Ethical Dilemmas - Case Study Example

?How Personal Can Ethics Get? Table of Contents Overview 3 0. Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Valerie 4 2.0. If You Were Valerie, What Would You Do? 6 References 8 Overview Whistleblowing has often been recognized as a controversial issue in the ethical consideration of organizational leaders and other participants of the business environment (Johnson, 2003). Based on the case study conducted by Samantha Dench and titled as “How Personal Can Ethics Get?”, the discussion of the paper will focus on the ethical dilemmas faced by Valerie Young, a marketing manager in Wission which is a fragrance company based in Chicago. The ethical dilemmas faced by Valerie Young were related to her decision of whistleblowing in the company against her boss named Lionel Waters. Furthermore, the paper will try to analyze the steps which Valerie could have undertaken in order to be ethical on her part. In this regard, the paper will intend to answer two questions, i.e. what ethical dilemmas are facing Valerie; and if you were Valerie, what would you do? 1.0. Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Valerie Since the night Valerie Young came to know about the unethical behavior of her boss, Mr. Lionel Waters, she was facing stressing ethical dilemmas regarding her step to face the matter. Her dilemmas can be observed to increase twofold after her boyfriend made her realize that she had limited power in the matter, as she was a non-resident in the country and had to accomplish her personal goals abiding the norms of the country. Whistleblowing at that time was not beneficial for her as it implied her job loss and also indicated her egress from the country (Dench, 2006). In this case, it is quite apparent that Valerie was facing the ethical dilemmas of the ‘hedonist principle’ of the ‘self-serving principles’. According to the theory, individuals often face these kinds of dilemmas when there is a conflict in the self-interest and ethical obligation. Individuals often select to favor their self interest following the ‘hedonist principle’ (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007). The fact can be evidently witnessed by her decision to convey the unethical behavior after her tuition for masters in science in the University of Chicago was complete, according to her boyfriend’s advice. Valerie Young took the decision because of her dilemma related to the harm or consequences of whistleblowing. According to the ‘Utilitarian Principle’ of the ‘Balanced Interests Principles’, Valerie Young seemed to consider that after the completion of her educational course, the consequences will be minimized or rather she would have greater opportunity to face the challenges occurred after her whistleblowing. She was also concerned about the effects of her whistleblowing on her team members and to the organization as a whole which would also be reduced by the period. This reflects her concern to the benefit of the highest numbers which again depicts her ethical dilemmas to be partially influenced by the ‘Utilitarian Principle’ (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007). Valerie Young was also facing stress in terms of ethical dilemmas regarding the unethical behavior of her boss and the probable consequence which he might be facing after she blows the whistle. She also considered the possible measures to be undertaken by the organizational leaders regarding the fact, when it was unambiguously mentioned in the company policies that any kind of bribery or unethical practices illustrating kickbacks would not be entertained. However, while considering the facts, Valerie Young proved to be equitable. That is, she tended to be focused on the equitable characteristics of her boss, rather than his arbitrary characteristics, such as gender, age and others. Thus, it is quite apparent that the ethical dilemmas faced by Valerie Young also depicted her consideration to the ‘Distributive Justice Principle’ as her ‘Concern for Other Principles’ (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007). 2.0. If You Were Valerie, What Would You Do? Ethical decision making of an individual largely depends upon the principles identified in the previous discussion of the paper. In this case, Valerie Young can be observed to undergo a few ethical dilemmas which are often termed to be a common reflection of human conscience while facing ethical challenges. Considering the above described ethical principles which are considered by individuals during their decision making regarding whistleblowing, it can be stated that Valerie Young’s actions were quite logical. However, the steps taken were not entirely ethical as it hampered the sustainability of the organisation and also affected the work culture to a large extent. Moreover, her prime focus was not to disturb her personal interests despite her awareness regarding the probable consequences to be faced by the organization, which again reflected an unethical behavior from Valerie Young’s end. Therefore, in this case both Valerie Young’s boss, Mr. Lionel Waters’ and Valerie Young’s behavior can be recognized as unethical from the organizational perspective (Dench, 2006). Instead of securing the secrets to herself, Valerie Young could have conveyed it to the higher authorities of the company. As a marketing manager she had the liberty to convey any of her problems to the senior members of the organization. In this case, she could have utilized her right to convey the matter to the members of the board. But this would give rise to other issues in the organization. After being recognized as a whistleblower, it was most likely that Valerie Young could have been in trouble which she intended to avoid, such as job loss and egress from the country as she did not have a green card. In this regard, she could have conveyed the information incognito to the higher authority taking the advantage of Lionel Waters’ absence in the company premises. This would not only save her from the potential consequences of the whistleblowing, but also maintain an ethical standard in the work culture of the organization. It is due to the fact that after recognizing the company’s ethical considerations employees are likely to feel more secured and motivated to perform their tasks ethically in future (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007). It is worth mentioning that Valerie Young should in these circumstances ignore her personal interests to a certain extent considering the organizational benefit as her foremost priority. Although, ignoring one’s self-interest being at the position of Valerie Young could be quite challenging. But she should also not overlook the company’s compensation to her ethical approach regarding the matter. Thereby, she should have approached to the higher authority immediately after she came across the vouchers, either directly or anonymously. References Dench, S., (2006). How Personal Can Ethics Get? Journal of Management Development, Vol: 25, Iss: 10, pp. 1013 – 1017. Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J. W., (2007). Organizational Behavior. Cengage Learning. Johnson, R. A., (2003). Whistleblowing: When It Works--And Why. Lynne Rienner Publishers. Read More