Houston Construction Company Challenges - Case Study Example

Introduction Sometimes, it is not easy to make decisions. Tom’s is faced with an ethical dilemma (refer to the case). Nonetheless, he must choose a course of action to take. This discourse analyses toms position and makes commentaries on the options open to Tom, the influences to which Tom is subject, the relevance of ethics to Tom’s decision, the consequences of acceptance of Jerry’s offer, and the consequences of rejection of Jerry’s offer; and second, it explains the highlighted views on the significance of ethics with the help of two other cases of ethics in construction industry. a) Comments with justification There are several options open to Tom in regard to solving his house loan issue. First, Tom would have to make a choice between disclosing and not disclosing his employer company’s information. It is worth to note that it would be unethical to disclose the information to Jerry. Therefore, Tom could accept Jerry’s assistance with the condition that he would not disclose the company’s information. He should also advocate that his parents change their attitude; an act of disclosure that they are encouraging him to do might have harmful consequences to him and his employer as well. Instead, his parents should help in convincing Jerry to assist without necessary having Tom to disclose the information. Nonetheless, his choice not to disclose the information, might lead Jerry to withdraw his financial assistance; in this instance, Tom would have to find another alternative to solve his loan dilemma. So, he could choose to sell the house and settle in a less expensive house that he could afford with his current salary. This way, he would not have to depend on anyone for such assistance. Furthermore, Tom could approach his employer and kindly remind them of their promise they made about promoting him and increasing his salary. If that fails, he could look for another job that would give him financial satisfaction. It is evident that Tom is under cultural and social influence, parental influence, and situational influence. However wrong the disclosure of the company’s information might be, it is acceptable in the society due to the simple fact that everyone does it. Therefore, it has become a norm or a culture in the society, not to mention in the business arena. What is more, Tom would be seen as odd if he refused Jerry’s offer. In this regard, Tom is under societal influence. Elsewhere, Tom’s parents see nothing wrong with disclosure of an employer’s information and urge Tom to accept Jerry’s offer. It is apparent that they encourage him to also share the company’s information with Jerry. They argue that his employer could also pay people to unlawfully gather information of other rival companies. So definitely, Tom is under the influence of his parents. Again, the circumstances under which Tom is under as well as his need for assistance make him vulnerable. It would be easier for him to decline Jerry’s request if his financial status was not troubling. It worth to note that if his parents claim about his employer paying for illegally acquired information bore weight, then that fact is an influential on his decision. Ethics is very relevant to Tom’s decision. It helps us in understanding what is right or wrong, or what is good or bad. It is often referred in any system of moral principles or values. The question of Tom is definitely ethical; whether to accept Jerry’s offer, a family friend who is seeking information about Tom’s employer at a time when Tom is faced with a financial crisis. Tom, in this respect, needs guidance through principles of ethics so as to choose the right thing. Food and Agricultural Organization (2005) explains that “ethics is a systematic and critical analysis of morality, and of the moral factors that guide human conduct in a particular society or practice.” In addition, ethics is a means by which individuals decide a course of action to take; peoples’ actions, therefore, would be aimless and random without ethics. In fact, it is vital to human life as it is to Tom’s scenario. He would have to choose between what is good and what is wrong based on set of values that would promote the greater good. Tom should in fact have asked himself what is the greater good and what action would lead to achieving that greater good. There are several possible consequences of Tom accepting Jerry’s offer. One, Tom would be indebted to Jerry and might feel the need to return the favour. In these circumstances, Tom would be susceptible to disclosing his employer company’s details of trade against his will. What is more, the action would encourage him to engage in more unethical deeds, especially if the initial action did not hurt any party. Unfortunately, the unethical deeds might compromise his career as well as his employer’s business. If his seniors found out the link for his financial uplift - which is very likely considering that they knew of his financial dilemma – he might loose his job. Furthermore, his credibility in the accounting profession could be highly damaged. If the information he disclosed got into the hands of potential competitors, the company might loose clients, or suffer sabotage, or even in the extreme, suffer collapse. Again, accepting Jerry’s offer would strengthen their bond; it is likely that Jerry might engage Tom in several other acts that are not morally right. On top of lowering his level of moral standing, Tom might suffer worse consequences. Jennings (2003) links the collapse of several American firms as well as the downfall of the responsible individuals to diminished moral values. The rejection of Jerry’s offer by Tom has various outcomes as well. It might anger Jerry who might withdraw his offer to assist Tom. This means that Tom might be unable to salvage his financial situation and hence loose the house. Although he has several options, they might not be what he desires. Moreover, his parents might fail to understand him for his refusal to maintain the bond between the family and Jerry. He could also suffer rejection by his parents who apparently values Jerry’s friendship. Worse still, his community would view him as odd. The action, on the other hand, might promote his moral values, his career, and his employer company’s business. The success of any business organization is dependent on the customer base. The tendering process is vital for the construction company in acquiring clients and business. Therefore, leakage of information that would compromise its status on this regard to competitors might lead to its downfall. If Tom’s seniors realized this fact and at the same time discovered his brave action, then Tom would be highly valued in the company. In fact, that might speed up his promotion and his salary increase. Moreover, he would command respect as a personal of high moral standing, which would boost his image and career. The fact that he would not be worried and guilty of a wrong action, he would remain productive. Finally, the company would stand to benefit. b) Explanation of the views on the importance of ethics The importance of ethics cannot be undermined in the wake of occurrences that have cost companies millions of money in losses, and sometime leading to their collapse. It is believed that there was a linkage between lack of ethics and the collapse of Enron Corporation (Jennings, 2003), an energy firm that was previously regarded as a leader in its management, but became bankrupt in 2001. Similarly, the construction industry is threatened by ethical issues. Non-payment, bid shopping, “lawyering-up”, lying, false and inflated claims, embezzlement of employees are some of these challenges (Carlsen, 2008). However, as URS Corporation and Corporation and Houston Construction Company scenario teach us, it is vital for businesses to operate under ethical guidance. At one time, Houston Construction Company was fined for failing to offer protection for its employees. The firm management overlooked certain safety precautions that would greatly cause suffering and even death to its employees. It is noted that the construction company ignored basic necessities such as ensuring worker are tied off while on “an aerial lift” and protecting them from overhead hazards, besides overloads in the personnel basket (Smith, 2002). Several ethical issues arise. The management of the company ought to have asked themselves ethical questions so as to avert the court case; who did they owe duty to? Is it right to assumes employees safety, what does the company stand for in terms of safety? Considering and acting on these ethical questions might have spared the company the wrath of law and perhaps from damaging their image. The URS Corporation also presents another scenario that highlights the importance of ethics. The firm was in the limelight after its accusation of negligence. It is under deontological ethics that we are advised to take up our duties. The URS Corporation built an Interstate-35 bridge, which collapsed and resulted to death of several people. If the company employee responsible for placing gusset plates had done so, maybe deaths and other injuries would have been prevented. Furthermore, the construction company and the firm that made the inspection of the bridge would not have to undergo the wrath of a court case. It would have been ethical for the people responsible for various tasks in the construction and inspection firm to understand that the greater good is the safety of the people rather than faster completion of the projection. The construction company also suffered from bad reputation. It is possible that government would not easily consider its applications in later tender submissions. The issue of quality also arises. The company could have built the bridge with sub-standard material to save on cost and maximize profits at the expense of the people. Nevertheless, these acts could cause the downfall of the company. As Jennings (2003) puts it, organizations’ failure start with grave attrition and the ultimate undoing of both personal and corporate ethics References Carlsen R 2008, Construction Industry Faces Ethical Challenges, Exec Says, ENR Magazine, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York. De Spinoza, B 2004, The Ethics, Kessinger Publishing, London Food and Agricultural Organization 2005, Ethical issues in fisheries, FAO Ethics Series, No. 4, retrieved 9th February 2009, http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y6634e/y6634e03.htm#fnB1. Jennings, M. M 2003, The critical role of ethics: recent history has shown that when individual ethics are compromised, corporate ethics fail and financial disaster is not far behind, bnet, retrieved 9th February 2009, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4153/is_6_60/ai_111737942. Nelson, T 2008, Survivors sue bridge engineers, construction company, Minnesota Public Radio, retrieved on 9th February 2009, from http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/13/schwebel_bridge/ Singer, P 1993, Practical Ethics, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Smith, S 2002, Houston Construction Company Incurs $64,500 in Fines for Failure to Protect Employees From Falls, Penton Media, Inc., retrieved 9th February 2009, from http://ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_35624/ Smith, S 2002, Houston Construction Company Incurs $64,500 in Fines for Failure to Protect Employees From Falls, Penton Media, Inc., retrieved 9th February 2009, from http://ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_35624/ Read More