Specialty Fleet Services: an Ethical Framework - Case Study Example

Specialty Fleet Services: an Ethical Framework Dilemma of the Case The case study is about SFS or Specialty Fleet Services and its objective of convincing their customers about the new technology which they are about to launch. On the other hand the company even has adopted an ethical framework which states that any form of deceptive practices can be considered to be unethical for a business system. As mentioned in the case study the company was about to launch an online system known as FleetNet. The major objective of this online framework was to enable customized services to all their clients. However this framework would be based on multiple servers which in turn will increase the overall maintenance costs. The main dilemma identified in the case study was Christopher Knox who was known as Fort in the office went to a great extent in order to crack a big deal with Armadillo Gas & Power. He did not follow the ethical code of the company which clearly stated that deceptive practices were highly unethical. On the contrary, Fort attempted to convince Dale Landry in an indirect manner and not as an employee of SFS. This in turn created a lot of confusion amongst the other team members as they strictly followed the ethical code developed by the company.1 Jeremy Silva as vice president of sales of SFS said that there was no harm done by the actions undertaken by Fort. This in turn was even supported by other members of the management who stated that the story of Fort should be a motivational factor for the entire sales force. However the justifications given by management were not appropriate to eliminate the contradictory ideas which resided in minds of other employees.2 In the overall scenario though the company was able to achieve high revenue margins but the actions greatly violated the ethical practices incorporated by the business into the system. Teleopathy and Purpose of the Case The case study has been able to highlight the various ethical dimensions and even has outlined the relationship between ethics and real time situation. Often in certain scenarios in real life it becomes important to think practically then to move according to ethics.3 This helps an individual to accomplish their set objectives but at times do not create a good example for others. The similar condition happened at SFS, as Fort was able to convince one of the toughest customers on their new technology but created a bad image in front of other team members. Ethical code was violated by an employee of SFS but for achieving high revenue margins.4 The management even supported this action as their major goal was accomplished but in other conditions if such deceptive actions are undertaken by an employee then it can even result into one’s termination.5 Through this case study it is highly evident that ethical dimensions were not totally violated by Fort as he did not force Dale Landry to go for FleetNet, instead he decided to implement an innovative idea which was not focused on by any of the team members. The major purpose of the case study was to highlight the smartness which needs to be present in every sales officer so that a rigid customer can even be convinced smoothly.6 On the contrary Fort was not deceptive as he got closer with Mrs. Landry by clicking pictures of their Big Buddy or Bull so that he can get an opportunity to interact with Mr.Landry. Teleopathy can be stated as a mindset which majorly reflects an imbalance observed in individuals in terms of achieving excellence or performing as per ethical standards. The factor of teleopathy can be related to the case study as the major focus of the organization or rather the sales force was to promote their new service and earn high profitability margins.7 On the basis of the concept it can be stated that the management was rational towards the actions undertaken by Fort as they were determined towards a singular focus. Their main aim was to convince one of the biggest clients that could generate high revenue. As per this concept the management was even correct on their position as there was no such deceptive actions undertaken that would have conveyed wrong message to the client or forced Mr. Landry to enter into any form of contractual agreement with SFS. Nature of the case and relation to Dirty Hands Concept There are various concepts which clearly elaborate the significance of ethics in the present world. However this case study closely relates to the approach of utilitarianism. This concept is aligned with the approach of normative ethics and it encompasses that proper action is essential in order to maximize utility. Utilitarianism is greatly associated with maximizing overall benefit and reducing the total negatives or sufferings.8 This concept can even be stated as an economic analysis which has an appropriate moral foundation and is even human-centred. In this approach the morality of any action is determined through its resulting consequences. On the contrary there are lot of contradictory views on these consequences such as which should be given more consideration such as foreseen consequences, intended consequences and actual consequences.9 This concept can be closely associated with the case study as the major factor in the case was to analyze the level of morality behind the actions undertaken by Fort. As a sales force member of SFS it was Fort’s duty and responsibility to make his organization competitive in such a way that maintenance costs related to total servers incorporated in FleetNet can be effectively balanced with generating proper revenues.10 The scenario which has been highlighted in the case clearly states that there was a need towards acquiring big clients by the company. In that context it can be said that Fort had undertaken actions which was morally correct as his prime focus was to maintain well being of the company. On the other hand Mr. Landry who was rigid towards viewing the demo of FleetNet can only be convinced by interacting with him personally and enabling a fear of loss.11 This was not a deceptive approach but an innovative way through which a tough customer can be convinced. The other concepts such as Liberitarianism are not aligned with the case as it talks more about autonomy which has no significance with the case.12 Virtue ethics to some extent judges the nature of the case study but it majorly focuses on habits and actions that lead towards happiness.13 However this case is not only about actions but the degree of ethics maintained throughout business operations. On the contrary deantology is another concept which is not well aligned with the purpose of the case study.14 This concept does not consider consequences of any actions to be determinants of morality but in the case there has been a link shown between ethical values and consequences of actions.15 So the nature of the case study can be well determined with the support of utilitarianism theory. The Dirty Hands concept is usually a metaphor which is used in moral philosophy. Often in certain messy situations it is impossible to come out in clean hands. Individuals in some cases need to compromise on their moral values so that they can undertake appropriate actions.16 It eventually means that an individual violates the basic moral principles but perform certain actions which is for the overall good.17 This situation was greatly observed in the case study and the major focus is on Christopher Knox. He was able to succeed towards the common goal of the company but by compromising on the ethical code of the organization.18 It can be stated that Fort had undertaken right measures for the overall success of the company. His only wrong move was that he adopted a deceptive image so that Mr. Landry and family are not aware about their hidden intentions.19 However the main intention behind such move was not wrong as he did not forcefully try to convince Dale Landry or in that case even did not put across any false aspects related to his company’s new service. Relation to Moral Relativism Moral relativism is an approach which states that there are certain differences related to moral judgements across wide set of cultures and different people. There are three forms of moral relativism such as normative, meta-ethical and descriptive moral relativism.20 The descriptive moral relativism mainly states that there are only certain people, who disagree with the concept of moral, whereas normative moral relativism describes that since no individual can be judged to be right or wrong there is a need to tolerate behaviour of individuals even though we believe that they are morally wrong.21 Meta-ethical moral relativism states that in any disagreements an individual cannot be judged to be wrong or right. Hence on basis of this approach it can be stated that this case study is highly relevant to the meta-ethical moral relativism.22 As in the case Fort cannot be judged as being right or wrong since his actions were for overall benefit of the company. It was necessary to convince the customer so as to initiate sales and this was wrongly misinterpreted by certain team members.23 The seeing-talking practitioner is another approach which is closely related to the moral philosophy. On a broader context there are two forms of practitioner such as morally myopic or whistleblower and morally mute.24 In context of the case study the entire scenario can be related to the conditions of being morally myopic. Christopher Knox was able to mitigate many problems which were currently faced by the company. He acted as a whistleblower or behaved as being morally myopic by analyzing certain factors related to Mr. Landry that could support Fort in accomplishing his major goal.25 On the other hand he was even able to maintain on his ethics by taking permission from Mrs. Landry whether that be entering into the premises of their home or taking photographs of their bull.26 The deceptive actions of Fort can be justified as being non-parochial as he was not limited in terms of scope.27 There were no such spiritual norms being followed by him as he did not convey the right objective behind entering into Landry’s home. The partial ordering of values state that there are certain values which are taken into consideration by an individual but on the other hand there are even certain values which are contradictory to a given situation.28 In this case study Fort had maintained certain values by not misleading Dale Landry and highlighting those aspects of their service which would be appealing to the client. Comparison with real time cases The case study can be related to certain real time scenarios which usually take place across the globe. In this case there has been a significant dilemma in context of the ethical dimensions which has not been maintained properly by one of the sales team members. There was a similar situation witnessed in one of the famous multinational companies known as Coca Cola Company. There was a great deal of environmental damage caused by the company by its bottling activities.29 However customers were not made aware about this aspect and simultaneously there was even some harmful substances observed in the product.30 It was moral duty of the company to convey this aspect to the customers and even ensure them that proper measures will be adopted by the company. In this scenario, management of the company felt that it is more beneficial to hide the factors related to environmental damage and product quality from customers.31 This situation was similar to that of SFS to certain extent as the management chose that option which can ensure sustainability of the company and high profitability margins.32 It was not that Coca Cola Company compromised on its ethics but it attempted to rectify its mistakes and offer best products to their wide customer base.33 There was even similar incident witnessed in one of the retail chains known as Morrison’s. The company usually performed all its business operations being aligned with their framework of ethics.34 However in order to survive in the industry the company compromised on its ethics and eliminated those workers from their system who were trying hard but were not able to deliver desirable results. This resulted into lot of chaos in the organization as other employees were highly concerned regarding their job security. The company if viewed from ethical framework did not undertake the right action but the major objective behind this action was to maintain their position in the market place and safeguard jobs of those individuals who deserved to be retained.35 This case can be greatly related to the scenario identified in the case study. In the case study Fort attempts to secure the position of the company and in case of Morrison’s, in order to control costs so as to remain competitive certain unethical actions are adopted by the company. However in both the cases the actions cannot be judged as right or wrong as the major goal was morally right.36 There was similar situation observed in Intel where the management was eager towards launching their micro chip but was unable to convince some of their big clients. However the action which has been highlighted in the case study was not similar to this real time scenario.37 In the real time case the management did not encourage any form of deceptive actions but they engaged into framing strategies through which their ethical conduct can be maintained and desirable goals be accomplished.38 Thus it can be stated that in some real time cases it is highly unethical to perform any deceptive actions and in those situations management usually implement appropriate strategies so as to protect the image of the company. References Adams, Emerald. Character: The Framework for a Successful Life. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 37(3). 2009. Altier, Wilson. 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