Business Ethics - Task 2
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Western Governors University
Business Ethics – C717
Task 2 – Ethical Responsibilities
Melissa McGrady
July 26, 2023
A. Take on the role of the ethics officer in the scenario and address the following:
1. Describe three rights and responsibilities of employees based on the scenario.
Safety - Employees need to ensure they don’t put themselves or others in danger.
Employers expect their employees to perform their work in a safe manner with no
injuries to themselves or others. This is critical for the lives in the workplace and
employees are responsible to take job safety seriously. Injuries can be avoided with the
proper training from the employers.
Work - Employees are hired to work. They are hired based on their skills and knowledge
to perform a job duty. This is a responsibility of the employee to the employer. This is
important for the simple fact that if an employee does not do their job, it will affect
productivity and operations. Employees need to do the work they were hired for.
Wages - Every employee has the right to fair wage in return for their work completion.
Employees have the right to receive full compensation for the work they have performed
and if they don't, they have the right to report the employer. The employer must follow
laws to compensate their employees for the work they have done in the organization. If
they don't, they can be punished by law.
2. Evaluate two ethical responsibilities of the employer within the context of the
employer/employee relationship described in the scenario.
Moral responsibilities - The employers need to ensure that their employees are
working in a safe environment. The employer needs to make known of the ethical
standards so that employees can follow or refer to it if one is in a situation. By doing
this, the employer is setting a positive image of the company. The employers should
practice continuous training on moral and ethical standards for employees to
reference with the practice to make the right decision.
Respect - It is very important in the workplace to treat everyone with respect.
Respect needs to be given to the employer and to the employee. Respect in the
workplace leads to trust, openness and being transparent within the company.
Respecting each other leads to decisions being made that will make everyone happy.
Respecting each other makes the workplace enjoyable and decreases the chance of
anyone being discriminated against.
3. Develop one ethical business dilemma that can be used to demonstrate employee
understanding of the company’s ethical standards.
The misuse of company time. I have a coworker who doesn't care about what time
she walks into work, how long she takes for lunch, or how early she leaves before
the end of her shift. We don’t use a time stamp system, but we are required to work 8
am to 3 pm. She will walk into work 5 to 8 minutes late and leave 5 minutes early to
be in her car by 3:00 pm. She does the same for her lunch time. She will tell us she
has to run a deposit to the bank and then take her lunch after. She will be gone for at
least 2 hours. She abuses her time, and it is unethical to come in late, take longer
lunches and leave earlier than she is supposed to. Leadership has not done anything
about this situation because she is protected by the union.
4.
Evaluate the dilemma from part A3 from a utilitarian and relativistic perspective.
Utilitarianism is best explained as the ethical significance of any action by looking to
the consequences of that act. Utilitarianism can be identified as “maximizing the
overall good” or “the greatest good for the greatest number”. (DesJardins, Pg. 31)
As a utilitarian the dilemma is perceived as wrongdoing because this employee
abuses company time which is unethical and unacceptable. She does not realize nor
does she care that she is abusing the company’s rules for the required time to be on
the job.
Ethical relativism holds that ethical value and judgements are ultimately dependent
upon, or relative to, a person’s culture or personal belief. (DesJardins, Pg. 11)
As a relativist, the dilemma would be viewed as right if stealing company time
wasn’t thought of any wrongdoing if their work is done. If this person sees others
abusing company work time and nothing is done about it, then they will see it as
they are not doing anything wrong. This depends on the person's moral norm that
they have been practicing in their culture.
5.
Describe two common ethical decisions that reflect corporate ethics and responsibilities
that employees can face while working in a corporate setting.
Internet use - Another coworker is aware of the company policy that prohibits the
use of company internet for personal use. She continues to use the company internet
while on work time to do her shopping and buy tickets to events. I have decided to
not report this to management because I don’t want to get involved and feel tension
between us and make my workspace hostile.
Company supplies - There are multiple people in my company that steal company
supplies for their children. They often talk about their children's projects and the
items they need to begin school in September. The office is stocked with color pens,
different types of color paper, binder clips, markers, and folders. I have seen staff
take company supplies in excessive amounts that I know they don’t need for their
workspace or to complete their job tasks. I decided to not say anything to
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management because I don’t want to be the office “rat” or “tattle tale”. I feel that one
day management will notice the increase in supply orders in September.
6. Explain why each ethical decision in part A5 presents an ethical dilemma and how an
individual might justify unethical behavior (e.g., common excuses).
For the coworker who uses the company's internet to go shopping on company time
would justify the use by explaining she doesn’t have time to do it when she gets
home. This is an ethical dilemma because the rest of us are afraid to use the internet
for personal use and get in trouble. We know the company policy and we know the
IT department can see our keystrokes and website history on the computer.
Those staff members that steal office supplies to provide for their children would
justify by the excuse of “It’s here anyway” or “There is enough, no one will notice”.
This is an ethical dilemma because it is stealing from the company. These staff
members know the supplies are there for their use to do their job (teachers). Many
would also claim that no one will find out because the amount of supplies is so large,
no one will notice anything is missing.
B. DesJardins, Joseph R. (2020) An Introduction to business ethics.
https://lccn.loc.gov/2018056961
&
https://lrps.wgu.edu/provision/275004097