The Ethical Dilemma, Utilitarianism Theory - Coursework Example

Introduction Businesses in this competitive world has undergone tremendous changes and are using different methods whether it is ethical or not just to ensure that the business is able to earn profits and sustain competition (Globalization, 2002). Ethics is an area which is compromised by some business community and some companies lay stress on being ethical. Every one account different situations which requires acting in a manner which can be judged fair or not depending on the steps taken and the manner the person visualize the situations. This paper looks into the manner in which a situation was seen by me which provided different solutions and acting ethical or not was a question at that point of time. It thereby dwells on the solution by looking into different ethical theories which would have helped to deal with the situation in a better way and provide the results which were ethical. Details of the Case There was a situation which I had witnessed where a company which had been dealing in fertilizers promoted it as being completely manufactured from manure and didn’t have any harmful effects. The company had employees who were part of the organization since its inception. I had joined the organization and was happy with the job as the job met the required values and ethical requirements. Then suddenly I received a complaint from a customer that her dog had died because of the fertilizer. On complaining to my boss I received a reply which didn’t satisfy me and brought before me an ethical dilemma as to whether my perception about the company was correct and whether the company acted fair or only seemed to be ethical but was not. Solutions or Course of Action The situation resulted in an ethical clash as my values didn’t match with those present in the organization. This created total confusion in my mind and mad me ponder whether the decision making process in the organization was solely based on the upper management and they were forced to do things which they didn’t find correct. This left before me with a few options which I could choose from. Firstly, I can look into the matter seriously and found out the actual reason for the fatalities. I can then bring it forward to the customer and make them aware of the actual scenario. This will ensure that my values are not compromised and will also ensure that I fulfill my responsibilities. Secondly, I on the other hand can look forward towards leaving the organization and looking for some other jobs which matches my values and is ethical. Thirdly, I can ignore the customer complaints and move forward as nothing has happened and continue with the same profession and leave my values and ethics behind. This has created an ethical dilemma for me as to whether I should look for the actual reason and bring it to the notice of the customer or leave the job and look for some other job which matches my values and ethical requirements or continue without looking being ethical and keeping all my values and ethics behind. Different Theories The ethical dilemma which the situation presents when analyzed through different theories will help to gauge the manner in which the best decision could be arrived. A look at the various situations from the egoism theory which suggests that the decision maker should look towards selecting a decision which is made freely and helps one to pursue either their short term directives or long term directives (Crane & Matten, 2010). The above situation for me was one where using the egoism theory would have ensured that I left the job. This was primarily based on the long term directives as remaining with the same job would clash with my ethical values. This would mean that I will heave to be unethical and listen to the terms of management. Since, I look to rate my values and ethics very high looking into the long term perspective the best situation would have been to leave the job and look for some other job where my ethics and the ethical values of the organization matches (Enright & Subramanian, 2008). A look at the utilitarianism theory which suggests that decision taken should be such that it benefits a larger section of the society and the decisions taken helps to provide maximum satisfaction and happiness to maximum people in the society (Crane & Matten, 2010). I can look into the matter seriously and found out the actual reason for the fatalities. I can then bring it forward to the customer and make them aware of the actual scenario. This will ensure that my values are not compromised and will also ensure that I fulfill my responsibilities. This will thereby ensure that the decision taken by me benefits a larger section of society as it will make the people aware about the actual scenario and in the future people dealing with the company can be aware about the situation and take steps accordingly (Slawomir, 2010). This will also help to prevent similar incidents in the future and educate the people regarding the manner in which the company was working (Klein, 2001) and help to save a few lives in the future. This would also mean that the decision taken by me matches the utilitarianism theory which will ensure that the decision taken by me is fair. This will thereby help to ensure that the decision taken matches the ethical requirements and helps to ensure that the larger section of the society is looked after. This will thereby help to make changes in the manner in which the business is working and will result in taking decision for the larger section of the society. The theory of virtue ethics says that a virtuous person looks to take decision which is correct and fair. The reason for taking such a decision is that the ethics of the person makes it important for the person to take decision which is fair for all (Crane & Matten, 2010). This theory would mean that I take a decision is favor of the majority i.e. look towards identifying the actual reason and bring it forward to the customers. This will ensure that the ethical theory ensures that I can act fairly and take decision which is towards the well being of the major section of the society. This will also ensure that the manner in which the companies act deceptively comes before the customers which will make them understand whether the company is acting ethical or not and will thereby help the customers to take their decisions accordingly (Ferner, Almond & Colling, 2005). Final Decision The decision based on the different ethical theories and other fundamentals which was finally made was that I looked into the manner and found out that the company adopted a marketing strategy where they posed themselves as safe whereas the actual ground scenario was different (Wild, Wild & Han, 2010). The most difficult question that would haunt me was my reply to the customer query because it was my responsibility to ensure that the customer complaints get solved and even my job position in the company required the same. Since, I had reached to a point where I had identified that the company was not acting fairly and were taking decision which were unethical. I did what I should have done at the moment and I brought forward the finding to the customers. This made the customer know that the company was not acting fairly and resulted in tarnishing the image of the company. This also made the customers aware that organizations use deceptive policies to get business and is driven by profit motives and doesn’t look for the larger section of the society (Edwards & Ferner, 2008). This decision also led towards my resignation as continuing with a company where there were ethical differences wasn’t an area that I was comfortable with. The decision which I took was fair and is highly appreciated by me. I feel that my decision was correct and pleased me as I acted fairly and kept up my ethical values. Also, bringing forward the actual issue will ensure that such situation in the future are reduced and will help me to be better prepared to deal with those in the future. This will thereby help me to act in the correct manner and ensure that I am able to take all the decisions after looking into my morals and ethical values. Conclusion Thus, businesses daily faces ethical situations and taking decisions based on ethical virtues ensures that the business is able to look towards the well being of most. Organizations those are able to understand the ethical requirements and draft strategies and rules which look towards being ethical ensures that the business is able to satisfy a large section of the consumer. This helps to create a positive effect and ensures that the business is able to work on an ethical code of conduct. This helps to improve the brand image and helps towards the development of the organization as the strategies and decision taken ensures long term reward and helps the employees to be contend and satisfied with their roles in the organization. References Crane, A. & Matten, D. 2010. Business ethics: managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, New York Enright, M. & Subramanian, V. 2008. An organising framework for MNC typologies. Business & Economics, 47 (6), 147-153 Edwards, T. & Ferner, A. 2008. The renewed American Challenge. Industrial Relations Journal, 33 (2), 94-111 Ferner, A., Almond, P. & Colling, T. 2005. Policies on Union Representation in US multinationals in the UK. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 43 (4), 703-728 Globalization. 2002. Globalization: Magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/18/magazine/globalization.html?scp=1&sq=globalization%20by%20tina%20rosenberg&st=nyt&pagewanted=10 Klein, N. 2001. An exposure of the rise of brand and consumer capitalism. A Modern Classic, London Slawomir, A. 2010. Multinational sins pave the way to the expansion of domestic companies. Emerald Group Publishing limited, 11 (1), 13-19 Wild, J. J., Wild, K. L. & Han, J.C.Y., 2010. International Business: The Challenges of Globalization, 5th edition, Pearson Education Read More