Liberty Rights of the Individual in the Workplace - Case Study Example

The paper "Liberty Rights of the Individual in the Workplace" is a perfect example of a case study on business. Robert Nozick stated that “every individual has a right to his or her opinion” (14). Libertarianism suggests that liberty of an individual should be granted and no man should be forced to make a decision that favors the other party. This is termed as a violation of the liberty rights of the individual. Mackenzie and Elena, sorority’s president, saw other sorority people talking in the hallway during lunchtime; this was seen as breaking the rules since every sorority member was required to stay in their meeting rooms. Elena was irritated, and she ordered Mackenzie to report this behavior to the recruit council. Mackenzie was reluctant to tell because she saw no harm in what they were talking about since there were no recruits around and she also did not want to break the relationship with those people.

The rules for recruitment were strict and for everyone to enjoy a free and fair recruitment process then the rules must be followed. However, some of the other sorority’s members were Mackenzie’s friends and she reluctantly ignored them after breaking the rules. Using Robert’s deontology, an analysis of the actions of Mackenzie and Elena reveals that Mackenzie had the right to voice her opinion but Elena did not allow her to do so. There exists a dilemma on whether this issue should be forwarded to the council or the matter should just be ignored. When people are making a decision, everyone’s opinion must be considered. In the case, Mackenzie had to consider her views and also Elena and the other members’ views. Robert Nozick believed that “utilitarianism usually brought about mitigation of majority needs so that an individual could have his or her way” (14). In this case, Mackenzie did not want to break her friendship with the sorority members of the other house. All sororities are stakeholders because fairness does not exist when one small group breaks the rules. Yet the two sorority members had violated the rules and Mackenzie’s fellow members wanted her to report them. In the view of Mackenzie, she might just care about her own advantage, but from the perspective of Elena, she considered most of the stakeholders’ benefits include herself.
   Ethical dilemmas exist in the workplace especially because most of them happen to our dear friends. “Societies should aim at increased levels of ethics” (14) thus the sorority should follow the outlined rules. It is important to allow the other sorority members to state their opinion on whether to forward the case or not. This will show that Mackenzie considers freedom of liberty of everyone else. Although it seems like a tedious and troublesome process it is the right channel that must be followed. Nozick stated that one’s role should not influence another person’s “decision” (14). This means that Elena should on the other hand not force Mackenzie to report the case if she sees there was no harm done and just give her opinion and leave Mackenzie to decide her next action.