Essay Sample on Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace

Published: 2021-07-29
617 words
3 pages
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George Washington University
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Article review
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Ethics is important factor that must be considered in business. It ensures that the organization follows the right approaches when carrying out operations and offering customer services. Unfortunately, ethical dilemmas are becoming quite common in the workplace as two situations tend to collide, creating confusion as to which one is right or wrong. This paper features an article review of Confronting Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace. It will analyze the ideas presented and relate them to real life situations.

Boatright (2013) argues that ethics can be dangerous to ones career as a result of the ethics of others in the workplace. This is because what one considers to be right and acceptable may not be accepted by the other. As such, it is very likely that within the organization, ones personal values, moral beliefs, and commitment to do the right thing will be tested (Clarke, 2011). It is indicated that most people use a faulty model of unethical behavior. It is often based on the idea that bad people do bad things and good people do good things. This is wrong because this article notes that often, good employees, managers and leaders also make similar mistakes. This is why it is necessary to understand why good people do bad things.

One of the reasons that have been identified by Boatright (2013) is that these good people do not understand that the problem has an ethical component. Mostly, they just assume that it is a financial or marketing problem. Basically, there is a need to sensitize them on how to analyze the problem from an ethical perspective. Therefore, it is not about making bad people good, but rather about enhancing their sensitivity to ethical issues (Noriega & Drew, 2013).

Various approaches have been provided on how to deal with ethical dilemmas. For instance, the author states that there is a need to create a culture of ethics whereby there is a well-articulated code of ethics which will explicitly tell the employees how they are expected to work. Also, this author suggests that the management must assume responsibility for the process of employee monitoring and control (Boatright, 2013).

This article contributes to contemporary thinking about business ethics as it describes what causes ethical dilemmas and provides suggestions on how to act. It also indicates the areas where conflicts are more likely to occur, such as the financial sections of a company or in the financial industry. It also elaborates further on the importance of not focusing on avoiding conflicts, but rather on teaching the employees to manage them effectively (Noriega & Drew, 2013). This is because conflicts cannot be avoided.

The information from this article may be applied in my field as supporting material for recommendations presented. It can also be used as a resource to further educate the employees on ethical dilemmas in the workplace. Therefore, when determining action plans for future conflicting situations, the ideas in this article may be used to further explain the reasons behind the suggestions given.

This article is in line with my ethical view as it features arguments that I have come to adopt over time in relation to business ethics. For example, I believe that business ethics may be difficult to describe because what is acceptable for one employee may be unacceptable to others. Therefore, it is up to the management to create a new culture which all employees will follow.

References

Clarke, C. (2011). A System Approach to Implementing Business Ethics in the Corporate Workplace. Journal Of Business Systems, Governance & Ethics, 6(2), 1-11.

Noriega, P., & Drew, M. T. (2013). Ethical Leadership and Dilemmas in the Workplace. Consortium Journal Of Hospitality & Tourism, 18(2), 34-48.

Boatright, J. R. (2013, September). Confronting Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace. Financial Analysts Journal. pp. 6-9.

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