Legal and Social Environment of Business - Case Study Example

Ethical Dilemmas affiliates Ethical Dilemmas Introduction Ethics is a crucial component of all situations, both professional and personal life. Business Ethics provides guidelines of morals and values that an organization follows when making decisions on what is right or wrong (George, 2009). Ethics provides an organization with a framework that can be legally governed. The five fundamental concepts of ethics include egoism, relativism, deontologism, the ethics of care, and utilitarianism. Ethical theories offer set of rules that individual may use in the process of making decision on what is right and wrong in different circumstances. An ethical dimension of business decision-making has been discussed in the case "To say or not to say". In this particular case, Peter, the managing director faces various normative theories of ethics. The situation Peter is facing is crucial because he is confronted to make a decision in conflicting situation. Such situations are commonly faced by people in their professional lives. It also analyzes various theories of an ethical dilemma. The situation faced by Peter constitute ethical dilemma. Peter is torn between a professional managing director and a caring friend. Ethical dilemma is one of the problems in ethical dimensions. It can be defined as a state where there seems to be no obvious right or wrong. However, these arguments can be contested in different ways to show that the claimed dilemma does not exist and the solution to the ethical dilemma. This paper will discuss Peter’s situations of an ethical dilemma and the connection between ethical theories in Peter’s case. Ethical dilemmas in Peter’s scenario Deception Deception raises the ethical issue of personal integrity and moral duty. An ethical dilemma that involves deception challenges an individual to decide whether to deceive or not in a particular situation. In this case, Peter is confronted with a dilemma to write a Sarah a good recommendation and not to mention about her drinking problems. This dilemma can be very challenging because deceiving may lead to Sarah gains and get another job and raise her kids. On the contrary, it can result in undesired consequences. For example, it can ruin CPM company reputation if Sarah maintains her drinking problem. Deception can also directly harm the deceived party, in this case, the other company, Sarah’s lateness, drinking problem, poor quality can lead to low productivity, which can be harmful to the firm. This will have future harm to his company as well if the deception is discovered. Moreover, the dilemma of deception confronts Peter with the issue of personal integrity. Literature has mixed findings on the ethical reasoning an individual can apply to deceive or not. However, in business people utilize ethical reasoning which is based on at and rule utilitarian in dilemma involve the issue of hiding some valuable information (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 1991). Ethical decisions involving deception can be evaluated in terms of goodness, fairness, and justice. This scenario confronts Peter with a dilemma of direct deception. For example, in this case, Peters decision to write a good recommendation could have an immediate effect on Sarah’s situation, this decision could be reasoned using argument based on ethics of care. Ethical orientation A person’s ethical orientation depends on extent to which they reject rules to favor moral decisions and their beliefs on how goodness can be obtained. In other words, the position an individual holds regarding the two factors affect their ethical judgment. Research indicates that ethical orientation can be linked to ethical judgment in high moral situations. Some people are more likely to consider the importance of ethics for the benefits of an organization while others do not hold these beliefs. Ethical orientation can affect an individual’s behavior in conflicting situations due to its effect on perceived importance of ethics. Particularly, one may prefer one ethical theory over the others. Differences in an individual judgment may be attributed to the use of different ethical theories. In this case, Peter is in a dilemma to follow particular ethics of the organization or may make the decision on ethical criteria that take into consideration of the definition of situations such as the ethics of care. The link between ethical theories and ethical dilemma Research indicates that ethical judgment occurs in circumstances where there is a dilemma between conflicting beliefs, and an individual has to make a decision following one of these believe. The decision made can serve as a criterion for ethical judgment. In other words, the decision made regarding an ethical issue can be based on an ethical theory. In this case, Peter’s decision can be based on the theories of utilitarianism and ethics of care. The ethics of care The ethics of care theory emerged in the feminist research. According to Fritzsche & Oz (2007), ethics view is objected to male-dominated and impersonal; thus it ignores the relevance of the relationship between individuals. The virtue theory is connected to ethics of care; however, it emphasizes on the virtues that are crucial to personal relationships such as loyalty, compassion, empathy, and sympathy. The theory argues that a person’s moral obligation is to care for the benefit of another person with whom they share a special relationship rather than following impartial principles. For this reason, each of us must attend our personal needs, the needs of people we share a concrete relationship as well as those in the larger communities in which we live in. According to the perspective of this theory, an ethical dilemma is not considered to be an abstract problem. Particularly, with a single correct solution that can be agreed on by independent observers and using the universally accepted principles. The ethic of care is based on a perspective that solutions should be as a result of relationships of mutual care and also the background in which the problems are rooted. However, when applying the ethics of care in a business perspective, some situations can be more challenging. In some circumstances, our desire to express care for people whom we have a special relationship may conflict with the care we may wish to express for others. For example, Peter decision to give Sarah a good recommendation and not to mention her drinking problem to express sympathy because she is a single mother with three children. However, this desire conflicts with the desire to be honest with the other company. Peter has a care for his relationship with the firm, other business partners and the society as a whole. However, he can resolve the conflict by disqualifying himself from writing the recommendation that involves a friend. There is growing interest in ethics of care because of the increased interest in interrelations aspects of business life. Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the most influential normative theory of ethics. There are several forms of utilitarianism that incorporate various concepts of utility. This theory embraces the conception of happiness or pleasure. Plural utilitarians developed an approach that includes other intrinsically values such as freedom, knowledge, friendship, and so on. On the other hand, preference utilitarianism proposed a stronger basis for this theory that was based on people’s choice, behavior rather than pleasure. This approach focuses on ends rather than means that the means that will be used to achieve those ends. Additionally, it takes into account all the current and futures benefits that may be necessary to achieve end means. It also takes into account benefits and problems that may occur to anyone who is affected by their decision, including things that may be difficult to evaluate. It is based on the principle that an act is considered to be morally acceptable if it produces the most benefit to the society as a whole. Utilitarianism regards the welfare of all people to be equal; however, it does not assume that all individual should be treated the same way (Bartlett, 2003). There are two forms of utilitarianism namely: act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism is maximizing the benefits of a specific decision in relation to cost. Rule utilitarianism involves following the rules to achieve the best results over time. For example, this case involves an issue of coercion and control. Peter is in a dilemma between invoking rule and act utilitarian ethical. Rule utilitarian reasoning is based on rules while act utilitarian reasoning is based on the overall consequences. Utilitarian decision makers should evaluate the implications of each decision of the concerned parties and select one that increases the satisfaction of most people. In this case, Peter should evaluate how giving a good recommendation to Sarah will affect the other company, and how denying her the recommendation will affect her family. Conclusion This paper has discussed situations of an ethical dilemma in the case "To say or not To Say". These include deception, where Peter is confronted by a conflicting situation to deceive about Sarah’s behavior or not. Peter is also confronted with conflicting ethical orientation on which ethical criteria to use to make a decision. Ethical theory provides principles that can justify a decision to be right or wrong. There are various ethical theories that are relevant to this situation such as utilitarianism’s pursuit of happiness and the ethics of care. Peter can use these theories as guidance while practicing business ethical conduct in this case. References Bartlett, D. (2003). Management and Business Ethics: A Critique and Integration of Ethical Decision-Making Models. British Journal of Management, 14, 223-235. Ferrell, O.C. and Fraedrich, J. (1991).Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Boston: Houghon Mifflin Company. Fritzsche, D.J., and Oz, E. (2007). Personal Values Influence on the Ethical Dimensions of Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics, 75: 335-343. George, R. (2009). Business ethics. Prentice Hall. New Jersey. Read More