Ethical Dilemmas

Ethical Dilemmas, Sources and their resolutions:
What is an ethical dilemma?
An ethical dilemma is a moral situation in which a choice has to be made between two
equally undesirable alternatives. Dilemmas may arise out of various sources of behavior or
attitude, as for instance, it may arise out of failure of personal character, conflict of personal
values and organizational goals, organizational goals versus social values, etc. A production
manager, when asked to produce a commodity by his company may face an ethical
dilemma, when he knows that it will harm the large number of consumers who buys and
uses the same.
Sources of ethical problems:
According to Keith Davis and William C Fredrick ethical challenges in business take several
forms and raise different kinds of ethical dilemmas. Ethical challenges and their attendant
dilemmas may arise due to (i) Failure of personal character (ii) Conflict of personal values
and organizational goals (iii) Organizational goals versus social values and (iv) Personal
beliefs vs. organizational practices (v)Hazardous, but popular products.
Other Ethical Challenges

Some of the sample practices are:
1. Price fixing and profiteering due to monopoly and often artificially created scarcity.
2. Shifting unfair shares to the producer, stakeholders & employees.
3. Discriminatory wage structure
4. Using up scarce and irreplenishable industrial resources and raw materials
5. Shifting or locating business at the cost of society
6. Overworking women and children.
Why Business should act ethically?
The reasons for an organization to be ethical include:
• To protect its own interest,
• To protect the interests of the business community as a whole so that the public will
have trust in it.
• To keep its commitment to society to act ethically,
• To meet stakeholder expectations.
• To prevent harm to the general public,
• To build trust with key stakeholder groups,

• To protect themselves from abuse from unethical employees and competitors,
• To protect their own reputations,
• To protect their own employees, and
• To create an environment in which workers can act in ways consistent with their
values.
How Corporations Observe Ethics to reduce dilemmas?
• Publish in-house codes of ethics to be strictly followed by all their associates
• Employ people with a reputation for high standards of ethical behavior at the top
levels
• Incorporate consideration of ethics into performance reviews.
• Give rewards for ethical behavior.
• Conduct an Ethics Audit
Code of personal ethics for employees:
Most company codes list the following values that are expected from their employees:
1. Respect confidential information to which you have access.

2. Maintain high standard of professional responsibility
3. Avoid being placed in situations involving conflict of interest
4. Act with integrity
5. Do not discriminate against anybody or anything on any bias
6. Maintain professional relations based on mutual respect for individuals and
organizations
7. Be committed to the goals of the organization
8. Do not give up your individual professional ethics.
How to create an ethical working environment?
1. Make the decision to commit to ethics

2. Recognize that you are a role model by definition, by your action, and by your values.
3. Assume the responsibility for instilling ethical behavior
4. Articulate your values
5. Train the staff in ethical behavior
6. Encourage open communication
7. Be consistent
8. Abide by laws of the land.
How does a company establish ethical standards?
-Most companies in advanced countries and some even in developing countries have
developed their own codes of conduct which provide some ethical standards for their
employees.
-It should be emphasized here that it is not enough for a company to merely have the codes
of ethics, but these should be effectively communicated to employees so that they are
aware of them and abide by them.
-The effectiveness of the exercise, of course, will depend on how serious the top
management is in implementing them, and the good example they set in observing them.
-Think and reflect about yourself, about the management, about the people, and about the
relationship and the values you wish to incorporate.
How to resolve ethical dilemmas?
There are two basic approaches in resolving ethical dilemmas: deontological (action
oriented) and teleological (result oriented).
A co-worker may feign ignorance if the management makes a big fuss about the loss of
worthless scrap of asbestos when he or she knows that one of his or her colleagues has
taken them to provide roof material for inhabitants of several hutments who otherwise
would suffer when it rained cats of dogs. It may produce more good than harm. Likewise, a
person may steal a loaf of bread to feed a group of hungry children. A deontological
approach to either of these cases will still condemn (disapprove) these acts.
Teleological approach to ethics takes a pragmatic, commonsense, not professional approach

to ethics. According to this school of thought, “The moral character of actions depends on
the simple, practical matter of the extent to which actions actually help or hurt people.
Actions that produce more benefits than harms are “right”; those that don’t are “wrong”. A
teleological approach to the above mentioned examples will tend to condone (allow) those
acts of charity.
The center for ethics and business offers “a brief, three step strategy” in which both the
deontological and teleological approaches converge. The strategy is as follows:
Step 1: Analyze the consequences
Step 2: Analyze the actions
Step 3: Make a decision.

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Ethical Dilemmas, Sources and their resolutions:

What is an ethical dilemma?

Sources of ethical problems:

Other Ethical Challenges

Why Business should act ethically?

The reasons for an organization to be ethical include:

• To protect its own interest,

• To keep its commitment to society to act ethically,

• To meet stakeholder expectations.

• To prevent harm to the general public,

• To build trust with key stakeholder groups,

• To protect their own reputations,

• To protect their own employees, and

How Corporations Observe Ethics to reduce dilemmas?

• Publish in-house codes of ethics to be strictly followed by all their associates

• Incorporate consideration of ethics into performance reviews.

• Give rewards for ethical behavior.

• Conduct an Ethics Audit

Code of personal ethics for employees:

1. Respect confidential information to which you have access.

How to create an ethical working environment?

1. Make the decision to commit to ethics

How to resolve ethical dilemmas?

Teleological approach to ethics takes a pragmatic, commonsense, not professional approach

Step 1: Analyze the consequences

Step 2: Analyze the actions

Step 3: Make a decision.

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