Work Place Ethical Dilemmas and Solutions

Business Ethics

Businesses operate in an increasingly complex environment characterized by a conflict of interests. The predominant determinants of the acceptability of a business idea, product, or venture are the societal ethics. Individual perception of the manner in which the company conducts its operations receives influence from the fundamental moral grounds. The conflict between the principles and the theoretical imperatives result in the complexity of the matter. An integrated use of the normative, descriptive, and the stages of moral development develop a guideline on evaluating the compliance of a business activity to the known moral perspectives in the society. The normative theory is a conglomeration of sub-theories that explores the identifiable differences between the right and the wrong. On the contrary, the descriptiveapproach explores individual’s perception of morality. The stages of moral development offer a viable solution to the business dilemma. The phases acknowledge the moral reasoning as the basis for ethical behavior in not only business but also across a variety of human actions.

The Ethical Dilemma

Discrimination among employees in a company is a common practice in the contemporary business environment. The setting of the business entity requires adherence to the fundamental societal and workplace ethical practices such as balance in gender treatment across the male and female workers (Eikhof, 2012). Nevertheless, the traditional perception that jobs could be categorizedin accordance with the accompanying need for power segments the industry into two categories. Kelan (2009) notes that deeming some jobs as specifically meant for men while others favor the female gender draws discriminatory demarcations as per our Marketing assignment help team working in different scenarios. Some companies operate in environments dominated by male employees only. For instance, the General Motors Company in the United States of America prefers male automotive engineers to work in the workshops citing the nature of duties performed (Sugiman, 2001). Therefore, the introduction of a female worker into the environment stirs mixed reactions from the male workers that may psychologically affect the subject. The most common forms of response entail sexual harassment and weird comments. In response, the manager may resolve to move the new employee to a new workplace. Treating the employee differently emerges as discriminatory and ethically questionable.

Justification

Workplace ethics provide that the handling of employees should depict some sense of equality in wages and gender-related issues. However, some companies consider the nature of the tasks to ensure fair treatment of female and male laborers. Consequently, the balance between men and women in the workplace is affected by the desire to employ the most efficient caliber of people to serve in the firm. The condition leads to the establishment of a working environment in which one gender dominates the scene. Malos (2007) observes that the society has a perception that the most arduous tasks attract male laborers whereas the women scramble for less physical duties. Hence, it is more likely that the nature of the job dictates the preference of workers. The case in which a company dominated by male employees considers inclusion of a female employee amounts to the dilemma.

Buckner, Hindman, Huelsman, & Bergman (2014)cite a possible adverse reaction from the male workers due to lack of adaptive strategies to unprecedented changes. Fundamentally, firms conduct sensitivity training to prepare employees for random eventualities such as changes in workplace environments (Buckner et. al., 2014). The exercise boosts the immunity of employees to the introduction of unfamiliar objects in the places of work as per our strategic management assignment help team in UK. The dominance of the masculine gender over the female counterparts explains the growing rift between the expected and the observed treatment among workers in firms.

The handling of gender issues in business is entirely sophisticated. Ethically, employees are entitled to fair treatment that entails the freedom of association and movement (Magnani, 2012). Nevertheless, the introduction of a female worker in a male-dominated workplace draws considerable attention. The consequent actions by the administration are subject to test for moral and ethical compliance. For instance, the supervisor may opt to relocate the laborer to secluded places away from the sight of other employees to evade interference. Alternatively, the manager may consider the elimination of the individual through laying off and sanction the employees responsible for the misconduct. The options trigger the intervention of business ethics as an exploratory tool.

Moral and ethical misconduct deviate from the societal expectations. The action by the manager to move the worker to a new place of work deprives the individual the psychological and mental freedom. The employee operates under limited autonomy resulting from the unfair treatment by fellow workmates. The dilemma emanates from the determination of the best action to be taken by the manager to salvage the situation.

The Normative theory of utilitarianism exposes the complexity of the situation. The basic concept of the theory suggests the performance of a cost-benefit analysis of the preferred choice (Palmer, 1999). Utilitarianism puts into consideration the consequences of the actions in the aftermath. Businesswise, punishing the employees responsible for the misconduct would reduce their productivity. Similarly, relocating the female employee to an unintended unit violates the initial objective of recruiting the worker. Both choices have a serious impact on the overall performance of the business and the affected laborers. The second perspective considers the consequences of the actions to the new stakeholder. On moral grounds, the female worker is entitled to serene working environments free from distractions as per human resource management assignment help experts. The supervisor’s decision to isolate the workerviolates the individual’s right to association (Jones, 2002). Likewise, terminating the job would violate the provisions put across by the normative theory. For instance, the applied utilitarianism discourages breach of contracts via breaking promises. According to Dion (2012), termination of employment contract upsets the individual and amounts to time wastage. Ethically, sacking, or transferring the worker is a breach of contract that depicts non-compliance to work ethics.