Business ethics are moral rights and wrongs that guide a business. They enhance the law by outlining acceptable business behavior beyond the state’s control. As a company expands, it is vital for a business and its employees to carry out business properly. Sometimes, companies may be faced with ethical dilemmas. An ethical dilemma is a paradox that comes with options that may not be ethical to practice. Such cases include sexual harassment, discrimination, and false accounting. Therefore, this paper will critically analyze the moral dilemma facing Sweet Shop Candy Company and how their case can be handled.
Roger Breslin faces an ethical dilemma of whether he should comply with his boss’s suggestion, Arthur Hutch, to pad his expense reports. Padding expense is where the budget is overestimated than the original cost (Leonard, 2019). Hutch advises Breslin to submit several miscellaneous bills worth less than $100 as the finance department will not require receipts to cover the furniture damages. All along, Breslin held Arthur Hutch, his boss, as a man of high ethical standards who would not compromise that, but his advice on this matter had put him in an ethical dilemma. Arthur urges him to lie to the company for his financial gain. Breslin took up the distribution supervisor position since he looked up to Arthur as a role model. “His candid responses and articulated expectations were the factors that contributed to Breslin’s decision to accept the position.”
On the other hand, the company is facing several problems. One is the cost of damaged furniture. Despite catering for the moving cost, Sweet Candy Company refused to pay the damages. The moving company also needed to compensate the total amount for the furniture, which created a financial problem. The company is also faced with potential ethical misconduct due to Hutch’s advice to pad expenses. If Breslin decides to go by his advice, he may benefit in the short run and recover financially from the damaged furniture. However, in the future, he may face legal cases if this comes to light. Arthur’s reputation as a manager is at stake. His advice is detrimental. If this practice is known beyond the company, then the company will also be affected and may face legal consequences.
Sweet Candy Company is growing and hiring more staff to cater to the increasing demand. The company is growing its’ original capacity thrice and will therefore require more people to operate in these new facilities. For the company to succeed and run within the budget, the new staff must be competent and of good ethical standards (Leonard, 2019). One of the company’s managers, Arthur Hutch, is ethically vulnerable, and from the advice he gave Breslin, he can easily cheat the company for his gain. On the other hand, the finance department needs to look more closely at the bills submitted to the department for reimbursement.
There are two options for Breslin. He can follow his Supervisor’s advice and fake bills, lie to the company, and compensate for his damaged furniture. It will encourage him to carry out more illegal deals that will make him face legal cases. Moving forward, Breslin can ignore his Supervisor’s advice and report the incident to leadership. He can also communicate with the finance department so that new reimbursement policies are implemented to avoid future padding expenses (Ciulla, 2020). In this option, no individual will benefit from it, but it will be a win for the company and its future. Breslin will, however, face the loss of damaged furniture that was not fully compensated, but he would have done the right thing. Breslin can also explore other legal options for compensation.
However, Sweet Candy Company must implement measures to ensure the business and its employees uphold ethics. It could provide employees with ongoing ethics training. It will ensure that everyone is aware of the ethical standards and expectations of the company. They could also implement a private reporting system. If this happens, Breslin can report such cases without fear (Ciulla et al., 2020).
Additionally, it will inspire employees to speak up. The company can also inform the staff of the repercussions of any unethical behavior within the organization. The finance division should carry out periodic audits. These audits will spot any potential ethical problems early on, take appropriate action, and ensure that the business generally upholds high ethical standards.
In conclusion, Breslin should not follow his Supervisor’s advice. He should, however, report the incident to those higher in authority. For the damages, he should seek other legal ways to get compensated for the damaged furniture. The company should implement policies in the finance department for bill reimbursements to ensure no fraud occurs. The company should also establish a transparent system so employees can report and resolve ethical problems. To ensure that all procedures are followed, the business should conduct audits in each department.
References
Ciulla, J. B., & Ciulla, J. B. (2020). Business ethics as moral imagination (pp. 121-129). Springer International Publishing
Leonard K (2019). How to Resolve Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/resolve-ethical-dilemmas-workplace-11008.html
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