Professional Workoplace Dilemma Paper - Essay Example

The rapid globalisation has brought in an era of pluralistic society so that one often comes across professional dilemma while dealing with people with cross cultural values. Understanding of different cultures becomes important to maintain a conflict free atmosphere at the workplace while at the same time it assumes more relevance when dealing with customers coming from different cultural background. Under these circumstances, workplace situations may come across ethical dilemmas which need to be resolved at the earliest so that better work conditions may prevail and pace of the professional advancements may continue.

Moral and ethical dilemmas are becoming frequent in one’s professional life. The cut throat competition coupled with diverse and multicultural fabric of the society, makes it difficult for a person to maintain a high level of personal integrity. The main reason being that very often the personal values clash with the organization’s objectives and organization’s target based results. According to Joseph Badaracco, "We have all experienced situations in which our professional responsibilities unexpectedly come into conflict with our deepest values.

we are caught in a conflict between right and right. And no matter which option we choose, we feel like weve come up short" (internet). The resolution of ethical dilemma therefore requires a very careful consideration so that both the parties become gainers. As a customer support executive in a credit card company, I often come across such situations while dealing with the customers. My company being a target based organization, I have to sell credit cards to the customers so that I can meet my professional responsibilities and even exceed target for rapid advancement in my career.

Even though all my customers may not require the credit cards, but the need to sell them becomes my professional responsibility towards my company. In such cases, I am faced with the ethical dilemma of whether I should convince my prospective customer so that he agrees to take our credit card. One such case comes to my mind whenever I look back to time. I once sold our credit card to a university immigrant student who had come on scholarship from India. Although I had informed him of all the details of using prudently the credit card, I later came to know that the said student had come under so much of debt that despite being an extremely bright student, he could not complete his studies on time as he had to work long hours to repay the debt accrued on his credit cards.

It seemed that in an alien atmosphere and without much understanding of the system of the new country, the credit card became his curse. Selling the credit cards to the student fraternity is becoming an extremely lucrative business for the credit card companies. The students do not actually require these cards as they can meet their needs with the part time work, they take up. Access to credit cards expands the area of their needs unnecessarily and in a short time, they are up to their neck in debts!

I known that students are easy targets and beneficial to the company who will be the ultimate gainer when the students use the cards and become debtor. Although, I have left the company, if I am faced with the same situation, I would probably sell the card to the student but I would also make sure that he is made aware of the pitfalls of owning the credit card as a student and of the urgent need to use it only in emergencies. I would go out of my way to explain the unsavoury details of the credit card to the students because I feel that students, especially immigrant students, need to have the credit card so that it can be used in emergencies.

This way, I would be able to fulfil my obligation to my customer as well to my organization.ReferenceLeadership: Facing Moral and ethical Dilemmas. Center of Business and Ethics. Loyola Manymount University. Avaialble: [6 October 2007].