managers would make large bonuses if we met the weekly sales goal, aka weekly plan. Corporate office would send a sales plan for the week. If we did not meet the certain sales amount and add-on amounts we would be written up and possibly terminated. My problem was not with the sales of services we offered, but with the managers forcing us to sell services that the pet did not need. For example, there was a geriatric dog who had no teeth. I was reprimanded for not selling a teeth brushing package. We were not allowed to accept no for an answer the first two times someone declined add-on services. I live in a rural area with many residents that are
a)Personal attitudes, beliefs and values In situations where there is a conflict of interest or a dilemma between an individual's rights and your own beliefs and values, it is their right as an individual to be able to make informed choices about their own lives, even if you disagree with their choice.
Ethics, in business, refers to moral principles and standards that define acceptable behavior in the world of business. Ethical decisions foster trust among individuals and in business relationships. Recognizing ethical issues is important in the workplace. An ethical issue is an identifiable problem requiring a person or organization to choose from among several actions that may be evaluated as ethical or unethical. When you’re determining is a situation is ethical or not, there are three factors to take into consideration. Individual factors, organizational factors, and opportunity. Individual factors are sets of principles that describe what a person believes are the right way to behave. Organizational factors include the influence of managers, coworkers, and the work group. Opportunity is a set of conditions that punish unfavorable behavior or reward favorable behavior. “Target thrives on competing to win in the marketplace. We compete and negotiate actively, but always with integrity. Taking advantage of anyone by manipulating or concealing
1. Discuss an ethical dilemma that you have had to face in the workplace. Ethical dilemmas
Investigate "trilemma" options, in which one seeks a creative resolution which satisfies all values at stake.
What are the different opinions about the actual issue or how to solve the issue?
Ethical theory will be outlined in relation to the example case with discussion on how the case poses an ethical dilemma in the workplace. Additionally ethical theory will be considered in light of the case with
Ethical issues are a matter that every type of business and economy has to work on at some point. Companies, enterprises, agencies, universities, and schools, they all have to deal with moral and ethical matters, and since eventually most of us will enroll one of them, these issues should be a matter of concern to all of us. In a work environment, persecution, discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying indicate an unethical conduct, and these types of behaviors are certainly difficult to manage in the workplace.
Everyday individuals are faced with issues associated with ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas involve an individual’s behavior toward a moral standard, which may have been established from previous generations and passed along. In upholding the standards taught individual may be forced to take a particular action involving a decision when a behavior is considered non-ethical is when an ethical dilemma occurs. It can become difficult at times in making the correct decisions or solutions to the situation, which is why a code of ethics is established in the workplace. The code of ethics in the
Ethical dilemmas are particularly sensitive issues in the workplace because the well-being of the individuals and the organization as a whole are at stake. Employees must feel as though they are being supported and not punished, and should not feel as though they were being put on display; their dignity should always remain intact. This paper examines how, as a high school principle, I would address the issue of one of the high school teachers becoming addicted to prescription drugs.
Today’s business world presents numerous ethical issues. In today’s world above board/moral ethics in organizations do not often materialize intuitively. Organization must strive to provide employees with a clear understanding of the overall company vision. This will aid employees in practicing the code of ethics, policies and procedures in the workplace. Companies must be unwavering in continuously delivering the uppermost ethics of provision in which customers, applicants and employees are entitled to under fair business practices. One major core value is to uphold responsible and fair business practices.
I have experienced this in the workplace and define this to be an ethical dilemma and will evaluate such situation by applying the Potter Box and Rest Four Components Model to analyze this case and contextualize how to navigate the problem if I were to re-encounter this situation again in the future.
Personal values may conflict with ethical decision making if those personal values are different than the organizational norms of the business or institution. Constructing, and maintaining personal ethics in the workplace rests with the individual, and how willing he or she is in assimilating to the evolving cultural dynamic of the corporate world. Many times a person find their personal, cultural and/or organizational ethics conflicting and must reconcile a course of action that will mitigate cognitive dissonance. In order to be a productive member of society, in small groups and globally, one must reconcile these conflicts on a daily basis and continually move forward while maintaining personal integrity and
Ethics can be dangerous to your career. The danger may come not from your own ethics but from the ethics of people around you and the organization of which you are a part. Employees have various moral decisions to make. Many of these decisions should be made on the basis of our moral obligations, but sometimes the morally preferable action could require courage and be performed beyond the call of duty. One defense against involvement in wrongdoing is vocalizing when there are unethical practices being made. While being prepared for organizational challenges that will inevitably test your personal values, moral beliefs, and commitment may be doing the right thing, is it ethical when one’s job is on the line?
Sears, Roebuck, and Co. began as a farm supplies company that expanded into the markets of retail, insurance, real estate, securities, and credit cards. Though they had a “long history of high earnings” (Trevino, 2011, p. 297), competitors were flooding the market, driving Sear’s share down. Their solution was an incentive plan that backfired on them, eventually causing millions of dollars lost and the loss of parts of its business.
In their personal and professional lives, people can and, unfortunately, sometimes do go against their moral and ethical standards. Ethical standards are what it means to be a good person, the social rules that govern our behavior. Ethics in business is essentially the study of what constitutes the right and wrong or the good or bad behavior in the workplace environment. A business is an organization whose objective is to provide goods or services for profit. The organization has a group of people that work together to achieve a common purpose. The moral challenges that these men and women face each day along with a whole range of problems that could occur, are why ethics plays such an important