Is It Worth Becoming a Martyr for the Sake of Ethics - Case Study Example

How personal differences and preference can impact organizational ethics? Regardless of its size, any organization, in the nutshell, still is a group of individuals with personal differences and preferences. The individual is the starting point of organizational effectiveness, and understanding each person is the key in developing ethics in the workplace. In the case of Valerie the answer to the question posed can be given from two different angles. Valerie, an individual, had her own specific situation. It was a complicated one and we should not judge her on her solution. Anyway, her personal differences, in the end, influenced strongly the ethics in her organization. She faced a dilemma, outweighed her options, made a choice, and based it, solely, on her personal situation. She ended up not enriching her organization’s ethics. On the other hand, her boss acted on his personal preference. He, too, faced a dilemma, made clearly unethical choice and kept acting on it. Therefore, he not only did not help develop ethics in his organization, he compromised its integrity. In this particular case individual differences and preferences proved to be more important than ethics. Here, the ethical principles were not enforced from the leadership level, or followed by the individuals within the organization. I see organizational ethics as a two way road. On the road, a car, driven by a manager, is heading to meet the other car, driven by an employee. The manager is supposed to give the employee a set of instructions how to deal with ethical questions. Unfortunately, in this case, they never meet. How organizational policies and procedures can impact ethics? In recent years, with the discovery of unethical business practices in several big and “prominent” companies, the public started looking more closely into how business is conducted. The focus of this new interest became the ethics in business organizations and how ethical guidelines are followed. We perceive ethics as simply distinguishing right from wrong. On the organizational level this means treating employees and business partners fairly, and leaving no doubt or room for questions about implementation of organizational policies on ethics. Many organizations do have policies and procedures in place to guide individuals in confronting and resolving ethical dilemmas. But, often times that is not enough. What is needed is overall organizational culture in which top management leadership, by clear example, leads everyone else within the organization in navigating the rough waters of ethics. After all, managers and other leaders are the ones facing dilemmas more frequently than others. Organizational policies on ethics should include the elimination of fear from retaliation for reporting somebody else’s questionable actions, elimination of pressure on individuals to do something unethical, strict consequences for not following procedures, and, most importantly, conducting business not for the sake of quick and easy profit, but having in mind others involved in the process. The latter becomes more and more questionable with development of global economy. Frequently, companies from the world’s developed countries are doing quite the opposite by leaving their partners in developing countries with next to nothing. We hear all the time about sweat shops where children and women work long hours for miserable pay. We hear about farmers in Africa getting very little out of their work. These issues also should be covered by organizations. Ethical dilemmas Valerie is facing Dilemmas Valerie is facing, at the core, are not different from dilemmas every one of us has to deal with. Dilemma, in general, involves choosing from two or more options, none of which are favorable. Valerie’s situation, however, is more complicated than most dilemmas are. Her personal case includes a key legal component; her status as a foreign worker in the United States limits her options, adds another variable to the equation and, simultaneously, increases what is at stake. She is forced, and forced hard, to carefully weigh two sides of the issue. Her knowledge about unethical practices her boss is indulging in brings up all those questions- Who else know about this? Should I tell someone? Is this normal? Are others involved? By posing these, Valerie clearly shows her concern for ethics. On the other hand, her personal situation and what she could lose if she acted up on her dilemmas, pushes her toward doing nothing. At least for now. In her mind, Valerie makes a compromise between the two. Her decision shows that her organization did not develop the culture in which she could do what is right without being afraid about the future consequences. Recommend what Valerie should do. The way Valerie dealt with her situation, ultimately did not resolve her dilemma. She, in essence, did not make a choice between her options. She, simply, did nothing. Thus, her dilemma remained with her and was put on hold for a while. Valerie did not want to become a martyr for the sake of ethics. Blaming her for that would be unfair; martyrs do not come along often. But, sometimes martyrs are needed, to selflessly sacrifice themselves for the good of others. Let’s not forget that in Valerie’s complex equation there are other components. Obviously, her boss is not somebody she should take into account. He, surely, deserves to be exposed. What Valerie neglected is her whole company. Once her findings come out, the company will be scrutinized and under suspicion. She, also, neglected other perfumers that are clearly affected by the way Waters in doing business. They don’t get equal opportunity to develop. Finally, Valerie neglected her company’s customers whom are not getting the best choices for the right price. Given the complexity of this case, I still believe Valerie made a mistake. Acting according to the good old “ignorance is bliss” schema, she came up with the solution that benefits nobody in this case, not even her. Valerie is taking a serious risk here. In the case somebody else discovers what she already knows, she could find herself in serious trouble. If that is to happen, she would face questions why she did nothing about it and, with her circumstances, could end up at the point she was trying to avoid in the first place. I think she should have reported Waters. I might be idealizing the world around us, but I believe the majority of people can make a distinction between right and wrong, and I believe that same majority is prepared to act on it. Read More