Question

Background:  What is perceived to be ethical by some people may be easily considered unethical by others. There is not always a right-wrong, yes-no, black-white answer when making decisions. Within organizations, a code of ethics can serve as an ethical guide for employee behavior; however, such codes are often general in their ethical prescriptions. On the other hand, individuals are often left to make ethical decisions simply based on what they perceive to be morally right.

Scenario 1:  Jennie was recently hired to work as a receptionist for the front lobby. As receptionist, she is responsible for making copies for the associates. Her son, Bruce, comes in and needs some copies for a school project. He brought his own paper and needs 300 copies for his class. If he doesn’t bring the copies with him, he will fail the project. The company copier does not require a security key nor do they keep track of copies made by departments.

Steps for Making Ethical Decisions:

1. Identify the ethical issue or problem. Note: This should be from the point of view of the person experiencing the dilemma and should be worded as an either/or question. See further explanation below.
2. List the facts that have the most bearing on the decision.
3. Identify anyone who might be affected by the decision and how.
4. Explain what each affected person would want the person with the dilemma to do about the issue.
5. List three alternative actions and identify the best and worst case scenario for each alternative, anyone who may be negatively impacted by the choice, and any values that would be compromised by selecting the choice.
6. Determine a course of action.

NOTE: A dilemma state consists of one either/or sentence. Example: Should I kill myself or go bowling? (from a country song lyric. So for this scenerio, the dilemma sentence would be something like:

Should Jennie assist her son and secretly use company resources to make copies her son needs for his project, or should she direct him to determine another way to secure copies for his assignment, knowing that it puts him at risk of failure?

Answer 1

Ethical issue: Should Jennie use the office copier for copying her son’s school project?

The facts that have the most bearing on the decision are that her son would fail if he do not bring the copies to his class, the company copier has no security key, and they do not keep track of copies made.

The decision would affect Jennie’s son because he needs to complete his school project requiring 300 copies. Besides, the company would also be affected as it would have to bear the expenses of making copies of such large a number.

The three alternative actions in this scenario can be:

1. Making the copies for her son. This would increase the administrative expenses of the company and Jennie would have to comprise her morals or ethics about not using company property for personal use without informing the senior.

2. Not making the copies for her son. This would negatively impact her son if she fails to find any other solution of making those copies from any other store. Thus, she would hold on to company’s code of ethics but have to compromise her morals as a mother in this case.

3. Informing her manager about the situation and waiting for his decision. This might not negatively affect either her son or the company if the manager understands her situation and allows her to make the copies.

The third scenario would be the best course of action in this case. Jennie can make her manager understand the situation, ask him to allow for making copies from the company copier, and later deduct those expenses from her salary. In this way, no one would be negatively affected and further Jennie would not have to compromise on her ethics.

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