Ethical Dilemmas

Ethical Dilemmas

1. Organizational Justice

2. Organizational Justice

   • Organizations have both a duty to act in accordance with the law as well as the obligation to treat employees justly. Studies have shown that organizations that believe in and practice procedural justice have employees who are not only more satisfied in their job roles, but also have employees who have higher commitment levels to organizational goals. However, acting in accordance with the law and providing procedural justice do not always flow in unison. In areas where an employee is suspected of criminal wrong-doing, three types of scenarios may present itself. First the organization knows the employee is guilty. In this scenario the organization holds no responsibility to maintain procedural justice for its employee because the organization already broke the terms of their relationship. Second, the organization knows the employee is innocent. This creates a conflict for the organization because it cannot protect the employee and help investigators prove their case at the same time.

3. EmployeePrivacy

   • Privacy awarded to citizens by the constitution is not the same extent to which organizations provide employees. In fact, employees seem to have less rights to privacy when it comes to their employment and performance within the company. Organizations are allowed to monitor and gather information of their employees as it relates to their job performance. While intense monitoring would allow an organization to detect and deter wrongdoing from its employees, the organization has an ethical obligation to keep their monitoring within the scope of their employee’s performance. Thus, the organization finds itself in dilemma with its efforts to support law enforcement agencies and the ethical responsibility to not cross employee privacy boundaries.

4. Confidentiality

   • Confidentiality is a contract in which information is shared on the premise that such information will not be shared with anyone else. This is one of the most effective ways of communication within an organization. Firstly, confidentiality benefits stockholders because it allows for more effective work and increased profits. Secondly, confidentiality benefits stakeholders because it creates a protected avenue where sensitive information can be communicated. An organization can use confidential means of communication to decrease its liability and protect themselves from civil lawsuits and criminal charges. However, confidentiality awarded to employees is not always an absolute certainty. In fact, the organization has a legal obligation to cooperate with criminal investigations in order to reduce their own liability. Thus the dilemma emerges to what extent can an organization hold its promise of confidentiality towards its employees.

5. Trust within the Organization

   • Trust, unlike organizational justice, confidentiality, and privacy, is not binded by ethical principle. Instead, the existence of trust within an organization is dependent on the ethical behavior of superiors within the organization. Trust is an essential tool that contributes greatly to the success of an organization. The amount of trust within a relationship is directly linked to the effectiveness of production. This means that the more a supervisor trusts an employee, the greater the capacity for effective work. However, more trust in an employee can also make an organization more vulnerable to criminal sanction if the employee engages in criminal activity. The dilemma arises when an organization aims create trusting relationships with its employees while at the same time maintaining a legal obligation to the legal system. An organization must then ask itself, to what extent are they willing to be held liable in order to maintain the trust of their employees.

6. Ethical Self-Assessment

   • With respect to organizations of large size, the flow of information can often be a logistical nightmare. It seems to be a natural occurrence in any large organization which can often times be problematic when looking into ethical performance. For this reason, it is important for organizations to engage in ethical self-assessments. This means that a supervisor does not merely use the information which does reach him or her, but also to actively seek information to maintain ethical and legal standards. In many organizations, one way of overcoming logistical errors in communication is the use of confidential channels. This allows employees to report any wrongdoing to superiors without the information becoming lost. However, the organization can put itself in conflict by utuilizing self-assessment techniques because they can be held liable for criminal wrongdoing by an employee. Thus, using such methods of maintaining ethical standards also collects evidence that can contribute to the org