Abstract
This essay focuses on ethical dilemmas in the workplace. It looks at personal values and ethics in the workplace. The essay shows that the management team should support employees before they engage in unethical behaviors by communicating the company’s values. It also highlights that individuals whose personal values are in conflict with the organizational code of ethics should communicate their concerns to senior managers.
In what way could the mine management have provided support to him prior to his wrongful act?
Management should support employees who show possible behaviors of engaging in wrongful acts. Employees are also under pressure to achieve certain goals, and they are likely to act unethically.
Mine management noted that the assistant personnel engaged in corrupt activities in order to promote employees. Employees who got promotions to the next level gave out bribes. On the contrary, workers who dedicated their time and efforts to enhance productivity were not promoted to the next level.
Employees who deserved promotions were those who engaged productively in the roles. However, when employees lack work ethics, they resort to different means of achieving their job targets and personal ones. In this case, the employee disregarded work ethics and violated the company’s code of ethics.
Mine management could have promoted the employee only if he had followed the company’s work ethics. Mine management would have supported the employee by helping him to understand the importance of organizational ethics and its relationship with personal values and beliefs. Moreover, the organization could have defined its expectations to employees so that they could engage in ethical decision-making rather than resort to unethical practices. Managers have the responsibility of helping employees to make ethical decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma.
What should you do when your personal values are in conflict with a certain work ethic?
In some instances, personal values may be in conflict with some ethical work practices and affect the decision-making abilities of individuals involved. Personal values originate from different sources, but they promote or shun certain concepts that may be different from organizational norms.
Thus, conflicts of interest may occur. While such personal values may not be significant to an organization, the underlying elements of personal values should be sources of ethical concerns for organizations. Leaders have the responsibility of ensuring that organizational decisions are ethical. On this note, employees must understand that organizational values influence decision-making rather than employees’ own value systems.
An individual whose personal values may be in conflict with some aspects of work ethics should communicate their concerns. It is advisable for employees who face challenges because of their personal belief systems and organizational ethics to engage their immediate managers in communication.
Organizations should encourage such employees to discuss ethical issues and identify potential sources of conflict of interest. The management team should enquire from their employees about any issues that may result in a conflict of interest. Any results that present ethical concerns should offer adequate information to allow an organization to review if its code of ethics is detrimental. At the same time, an individual must also engage in a personal review of the ethical dilemma faced.
Therefore, communication to obtain relevant information about personal beliefs and organizational ethics could be a major source of the solution. In decision-making, individuals should evaluate their personal values and ensure that they are ethical and may not conflict with the organizational code of ethics. For individuals who believe in personal values, they should review their values to ensure that such personal beliefs do not conflict with organizational ethics.