Introduction
Ethical dilemmas present challenging situations in decision-making that present us with numerous potential choices, neither of which is unconditionally suitable from a moral standpoint. Although in life we face numerous moral challenges, some may be explicitly easy to resolve, but others are complex and demand robust evaluation of our values and critical thinking. Ethical dilemmas are challenging to solve quickly. One option can make one bumpy or embarrassed if individuals who are valuable to us understand our actions. The second choice does not impact our character, trustworthiness, or image. One of the critical dilemmas I faced was in a workplace, which was a test of friendship, loyalty, and upholding the moral principles of honesty and integrity. The report focuses on explaining the ethical dilemma, key options available to resolve it, an explanation of the chosen choice, and the application of an ethics of care as a critical ethical system and how it supports my decision.
Account of the Ethical Dilemma
The ethical dilemma I encountered was a workplace issue where one of my close work colleagues and a close friend had disclosed to me concerning the matter that had been happening in the workplace. He disclosed that he has learned that some financial irregularities are occurring in his department, which would impact the firm’s reputation if uncovered. He was not involved in the financial anomalies, but he was aware of the activities because of his position in the department. Nevertheless, he told me not to disclose the matter. This came as a surprise to me, given the numerous accounting frauds that are commonly reported in the media and how the outcome impacted these involved companies. I understood how financial fraud has disastrous significance as it may lead to huge losses for shareholders, creditors, and the firm we were part of (Pamungkas et al., 2017). This was a bewilderment to me on what to do, but I had three options to address the issue;
Option 1: Uphold Friendship Loyalty
This option involves remaining silent and abiding by my colleague’s requests to keep silent about the issue and never disclose it to anyone else. This is a contradictory choice given the importance of loyalty in the friendship that demands compromising and sacrifice of specific personal values such as honesty, integrity, and truth and eventually can be considered morally wrong.
Option 2: Prioritizing Personal Values, Common Good, and Firm’s Interest
This choice involves upholding my values, such as honesty, integrity, and truth, and considering the common good that transcends personal friends but emphasizes the company’s success, reputation, and associated stakeholders. Choosing this choice means betraying my friend’s trust by keeping things undercover and risking his position in the company when things get uncovered. This choice takes a moral stand as it aims to stop the activities that violate ethical and legal business operations or financial transactions by prompting the appropriate action for intervention by the management or the appropriate party (Pamungkas et al., 2017).
Option 3: Seeking Guidance
The choice involved seeking guidance and advice from trustful colleagues, supervisors, or counselors on circumnavigating the subject and identifying the most moral decision.
The Chosen Option
I had to weigh all these three options, and based on the magnitude of the matter and the related consequences, I chose to prioritize my values, common good, and firm’s Interest over friendship and keeping a blind eye on an unethical and illegal action. Given the possible outcomes that accompanied my action, this was the hardest decision for me. My choice was influenced by utilitarianism, Kantian deontological, and virtue ethics systems. According to Fok et al. (2016), the utilitarianism ethical framework emphasizes that the most ethically correct action is the one that capitalizes on goodness and benefits while minimizing adverse impact for all stakeholders. What is the most valuable the entirety of all happiness as an outcome of the action minus the sum of all harm? Reporting the issue to the management or pertinent parties maximizes the benefits for all stakeholders while reducing harm. The company benefits numerous stakeholders, including employees, shareholders, customers, government, and society. If the company suffers financial fraud because of the action, the adverse impact would affect numerous people (Fok et al., 2016). The company’s reputation will be damaged, the shareholders will lose their investment, and if the company collapses, many employees who depend on the company for a source of income will be affected, eventually impacting their families and other individuals who depend on them.
From the utilitarian viewpoint, the obligation to report the issue follows the tenet of doing no damage and acknowledgment of the level at which my action or inaction would present significant consequences on the lives of others. From the virtues ethical perspective, I focus on upholding my values and character and acting morally upright rather than only upholding the duty of doing good. Practicing essential virtues and personal values is vital to professional and personal success. I have been raised in a background that respects values, and honing moral behavior and practices is critical to making the appropriate choices when faced with ethical dilemmas. I value honesty, integrity, openness, and trust, and any action that will compromise these values, I consider it ethically wrong. Valuing honesty and integrity is a key leadership trait that upholds the values and morals of the company (Lemoine et al., 2019). Understanding how the company culture promotes integrity and values, I felt secure and confident in raising the issue with the appropriate parties and how the action consequences would impact the various stakeholders. Virtues are essential in themselves as they deliver desirable outcomes, and we ought to nurture virtuous personalities because they will promote utility. Kantian deontological perspectives emphasize following rules to differentiate between wrong and right. Kant emphasized that ethical act upholds standard ethical rules, including not lying, not stealing, and others. Thus, based on this ethical system, engaging or being an accomplice of financial irregularities is morally wrong. I choose to remain truthful as that is the only course of action that is morally right. It also emphasizes doing our duties, following the law, and disregarding the resulting outcome, especially the friendship or the will be affected, especially those involved in the irregularities (Kranak, 2019).
Conclusion
Understanding or having the capability to make an ethical decision is key to succeeding in numerous challenging situations that will demand us to choose right from wrong. Ethical dilemmas are inevitable; making ethical decisions is key to establishing and maintaining trust and demonstrating respect, accountability, justice, care, and good citizenship. These values are a valuable basis for making better choices by establishing foundational rules for our conduct. Therefore, prioritizing personal values, the common good, and the firm’s interest was the most morally appropriate course of action, although challenging given the possible outcome that would even impact my friend.
References
Fok, L. Y., Payne, D. M., & Corey, C. M. (2016). Cultural values, utilitarian orientation, and ethical decision making: A comparison of US and Puerto Rican professionals. Journal of Business Ethics, 134, 263-279. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-014-2426-y
Kranak, J. (2019). Kantian deontology. Introduction to philosophy: Ethics. https://spscc.pressbooks.pub/ucfcopy/chapter/kantian-deontology/
Lemoine, G. J., Hartnell, C. A., & Leroy, H. (2019). Taking stock of moral approaches to leadership: An integrative review of ethical, authentic, and servant leadership. Academy of Management Annals, 13(1), 148-187. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/annals.2016.0121
Pamungkas, I. D., Ghozali, I., & Achmad, T. (2017). The effects of the whistleblowing system on financial statements fraud: Ethical behavior as the mediators. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(10), 1592-1598. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Imam-Ghozali-2/publication/320826384_THE_EFFECTS_OF_THE_WHISTLEBLOWING_SYSTEM_ON_FINANCIAL_STATEMENTS_FRAUD_ETHICAL_BEHAVIOR_AS_THE_MEDIATORS_The_Effects_of_The_Whistleblowing_System_on_Financial_Statements_Fraud_Ethical_Behavior_As_The_/links/59fbedc6a6fdcca1f29309b7/THE-EFFECTS-OF-THE-WHISTLEBLOWING-SYSTEM-ON-FINANCIAL-STATEMENTS-FRAUD-ETHICAL-BEHAVIOR-AS-THE-MEDIATORS-The-Effects-of-The-Whistleblowing-System-on-Financial-Statements-Fraud-Ethical-Behavior-As-The.pdf
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