Ethical Consideration: The Morale of the Organization - Case Study Example

Ethical Consideration: The Morale of the OrganizationThe first ethical issue that is presented within the case is contingent upon the fact that wrongdoing is taking place and an individual that suspects this wrongdoing is faced with the question of whether or not they should go forward with the information or they should remain silent. Naturally, the only ethically sound approach to this is for the individual to go forward; however, the manner through which they engaged in this act of speaking out illustrates yet another ethical conundrum.

Ultimately, following the chain of command precisely is not feasible; the underlying reason for this has to do with the fact that the immediate supervisor of the individual that is reporting this malfeasance is in fact the person that is suspected of taking tools home and ordering tools specifically for his own construction projects at his house. As such, the only logical and ethical choice is to discuss the issue with the procurement specialist; someone who has oversight with respect to the items that are purchased and might be able to make a prescriptive change with regard to the behavior that has been noted.

A further ethical consideration that was not immediately discussed within the case, but one that should be followed, is finding a way to protect the “whistleblower”. Ultimately, the individual engineer that came forward with the information is at great risk as he is among a very small group of “likely suspects” that could be retaliated against once the individual is accused of malfeasance with respect to ordering and procurement of personal tools with work funds. As a means of protecting the whistleblower, the procurement specialists and other management personnel that speak to Al must prove their case without any hint that one of his own engineers was responsible for broaching this issue.

Although this might not be sufficient to discourage Al from engaging in a witch hunt, it will be sufficient to show him that the reason for this “audit” and discussion was random and they simply noted some inconsistencies that they wished to discuss at some greater depth.Finally, another final proscription with respect to the ethics that were exhibited within this particular case is concentric upon the fact that as soon as the engineer who was responsible for going forward learns that Al is questioning his engineers in hopes of finding who “ratted him out”, he should go directly to management again and seek to put an immediate end to this form of retaliation.

However, if it is indeed the case that he is cornered prior to this taking place, there is no need to lie as it would merely negate the process of truthfulness that he had thus far engaged in up until this point in time. If it is true that Al is bent on retaliation alongside the other unethical choices he has made thus far, then the firm will need to take appropriate action as a means of correcting this problem or terminating this troublesome employee; rather than continuing to suffer the pain and hardship that he brings to the firm and the morale of the organization.