Ethical Decision Making Model
Recently, I have been challenged with a work related incident that requires immediate attention. Unfortunately, this situation is not one that I can just disregard. I honestly wish that I could leave this decision for someone else to make or even ignore it; this would make my job a lot easier. Sadly, this situation cannot be ignored, and as the general manager of Blitz Computers, I know that something neeRAB to be done immediately or it will haunt me in the future. The decision I am going to make in the following essay is in fact, an internal battle. I have suffered long restless nights, in hope that I will construct the correct resolution. After extensive research, contemplation, and internal struggle, I will attempt to come up with a conclusion by using the ethical decision making model.
The facts that I have gathered are as followed: Tom, the supervisor of the shipping department, has informed me that he has a drinking problem. He is aware that this is the reason for the poor performance in his department. He has joined AA and has guaranteed that in the future there will be an improvement. Tom has been with the company for 36 years, and was the supervisor when I joined Blitz. Recently, there have been a large nuraber of complaints in the shipping department, and Tom believes that someone is setting him up. The poor performance in the shipping department has caused many problems. Deadlines have not been met, employee turnover rate is high, and John, my best salesman, is losing major accounts. Also, Paul, a promising young employee, who I have been thinking about replacing Tom with, has just informed me that he has been offered another job with another company. He also gave me an ultimatum. He said that if I cannot offer him a higher position soon, he would take the position with the other company. If I wanted to make the whole situation an easier one, I would just dismiss the problem, and maybe the problem would vanish. The facts lead me to believe that the problem is Tom. However, it is not that easy. He could then try to file suit against the company, using his age as a crutch, under the (EEOC), Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older. Also, according to the EEOC, any individual who believes his or her employment rights have been violated may file a charge of discrimination. Having this information in mind, I knew that Tom could easily state that he was wrongfully terminated under the Privacy Act. He could state that he told me about his drinking problem in confidence and I used that against him to terminate him. Knowing this, I feel that a jury would agree with him. This negative publicity would not reflect well on Blitz Computers.
The stakeholders include: the corporation as a whole, shareholders, customers, investors, suppliers, competitors, the general community, Tom, John, Paul, my boss, myself (my raise), my family, all other employees and their families, if Tom is dismissed and files suite another stakeholder is the government, Tom’s attorney, and a jury. There are many people that will be affected by my decision, which is a great burden for me to carry.
Value is defined as the beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something). To be perfectly honest, the thing I value most is my job and the company I work for. The shipping department is not functioning too well recently, and this is a bad reflection on the company as a whole and on me. This could also jeopardize my future increases or raises. I also have to think of other personal and work-related values, which can help mold my decision. Tom has been an employee for Blitz Computers for 36 years. He is to be commended for his loyalty to the company. Not too many individuals have that type of commitment and he has proven to be an excellent employee for the last 36 years and I strongly believe that he should not be released for having some personal struggles in the present. Tom is also my close friend, and to a certain extent, I find him partially responsible for my success so far. He was my supervisor when I joined the company, and he has not shown any resentment when I passed him on the corporate ladder. I sincerely value his frienRABhip and I think he has been sincerely loyal to the company and me. The fact that we are frienRAB is making the decision extremely difficult. I also have to try reversing roles, try wearing his shoes. I know that after 36 years with a company, I would feel violated being terminated after all my hard work. If I were Tom and I knew that Paul took over my position, only after a few years with the company, I would feel that my age hindered me or that my loyalty was in vain. I would also assume that I was fired because I trusted my manager with a secret of my drinking problem and he used it against me. Tom has admitted that he has a drinking problem and is taking action. It is only fair that he is given a chance to prove that he can progress.
Before I am able to commit to a final decision, I should map out a few alternatives. One alternative is to just release Tom. I would explain to him that this has no relation to his drinking problem, that there have just been too many problems in his department, and as the supervisor, I find him responsible. I would also explain that after 36 years he should know the routine and how to get things done properly. I would then offer him great benefits, retirement, and cobra package. I would then hire Paul to replace Tom, and I would not lose Paul to another company.
Another alternate is to keep Tom as supervisor, and explain to him the crucial problems that are taking place in his department, and go over a game plan on how we can both make things improve. I would also provide him with a written warning, for the record, just incase the shipping department does not improve.
I could also do some research and see if any of the other employees are setting Tom up. This would clearly take too much time and money. It would also be apparent that the problems were related to Tom’s drinking.
Another alternative is keeping Tom at the same position and also promoting Paul as a second supervisor of the shipping department. Paul’s title would be ‘’delivery director”, so Tom would not feel threatened by Paul. I would guarantee Tom that Paul is not trying to take over his position but to better the department with new ideas and concepts. I would have them work together to incorporate Tom’s old ideas and strategies with Paul’s newer ideas, to enhance the department with a new management team. Also, Paul will get the experience he neeRAB to take over when Tom retires, and just incase Tom’s problems don’t improve I won’t have to worry about quickly training a replacement.
It is vital that I determine which stakeholder is the most significant in the situation. I feel that it is the company at large. All the other shareholders that I mentioned, for example, employees, government, and shareholders, affect the company. As I already stated, the company is my nuraber one personal value, but I can also say I value the loyalty of Tom to the company and to our frienRABhip.
I can finally state that I have come to a conclusion that I believe will bring improvement for the company in the future, and ethically I deem is the best decision that I could have made. It would not go against any business or personal values, and I hope will bring contentment to all the possible stakeholders. I am going to keep Tom and promote Paul so they can work together as a team. This solution unfortunately can’t change any past shipping problems but, together we can do our best to avoid any future problems. John is my best salesperson, so to help him out in the future, I have decided to send out letters of apology to all the customers who have been disappointed with Blitz Computers shipping service. This letter will state that we apologize for any inconvenience in the past, and that we have developed a new management system and team. The letter will encourage our customers to give Blitz another change to demonstrate the improvement with 40% off our next service and make a new guarantee on our shipping. This would state that if it does not meet their deadlines, the product will be absolutely free. That is a lot of pressure on our company, but I am confident that the new management style and team will prevail.
Recently, I have been challenged with a work related incident that requires immediate attention. Unfortunately, this situation is not one that I can just disregard. I honestly wish that I could leave this decision for someone else to make or even ignore it; this would make my job a lot easier. Sadly, this situation cannot be ignored, and as the general manager of Blitz Computers, I know that something neeRAB to be done immediately or it will haunt me in the future. The decision I am going to make in the following essay is in fact, an internal battle. I have suffered long restless nights, in hope that I will construct the correct resolution. After extensive research, contemplation, and internal struggle, I will attempt to come up with a conclusion by using the ethical decision making model.
The facts that I have gathered are as followed: Tom, the supervisor of the shipping department, has informed me that he has a drinking problem. He is aware that this is the reason for the poor performance in his department. He has joined AA and has guaranteed that in the future there will be an improvement. Tom has been with the company for 36 years, and was the supervisor when I joined Blitz. Recently, there have been a large nuraber of complaints in the shipping department, and Tom believes that someone is setting him up. The poor performance in the shipping department has caused many problems. Deadlines have not been met, employee turnover rate is high, and John, my best salesman, is losing major accounts. Also, Paul, a promising young employee, who I have been thinking about replacing Tom with, has just informed me that he has been offered another job with another company. He also gave me an ultimatum. He said that if I cannot offer him a higher position soon, he would take the position with the other company. If I wanted to make the whole situation an easier one, I would just dismiss the problem, and maybe the problem would vanish. The facts lead me to believe that the problem is Tom. However, it is not that easy. He could then try to file suit against the company, using his age as a crutch, under the (EEOC), Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older. Also, according to the EEOC, any individual who believes his or her employment rights have been violated may file a charge of discrimination. Having this information in mind, I knew that Tom could easily state that he was wrongfully terminated under the Privacy Act. He could state that he told me about his drinking problem in confidence and I used that against him to terminate him. Knowing this, I feel that a jury would agree with him. This negative publicity would not reflect well on Blitz Computers.
The stakeholders include: the corporation as a whole, shareholders, customers, investors, suppliers, competitors, the general community, Tom, John, Paul, my boss, myself (my raise), my family, all other employees and their families, if Tom is dismissed and files suite another stakeholder is the government, Tom’s attorney, and a jury. There are many people that will be affected by my decision, which is a great burden for me to carry.
Value is defined as the beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something). To be perfectly honest, the thing I value most is my job and the company I work for. The shipping department is not functioning too well recently, and this is a bad reflection on the company as a whole and on me. This could also jeopardize my future increases or raises. I also have to think of other personal and work-related values, which can help mold my decision. Tom has been an employee for Blitz Computers for 36 years. He is to be commended for his loyalty to the company. Not too many individuals have that type of commitment and he has proven to be an excellent employee for the last 36 years and I strongly believe that he should not be released for having some personal struggles in the present. Tom is also my close friend, and to a certain extent, I find him partially responsible for my success so far. He was my supervisor when I joined the company, and he has not shown any resentment when I passed him on the corporate ladder. I sincerely value his frienRABhip and I think he has been sincerely loyal to the company and me. The fact that we are frienRAB is making the decision extremely difficult. I also have to try reversing roles, try wearing his shoes. I know that after 36 years with a company, I would feel violated being terminated after all my hard work. If I were Tom and I knew that Paul took over my position, only after a few years with the company, I would feel that my age hindered me or that my loyalty was in vain. I would also assume that I was fired because I trusted my manager with a secret of my drinking problem and he used it against me. Tom has admitted that he has a drinking problem and is taking action. It is only fair that he is given a chance to prove that he can progress.
Before I am able to commit to a final decision, I should map out a few alternatives. One alternative is to just release Tom. I would explain to him that this has no relation to his drinking problem, that there have just been too many problems in his department, and as the supervisor, I find him responsible. I would also explain that after 36 years he should know the routine and how to get things done properly. I would then offer him great benefits, retirement, and cobra package. I would then hire Paul to replace Tom, and I would not lose Paul to another company.
Another alternate is to keep Tom as supervisor, and explain to him the crucial problems that are taking place in his department, and go over a game plan on how we can both make things improve. I would also provide him with a written warning, for the record, just incase the shipping department does not improve.
I could also do some research and see if any of the other employees are setting Tom up. This would clearly take too much time and money. It would also be apparent that the problems were related to Tom’s drinking.
Another alternative is keeping Tom at the same position and also promoting Paul as a second supervisor of the shipping department. Paul’s title would be ‘’delivery director”, so Tom would not feel threatened by Paul. I would guarantee Tom that Paul is not trying to take over his position but to better the department with new ideas and concepts. I would have them work together to incorporate Tom’s old ideas and strategies with Paul’s newer ideas, to enhance the department with a new management team. Also, Paul will get the experience he neeRAB to take over when Tom retires, and just incase Tom’s problems don’t improve I won’t have to worry about quickly training a replacement.
It is vital that I determine which stakeholder is the most significant in the situation. I feel that it is the company at large. All the other shareholders that I mentioned, for example, employees, government, and shareholders, affect the company. As I already stated, the company is my nuraber one personal value, but I can also say I value the loyalty of Tom to the company and to our frienRABhip.
I can finally state that I have come to a conclusion that I believe will bring improvement for the company in the future, and ethically I deem is the best decision that I could have made. It would not go against any business or personal values, and I hope will bring contentment to all the possible stakeholders. I am going to keep Tom and promote Paul so they can work together as a team. This solution unfortunately can’t change any past shipping problems but, together we can do our best to avoid any future problems. John is my best salesperson, so to help him out in the future, I have decided to send out letters of apology to all the customers who have been disappointed with Blitz Computers shipping service. This letter will state that we apologize for any inconvenience in the past, and that we have developed a new management system and team. The letter will encourage our customers to give Blitz another change to demonstrate the improvement with 40% off our next service and make a new guarantee on our shipping. This would state that if it does not meet their deadlines, the product will be absolutely free. That is a lot of pressure on our company, but I am confident that the new management style and team will prevail.