Ethical Dilemma, Professional Organizations Issue Rules and Regulations - Assignment Example

Answer I Ethics, responsibility and duty are intertwined although duty is superior to ethics. Ethical dilemmas may haunt a person, especially under stressful conditions, but the true value of human life can be accomplished only when he fulfills his duties as a human being. The ethical conduct of the Good Samaritan in the Holy Bible is in sharp contrast to the conduct of the actors in SADHU, when duty was the primary responsibility in both cases. The Samaritan in the Holy Bible was also just another passer-by like the trekkers in SADHU but he behaved unlike these trekkers and also did not ignore his duties as a human being. The priest and the temple assistant are supposed to be in service of the Lord but they did not understand that to serve another human being is the biggest service to the lord. The Samaritan, despite his schedules, spent time and effort in providing comfort to a dying man. He fulfilled his duty by bringing him back to the inn on his own donkey, and while departing ensured that the Jew was fully taken care of. The actors in SADHU did show some concern but only to the extent there schedules were not hampered. Being ethical is to be dutiful and responsible. To be ethical is to follow the goals in life. No single individual was willing to shoulder the responsibility and found an easy way out by passing it on to the others. The group was not coherent and did not share common goals. To reduce the burden of guilt, each individual contributed in some way but nobody was willing to sacrifice his goal to save the SADHU. This demonstrates that people had belief in their own core values but when it came to taking a tough stand, they were ambiguous. In ethics there can be no place for ambiguity. Being indecisive and unethical under stressful condition represents failure of human duties and responsibilities. Individual values and needs are ignored. People look for a support system to help others. The Samaritan had none but nevertheless, carried on with his duties unhampered, unaffected. The Sherpa Sirdar was focused on his duty to reach the group to the mountain top and ignored the calls from within. Duty is supreme but not beyond ethics, not above human life. People look for contingency plans to deal with unexpected situations. The Samaritan did not have any contingency plans drawn up but responded to the calls of duty. The group on the mountains may have been multicultural and tried to console themselves using this as a scapegoat or suppress their guilt. The Samaritan was alone which demonstrates that to fulfill one’s duty group, common goals and support system are not necessary. Any ethical dilemma poses two difficult choices. It is up to an individual to respond to the calls of the duty in the selfless manner that the Samaritan did or be selfish as the actors in SADHU who did not know how much to sacrifice to help the sadhu. Answer II Various philosophers and thinkers have expressed their views on how to resolve ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemma is best resolved based on the Divine Command Theory which basically is to give cognizance to the inner voice. Every country, every society, every community follows certain unwritten laws, which are believed to be from the Creator himself. Ethical Egoism Theory on the other hand determines how human beings are selfish by nature and try to judge others by their own measure of ethical egos. Philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill hold a different view on resolving ethical dilemmas. Utilitarianism according to Mill states that it’s not possible to do good to everyone nor can everyone be satisfied at the same time. Hence, the right approach is to bring greatest good to the greatest number of people. Kant does not believe that human beings should be used as an end to attain benefits. His Categorical Imperative Theory suggests that people must act according to a universal law. Locke and Rawls under the Contractarianism and Justice Theory justified that human beings should be bound under a social contract and then visualize a situation without rules or laws to be adhered to. They wanted that we must start with a blank slate and certain universal rules must apply. Robert Nozick, the proponent of the Rights Theory or the entitlement theory believed that everyone has a set of rights and it is the responsibility of the government to protect these rights. This theory encompasses all the emotional ethical dilemmas facing human beings. Moral Relativism Theory believes in circumstantial ethics implying that an act which might otherwise be considered unethical can be justified under different circumstances. For instance if a parent steals a loaf of bread to feed a hungry child, it does not amount to stealing. Finally Aristotle and Plato strongly believed that individuals must nurture a set of values to be in a position to resolve ethical dilemmas. This known as virtual ethics requires that education and training should be provided and it is hence essential to first cultivate virtues in people. The virtues that are necessary for any person to be able to resolve the ethical issues include ability, articulateness, fairness, humility, charisma, integrity, humor and responsibility amongst others. Professor Robert Solomon advises to treat workers with dignity, value diversity, provide training and education and respect freedom of expression and religion. Peer-to-Peer File Sharing which allows free downloading of songs is highly unethical as it encroaches on others’ privacy. The virtue of honesty is defied if one says something which is not true to a potential buyer in order to smoothing earnings. If an officer influences buying or engages with a company that he has created as part of a sideline of work, it is unethical because there would be a conflict of interest. Hiding harmful effects of a new drug or divulging proprietary information about your own company is ethical violation. For instance, being a silent witness to theft would be termed condoning unethical actions. Multinational companies are often indecisive when it comes to operating in another nation. While their presence may help the economy of the country, they may be violating the human rights. Balancing ethical dilemmas in such situations require the right spirit and toughness. Answer III Many professional organizations issue rules and regulations of conduct that may have a negative impact upon the individual. Most professional organizations are instruments of the state which make it necessary for individuals to have protection. The Bill of Rights grants this protection to an individual but there exists a conflict between the individual professional and the standards of ethics established to guide the institution. An individual has been granted the right to keep and bear arms for his security and will not be held responsible to answer for a capital crime. As an individual he will not be answerable but as a member of a group this right is infringed. The Bill of Rights states that if he happens to be a part of the military or naval force, and be in service at the time of the crime, he loses this right to freedom. At this point the interest of the group supercedes individual interest. This contradicts the right of an individual. The conflict arises because the group is superior to an individual and if the individual is guilty, the institution can demand justice as per ethical norms. As per the Bill of Rights, every individual has a right to security and his house or papers cannot be searched or seized without proper authority and supported by affirmation. This too should carry details of the exact place that would be searched and the details of the relevant papers would be required. This means that an individual working in an organization can misuse this right which infringes upon the rights of an institution or organization. The Bill of Rights further states that an individual cannot be charged for the same offense twice. He cannot be forced to be a witness against himself nor be deprived of his freedom, life or property. Private property cannot be confiscated for public use without adequate compensation. All these amendments favor the individual without taking into consideration that the individual can use these even against the state. An individual can even conduct these activities on behalf of the professional group and remain free from charges. In other words the organization or group may use individuals to attain their means. This means the ethical standards set by an organization have no sanctity. In the case of criminal prosecutions, the individual will have the right for a speedy trial in the state or district where the crime has been committed. Before the trial he has full rights to receive the nature and cause of accusation and he will also be assisted in having a counsel for his defense. Fines and punishments will not be excessive. The individual may have committed a crime at his workplace which means the organization has no right to sue the employee. The Amendments to the Constitution have taken into consideration the right of an individual but not that of an organization or a group to which the individual may belong except in the case of military or naval forces. Read More