Ethical Dilemma

Ethical Dilemma There are situations when there is not simple choice between right or wrong. Dilemmas are complex when managers have no clear guidelines either in law or in religion. Managers are in fix, predicament, mess, perplexity, difficulty. Choice one is faced is clearly of the “right versus right sort”. An ethical dilemma is a complex situation that will often involve an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. In other words, ethical dilemmas are complex judgements on the balance between the economic performance & social performance of an organisation. An ethical dilemma exists when one is faced with having to make a choice among following alternatives – a) Significant value conflicts among differing interests, b) Real alternatives that are equally justifiable, & c) Significant consequences on “stakeholders” in the situation

Four common Ethical Dilemmas 

Truth versus loyalty

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Individual versus community

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Short – term versus long – term

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Justice versus mercy

Examples of Ethical Dilemmas Accounting: Your supervisor enters your office and asks you for a check for $150.00 for expenses he tells you he incurred entertaining a client last night. He submits receipts from a restaurant and lounge. At lunch your supervisor’s girlfriend stops by to pick him up for lunch and you overhear her telling the receptionist what a great time she had at dinner and dancing with your supervisor the night before. What do you do?

Computers: In your spare time at work, you have developed a new spreadsheet program on the personal computer in your office. It is even more powerful, yet easier to sue than anything on the market. You share your new program with a friend who encourages you to market it on your own because you could probably make an incredible profit in a very short time. This is a very attractive option, yet you developed it using company equipment and during time that you were at work. What do you do? Personnel: Your company has a firm policy regarding cases of theft of company property. Used company equipment is on a table to be sold by bid each month. You see a valued employee who is 2 months from retirement slip an electric drill from the table and put it in his car before the day of the sale. What so you do? Corporate Example Ethical Dilemma at Coca-Cola AN ASSESSMENT OF AN ETHICAL DILEMMA AT COCA-COLA RELATED TO EQUITY IN RETIREMENT COMPENSATION Is the Ethical Dilemma Facing the Coca-Cola Company Illegal? The AFLCIO (2003b) describes a situation that is widespread among American corporations wherein (a) retirement benefits for top executives are inequitable in comparison with retirement benefits for rank and file employees and (b) excessive retirement benefits for top executives have been de-linked from company performance. The AFLCIO (2003a) provided specific evidence linked to selected major American corporations (of which Coca-Cola is one) of the existence of such inequities. In the case of Coca-Cola, the AFLCIO describes a situation in which corporate executives at several levels of the organization receive generous retirement benefit packages, while offering only limited (and partly self-funded) retirement plans for rank and file employees. The company's own Proxy Statement for 2003 (Coca-Cola, Inc., 2003b) and Annual Report for 2002 (Coca-Cola, Inc., 2003a), however, provide details relevant to executive retirement

compensation and employee retirement savings plans that show that the inequities are greater even that indicated in the AFLCIO (2003a) assessment. While the company has an ethical dilemma relative to inequity in retirement compensation benefits, there is little evidence to indicate that the company views the dilemma in an ethical context. Rather, the company appears to view the dilemma in a legal context.

How to Resolve Ethical Dilemmas in Business In the current era of ever-growing competition and limited financial resources, entrepreneurs and business managers constantly encounter certain dilemmas related to business. Most of the times, entrepreneurial managers tend to feign away from ethical issues while taking decisions on dilemmas either due to ignorance or on purpose. In today’s business, the workforce comprises of people who are diverse in their nationality, religion, caste, race, age, education and even socioeconomic status. They are all expected to work together as a team towards the success of the organization. Dilemmas are bound to rise in issues such as downsizing the staff, pollution control, toxic waste disposal, utilization of resources, changes in law and technology, issues related to discrimination, employee rights and even on product quality. All these issues are relatively complex and are difficult to resolve. Entrepreneurial managers have to rely on their individual judgment while resolving all these different dilemmas related to business. However, before making any decision, one needs to be aware of the ethical issues concerned with the business. There are two different ways of resolving ethical dilemmas in business. While one approach concentrates on analyzing the practical consequences of the decision, another approach concentrates on the action. Ethical resolution of conflicts requires discussion, analysis, problem solving and decision making. In order to resolve ethical dilemmas, managers need to have interpersonal communication and negotiation skills, conflict resolution skills and critical thinking. Before making any decision, one has to analyze all the positive and negative consequences that are connected with the issue.

Bibliography Reference site http://www.homemorals.com/ethical-dilemma/how-to-resolve-ethical-dilemmas-inbusiness.html http://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689134.html All the sites were accessed on October 19, 2009 Reference book Bhatia S. K., Business Ethics & Corporate Governance, Deep & Deep Publications, 2007, Chapter – 8, pp. 43-44.

Submitted To: Prof. Dr. A. N. Sarkar

Prepared By: Prashant Rampuria Roll No. – 2K81/IB/29