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Week 4 Ethical Dilemma Project – Application of Ethical Theory

Student Name

Ethics 232

Professor

27, September 2020

Ethical Dilemma Project –Application of Ethical Theory

The Ethical Dilemma

The key ethical dilemma of the case is should the employees be held accountable for the impacts of dating in the workplace or should they be permitted to continue making the workplace uncomfortable for everyone around them.

Three Ethical Theories

Duty-Oriented Ethics

Kant stated his categorical imperative as “we should engage in an action only if we would accept that everyone engages in the action or that the action should become a universal law for everyone.” (Week 1 Lesson, 2020) The decision here being to act or to let the situation play out, one must consider the implications under each of the elements that make up that imperative. Universal application would imply that, should we choose to act, we would demand of ourselves, and expect of others, that the same action would be taken in all future cases like this one. The same holds true should we choose to let the situation play out. We would be stating that we would accept the circumstances this creates in the future involving these or other parties. The means/ends criteria in this case means that we need to choose our action, not just in the interest of the good of the store, but with the best interests of those involved in mind. We cannot make a decision on what to do with them without considering how what we choose impacts them. The final category is demanding an action. In this particular case those involved have made the workplace an uncomfortable environment for everyone, themselves included, so we are duty bound to take some form of action to correct the situation. We have a duty, as managers, to all of the employees, to provide them a safe and respectful environment to work in, and this situation has not contributed to that.

Using Kant’s categorical imperative, we can determine that the management team should choose to step in. We are clearly duty bound to do something to correct the environment that has been created. A decision can be made to separate the schedules of the parties involved, so the behavior can be managed without terminating anyone. The decision to correct the circumstance by actively helping the parties involved without hurting anyone is one that I would feel comfortable becoming a universal law.

Consequentialist Ethics

Consequentialist ethics looks more at the results of an action rather than the rules when determining the right and wrong of it. British philosophers Bentham and Mill suggested that “the most ethical action is always one from which the greatest number of people benefit and the least are harmed.” (Week 2 Lesson, 2020) The circumstances of this case have resulted in the actions of two individuals ruining the environment of more than thirty employees, and an undetermined number of clients. Choosing to act may result in the possible loss of employment for both of the involved parties but would result in the betterment of the environment for all others. Choosing not to act would leave many people unhappy, and only the two would benefit by retaining their employment. Under Consequentialist ethics “The decision to act or not act should be directed to producing the greatest good for the greatest number of people”(Week 2 Lesson, 2020), and so it seems simple that the decision should be made to remove the two employees causing the problems. Granted, not all consequences are created equally, and therefore the individual loss of paycheck for the two in question should be compared at greater value than the individual peace of mind others would be gaining. However, with the sheer number of people this case has impacted I feel the needs of the many still holds true.

Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics suggests that “people should cultivate certain virtues and avoid certain vices in order to ensure an excellent character.” (Week 4 Lesson, 2020) By this it means that our decisions in this case should be based on upholding virtues that make an excellent person who would make ethical decisions by default, or habit. The problem here I think lies in the virtues that could be looked at when examining this case. The ones that stand out to me would be compassion and justice. In looking at these two individuals, and the circumstances they have created, it seems to me that the two virtues we could examine this case under would come to directly opposing conclusions. Under the virtue of justice, one could argue that they created this situation themselves, have impacted many others with their behaviors, and that it being deemed necessary to remove them would be right and good. Under compassion though, they would be losing their income, and even though it means a great deal of discomfort and inconvenience for a large number people, the effort should be made to help them work through it. As explained in our lessons though, while it may not be useful in making an actual decision in this case due to ambiguity, it can help in organizing and understanding the principals to finding an ethical solution(Week 4 Lesson, 2020).

My Choice

My choice in finding a solution to this particular case would be duty-based ethics, though using a bit of the virtue ethics in understanding the principles behind my decision. I feel like virtue ethics helped me to see the difference between the duty based and consequential based ethics. Either way the ethics of the situation demand that the other managers and myself must take some form of action. I feel like duty-based ethics led me to a more compassionate form of action while consequence based led toward a more justice influenced action. If we, according to Kant must accept our action as leading to a universal law (Week 1 Lesson, 2020) I think our society would benefit from more laws based in compassion.

References

Devry University. (2020). Week 1: Lesson. Devry. https://devryu.instructure.com/courses/60369/pages/week-1-lesson?module_item_id=7458503

Devry University. (2020). Week 2: Lesson. Devry. https://devryu.instructure.com/courses/60369/pages/week-2-lesson?module_item_id=7458541

Devry University. (2020). Week 4: Lesson. Devry. https://devryu.instructure.com/courses/60369/pages/week-4-lesson?module_item_id=7458617

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Week 3 Ethical Dilemma Project – Case Study

Student Name

Ethics 232

Professor

20, September 2020

Ethical Dilemma Project –Case Study

Directions : Fill in the blanks.

1. The ethical dilemma I selected from the list of topics is dating in the workplace.

2. The case I selected is an event currently ongoing at my place of employment.

Background of the Real Case

I started a new job a few months ago as a driver for a local pizza delivery place, with the understanding that I was training into management based on my background. At the time there were three other managers there that were to have a hand in my training. One of the three has since left and is not overly central to the event, aside from the fact that his departure forced me into management and made this event of greater concern and impact to me directly.

The two managers that are central to this event, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Jones, are both fairly young, with little in the way of professional work experience, but are both very driven in their own ways. During my time training with them I got to know both reasonably well. Mr. Smith is very serious young man who has a great deal of energy and thrives in an environment where he is expected to work fast and work hard. He is very strict and very precise; everything has to be by the book for him. But he also needs to see that those around him are working just as hard or he becomes disgruntled and his behavior openly reflects this. Mrs. Jones is a lot less serious in nature, and while she is a hard worker, she is not as concerned with things being exact and will easily take advantage of slow periods to relax and socialize. She is a very open and outgoing personality and in her own words flirty to a fault.

Mr. Smith and Mrs. Jones considered themselves friends, by their own definition. At some point though Mr. Smith took the flirty behavior of Mrs. Jones to imply that there could be something more between them. Smith made some overtures toward her verbally and via text messaging. Mrs. Jones is not great at direct confrontation, so she passed off his verbal overtures as just their usual banter. The text messages however Jones felt were a bit over the top, and she took them to the General Manager. The GM then had no choice but to address it with Mr. Smith as inappropriate behavior.

The situation between the two of them had become tense and awkward, the bantering had turned mean, and it was beginning to spill over to the crew under them. Within two weeks Mr. Smith had decided he no longer wanted to be a manager and stepped down. Things in the store are still tense, and they both seem to go out of their way to antagonize each other. It has caused problems on the shifts of every other manager at one point or another. There have been impacts to morale and production. Other managers and I have had to go to the GM demanding that they not both be on our shifts at the same time, and I have had several conversations with the GM regarding possibilities for more permanent solutions.

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Week 2 Ethical Dilemma Project – Topic Selection

Student Name

ETHC232

Instructor

13, September 2020

Dating in the Workplace

Can dating in the workplace be an ethical dilemma? Dating and other interpersonal relationships within the workplace has been known to create a number of problems both in and outside of the company space(Mintz, 2017). It can cause problems with employee morale, create perceptions of favoritism, have negative impacts on productivity, and even introduce needless complexity in customer relations(Mintz, 2017). Research indicates that it is becoming more commonplace with the younger generations though, and many millennials see the added complexity of interpersonal relationships in the workplace as having positive effects(Mintz, 2019).

Many companies have policies specifically in place to avoid dating and other fraternization in the workplace(Magloff, n.d.). Has the workplace changed between generations to result in greater acceptance of this by the younger millennial generation? Are these policies still relevant in todays evolving workplace? Is it the company’s prerogative to prevents such socialization? Should employees be held accountable when ethical concerns arise from their fraternization?

In this paper we will examine the ethical issues posed by dating and other fraternization in the workplace. We will explain how these issues can impact both the company and the employees involved and discuss the ethical and legal responsibilities implied. We will also be providing a real life example from personal experience that will demonstrate the possibility of this ethical dilemma being handled well and ending successfully.

References

Mintz, S. (2017, January 23). A Word of Advice for Millennials About Dating in the Wrokplace. Stevenmintzethics. https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/single-post/2017/01/23/A-Word-of-Advice-for-Millennials-About-Dating-in-the-Workplace#:%7E:text=While%20dating%20in%20the%20workplace,an%20employee%20of%20lower%20rank.&text=Employee%20morale%20may%20be%20compromised,relationship%20may%20negatively%20affect%20productivity.

Mintz, S. (2019, July 3). The Ethics of Dating in the Workplace. Workplace Ethics Advice. https://www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2019/07/the-ethics-of-dating-in-the-workplace.html

Magloff, L. (n.d.). Policies About Workplace Dating. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/policies-workplace-dating-2630.html

WEEK 8: ETHICAL DILEMMA PROJECT: TRAINING PRESENTATION

To create a 4- to 5-minute training presentation based on ethical dilemma essay attached. It should consist of approximately 10 well-designed, informative, and engaging slides.  

Assume that you are a manager of a business or industry who needs to develop a 4- to 5-minute training video on the selected topic for the course Dilemma Project. The video should address the ethical and legal problem you identified in your paper and educate new and/or existing employees on what is wrong and why they should do "_____" instead of "_____" to eliminate the problem or solve it when they face it.

Prepare a presentation that clearly demonstrates "right" conduct concerning the issue and explains why this ethical-legal issue in the workplace matters. The training video should have entertainment value as well as educational value.

You will record audio and visual commentary to go along with the presentation using Kaltura, PowerPoint, or another tool of your choosing.

The presentation should contain the following content.

· A title slide that features your topic selection, your name, school name, and the course identifier (ETHC232)

· A slide that defines the ethical term chosen in Week 2; include a citation on the slide for the definition you used

· A slide that depicts the case you selected

· This can be an image or visual only (a picture that is worth a thousand words) to show the case that you narrate in your presentation. Include a citation on the slide for the photo or image you used.

· A slide that lists the ethical dilemma and the three theories; cite sources on the slide

· A slide that shows which laws or codes apply; cite sources on the slide

· A slide that gives possible solutions and impacts on stakeholders

· A slide that gives your solution and your rationale for choosing it

· A slide that shows where, how, when, or why the situation can occur in the workplace of the future

· A slide that gives advice or tips on how to handle the dilemma when it does occur

· References slide

· Sources must be cited on individual slides and documented on a References slide using APA style.

Please refer to the Ethical Dilemma Project Overview in the Introduction and Resources Module for details. You will be graded on your demonstrated understanding of the ethical dilemma, overall slide quality (visual appeal, grammatical correctness, accuracy), and overall audiovisual presentation quality (clear voice, smooth delivery).

Please see the rubric for the presentation.