Managing under uncertainty - Essay Example

When she looks at the files concerning the case, she finds that all of them contain medical records giving details of individuals suffering from the same symptoms and conditions. This arouses her suspicions and upon further investigation, she finds that the local energy company has been contaminating the water supply of the client and this has been the cause of all the bad health conditions she has been experiencing (Scharfenaker 20). Erin decided to investigate further and this leads her to the discovery that the presence of chromium in the water supply is responsible for the bad health conditions of many residents living in the same area as her client.

To counter this, she convinces these people to go up against the energy company, and in an unprecedented decision, these people are awarded millions of dollars in compensation. This movie is an extremely well made one because it enables those who watch it to explore diverse moral and ethical issues, which would never be normally discussed. When making a study of the above film, there are certain people who would look upon it from the position of ethical relativism. This is because of the fact that despite not being a lawyer, and her having no qualification that is related to that profession, Erin Brockovich took it upon herself to represent the people who had been affected by the actions of the energy company.

Some would say that it was not her place to take matters into her own hands because despite the fact that she worked at a law firm, she had no qualifications to do so. While she may have won the case for her clients, those opposed to a non-legal person presenting a case in court would say that the best thing that she may have done would have been to hand the case over to one of the lawyers at her firm (Lopate). The fact that she won the case may be considered to have been a fluke, that it was luck, which got her through it, not her professionalism.

Since ethical relativism is the viewpoint where morality is dependent on the norms of a culture, which practice it, one would say that Erin might have been right in taking the action that she took. She did what she thought was right and went ahead to defend the people whose health was being placed at risk by those who would otherwise not have thought to take any action by themselves. It is the society which determines whether the actions of individuals is ethically right or wrong, and while some may dispute Erin’s actions as being that of a wannabe lawyer, it is a fact that she did what many lawyers would not have chosen to do, despite its being their duty.

She chose to represent and place the case of people who lacked representation in court, hence helping them receive some compensation for the suffering that they had been undergoing. One would therefore say that while it was not her job to represent these people, Erin was ethically bound to do so because she had plenty of knowledge concerning the case, and not to take any action would have been immoral of her. It is the duty of and a requirement for all people working in law firms to maintain the highest standards of ethics when carrying out their duties towards those whom they are concerned with.

While doing this, they should always keep in mind that the best interests of their clients are put above