Ethical Dilemma in Business - Coursework Example

Ethical Dilemma in Business Introduction A business organization’s reputation relies on its ethical standards. Business ethics is essential for both long and short term well-being of a company. A well-implemented ethical program will spearhead a healthy culture and increase profitability within an organization. Formulating and implementing a practical Business Ethics program takes a lot of stakeholders’ effort and time (Visser, Matten & Pohl, 2010). A companys ethics affects the operations of the business. It will affect all the interactions made by the corporation, for instance, employees, customers, suppliers, competitors among others. All the above-concerned groups will have an effect on the shape and development of the companys ethics. Many organizations, in an attempt, to foster good ethics, especially in its workforce, clearly outline their mission and vision statements. It is important to note that once employed; the workplace becomes the place where people spend most of their time. The result is that many close ties are built among team players within the workplace. Employees might more often than not be caught in dilemmas. Such dilemmas are what are termed as ethical dilemmas. What is ethics? What is business ethics? And what is the dilemma? Ethics refers to a set of moral principles that guide an individual’s behavior. A dilemma is a situation where an individual has to make a decision between two difficult scenarios (Online dictionary). Business ethics refers to the application of the moral code of conduct in an organization, firm or business. According to Crane and Matten (2010), Ethical dilemma occurs when one is presented with two situations and the right decision is not immediately apparent. In life, we face quite a number of difficulties besides business dilemmas namely: family, education, personal, philanthropy and military. In this research essay, I will use the case of harassment. Many forms of harassment exist in real life situations. These are, mental, sexual or physical at workplaces. I will focus on a personal experience of dilemma of sexual harassment in a corporate company. Secondly, I will give an array of reasons (justification) why I selected it as my topic of discussion. Lastly, I will suggest viable ethical solutions to the dilemma. Ms. Miller, a 21-year-old third-year student on internship was caught in a situation this summer. The harassment ranged from sexual advances made on her from Chief Executive of the company to the immediate supervisor and members of her work team. The kind of sexual harassment she experienced can be grouped into three broad categories: non-verbal, verbal and physical. The non-verbal entailed facial expressions such as winking especially from the male colleague of her work team. Verbal harassment was manifested by the use of unprofessional titles and cues such as “doll’’, “honey”, “sweetheart” and sexual sounds among others. Lastly in rare circumstances she was physically touched at particular parts of her body. The promise from her was a good recommendation back to her institution of study and future prospects of employment in the company upon her completion of studies. The outrageous part here is that; maybe the past hires of the institution were skewed in favor of one gender. This is because no sexual harassment on the part of the male gender was reported. This, however, does not rule out their existence. Secondly, those who were willing to incline to the sexual innuendos of those in management were hired. Thirdly, the company faced a future threat of having unqualified and underperforming staff because of the skewed recruitment exercises and fear of those employed to report to authorities. Lastly, promotions were also biased in the job. Studies conducted in UK show that between 16% and 75% of women in companies have had experiences of sexual harassment (Zimmerli, Richter & Holzinger, 2007). There also exists tangible proof of severe unreported sexual harassment according to Garber (2008). In addition, Weiss (2009 further reports that approximately 95% of female students have been sexually harassed in some of UK universities and other institutions of higher learning. These two statistics influenced my choice of the topic. As Plato and Socrates noted over two thousand years ago, there exist a direct correlation between doing good and happiness. That forms my first line of argument why one needs to blow the whistle on unethical issues within an organization. The kind of harassment Ms. Miller faced denied her happiness in discharging her duties efficiently and also negated her attitude towards the organization (Kuratko, 2009). Sexual harassment exerts a high stake for the employers and employees. According to Crane and Matten (2010), sexual harassment poses serious threats to employees physical and psychological wellness. It is indeed a demeaning and offensive experience which directly impacts on the quality of work of the staff subjected to it. Several researches reveal that, women make up not less than a third of the global labor force. This is with the exception of Northern Africa and Western Asia (ILO technical report) (Kuratko, 2009). As in the case of Ms. Miller, fear of victimization by the company, or by the institution of study for perpetually spoiling the relations between the former and the latter kept her from reporting the issue. As Treviño & Nelson (2011) notes, it is imperative that the corporate world take an affirmative action to arrest this problem. In addition, there are many consequences attached to the unethical behavior of sexual harassment. They both touch on the individual member(s) of staff and the organization they work for (Crane and Matten, 2010). Members of staff might start feeling less satisfied with the job. This will culminate to little or no satisfaction with the company, hence, greater intention to quit. Lastly, there will be a perception that the organization is biased and not committed to treating its workforce equally and equitably. Weiss (2009) points out that, on the part of the organization, the employee might feel insecure and in turn lower his/ her satisfaction with the job. The resultant effect will be rampant absence from work, decreased work output and low probability of creativity. In case the employee resorts to litigation, then the firm might be subjected to protracted legal wars, fines and compensations (Brooks & Dunn, 2010). To solve the issues of the ethical dilemma, the company should first lay out strong ethical ground within its Mission and Vision statements. Time and again, a company needs to remind its staff about its moral obligation. It is important to note that, companies’ superiors set the ethical tone, but the subordinates have a moral duty to improve it (Brooks & Dunn, 2010). However, statistical data reveals that, only 21% of people view executives as upholding ethical standards. This is comparatively better as compared to employees that are at 19% (Brooks & Dunn, 2010). According to the company Ms. Miller was working for, most employees were not aware of the mission and vision statements despite the fact that it was clearly outlined in the handbook. Secondly, the employees should undergo a training  on how to deal with ethical dilemmas. Whenever a member of staff is caught up in one, then the training will empower him/her to act along the company’s ethos. This will not only apply to one employee, but to the entire staff of the organization. In addition, a uniform front will be presented to the organization’s external environment such as; customers, suppliers, and even competitors (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2010). The Institute of Business Ethics, suggest the use of scenarios in training people. According to IBE the scenario approach is useful because it creates a link between what is learned, real life and the employees’ perceived experiences (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2010). This is done several times. One is, making the connection between ethical standards needed for corporate responsibility and personal behavior. The second way is by providing the employees freedom freely to air challenges or dilemmas they might come across in line of duty. Besides, it is imperative that they share their opinions and discuss ethical problems. Lastly, providing interactive forms of sharing ideas and debating on commitment to the moral ethos governing an organization. Issues of ethics were only lightly discussed in organization’s Annual General Meetings (Tittle, 2000). This comes at the end of the year. This indicates that the talks on ethics have to wait until the end of the year. It is worth noting that every company must create a forum for friendly debates on ethical issues. The code of conduct outlined by these organizations is not something employees will revisit now and then. Regular question and answer sessions, staff briefs, magazine, and brochures should feature topics in ethics. This should cut across all levels of the organizations’ hierarchy. The above will create and promote better ethical decision-making and inculcate healthy culture in the organization (Kuratko, 2009). In a nutshell, employees in any business venture are entitled to decision-making. They are, therefore, exposed to ethical dilemmas quite often than not. They also encounter an array of challenging ethical issues-some simple while others complex (Tittle, 2000). Their ability to effectively deal with them, while at the same time keep the organization away from jeopardy is key (Kuratko, 2009). References Andrew C., ‎Matten D. (2010). Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability. ISBN 0199564337 Brooks, L. J., & Dunn, P. (2010). Business & professional ethics for directors, executives, & accountants. Mason, OH: South Western Cengage Learning. Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2010). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases : 2009 update. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Garber, P. R. (2008). The ethical dilemma. Amherst, Mass: HRD Press. Grace, D., Cohen, S., & Holmes, W. R. (2013). Business ethics: A Canadian perspective. Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press. Johannesen, L., Valde, S., & Whedbee, E. (2008). Ethics in Human Communication. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press Inc. Klempner, G., (2014). Philosophy, Ethics and Dialogue: In the Journal of Dialogue Studies. Volume 2, Number 2 Kuratko, D. F. (2009). Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, practice. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Palmer, D. E. (2010). Ethical issues in e-business: Models and frameworks. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. Pohl, M., & Tolhurst, N. (2010). Responsible business: How to manage a CSR strategy successfully. Chichester, U.K: John Wiley & Sons. Pohl, M., Institut für Asienkunde (Hamburg, Germany), & Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, (1981). Japan 1980/81: Politics and economy. Singapore: Maruzen Asia. Rendtorff, J. D. (2009). Responsibility, ethics, and legitimacy of corporations. Frederiksberg, Denmark: Copenhagen Business School Press. Tittle, P. (2000). Ethical issues in business: Inquiries, cases, and readings. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press. Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: John Wiley. Visser, W., & Institute for Corporate Culture Affairs. (2010). The A to Z of corporate social responsibility. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Wiley. Visser, W., & Institute for Corporate Culture Affairs. (2010). The A to Z of corporate social responsibility. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Wiley. Weiss, J. W. (2009). Business ethics: A stakeholders and issues management approach. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Zimmerli, W. C., Richter, K., & Holzinger, M. (2007). Corporate ethics and corporate governance. (Springer e-books.) Berlin: Springer. Read More