A Business Ethical Dilemma That I Came Across - Admission/Application Essay Example

I thought perhaps Tod was not conversant with the technical intricacies associated with the job. So I once again talked to Tod and showed him how to go about his work. Still, the end results remained more or less the same.

            Searching for Tod’s personal life, I learned that Tod was 35 and happened to be the father of two children. I also learned that Tod was taking night classes to improve his career prospects. Now, being responsible for Tod’s performance, it was imperative for me to take a decision regarding him at the earliest possible time. I also knew that in the worst-case scenario, Tod might end up losing his job. On the other hand, if I had postponed the action, it would have seriously impacted the work of the organization I served for. Hence, no doubt, Tod’s issue turned out to be a big ethical dilemma for me. The very awareness of the fact that Tod was raising a family and was attending a night school, hence the very wellbeing of his family was dependent on his work, was weighing heavily on my mind.

            So I decided to think seriously about this ethical dilemma. Ethical egoism was pushing me to resort to an action that was in my best interest, which was to convey Tod’s inefficiency blatantly to the supervisor, without caring whether Tod retained or lost his job (Hartman 97). On the contrary, when I considered the possibilities ensuing out of ethical realism, I felt that since we live in an imperfect world, ignoring Tod’s inefficiency would be a decision that will give way to minimal evil (Hartman 22). Hence, this approach failed to convince my conscience. However, when I started thinking in a utilitarian context, things began to make some sense (Hartman 30). I felt that it was my duty to pursue an approach that safeguarded the interests of my organization while protecting Tod’s job (Hart 30). So I took my supervisor into confidence and told him about Tod’s issues with the job, along with the fact that how badly he needed a job. Both of us mulled over the problem and came out with a middle way that was good for both Tod and the organization. We offered Tod a position as a data entry employee. Though in this new job Tod got a smaller salary, he was able to retain his job.

            In retrospect, I think that today if I come across a similar situation, I will take the same decision. I am convinced that the decision I took in the case of Tod was based on sound judgment and was ethically correct.