Introduction
The report focuses on Abu Dhabi Global Logistics Company that has its headquarters in the city of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. This company offers transport services for its clients at local and international levels. It delivers luggage and parcels from and to various countries and also within the local market. It has its own planes, trucks, and vans used in the delivery of parcels. It collaborates with other transport companies to help it ensure that its products can be delivered to any part of the world as per the wish of its clients.
Mission and Vision Statements
The mission of this company is ‘To become a fast and convenient logistics company’. This mission is made possible through collaboration with other existing firms in this industry. It is always committed to delivering timely service as per the expectations of the clients.
The vision of this firm is ‘To become a leading global logistics company’. The company will achieve this by opening new branches in various global markets and building customer trust through quality service delivery. By offering high value to the customers, the firm hopes to achieve a competitive edge over its rivals.
Code of Ethics
This company has a specific code of ethics that guides its employees. The management has set codes of conduct for employees to help in guiding their actions and decisions that they make when they are on official duty to prevent fraud or any other unethical practice. All the employees are expected to adhere to the rules and policies of this firm. They are not only expected to avoid fraud but also report it as soon as they detect its occurrence. Abu Dhabi Global Logistics Company prohibits its employees from accepting any gift whose value is higher than AED 500. They are also expected never to misuse assets of the company. All the employees are under strict instruction never to disclose financial data of the company or client’s information to any third parties.
Ethics and Ethical Dilemma
Ethics
At Abu Dhabi Global Logistics Company, there are a number of codes of ethics that all the stakeholders must embrace at all times to ensure that the company values are maintained. Maintaining high standards is one of the important codes of ethics meant to ensure that customers get the best from the services we offer. All the firm’s employees are expected to report fraud as soon as it is detected to ensure that the values of the firm are not violated. All the stakeholders of this firm are required to never disclose the client’s data to any third party irrespective of the situation at hand. The client’s information remains confidential at all times and under no circumstances should it be accessible to third parties.
Ethical dilemma
One of the most important codes of ethics that employees of this organization must observe is to never reveal the client’s information to third parties. Given that this is a logistics company that handles different items from different clients, sometimes it is possible that one of the clients may be engaged in an illegal business. For instance, it may be possible that the client is importing contraband goods. Government officials may sometimes demand information about the goods that we handle in their effort to crack down on contraband goods.
As one of the employees of Abu Dhabi Logistics Company, it is important to understand that there is a code of ethics that prohibits anyone from disclosing the client’s information. On the other hand, we have to appreciate the fact that the law of the land must be obeyed at all times. When an employee finds himself in a situation where the law contradicts the company’s policy, then the best way out is to refer the investigative forces to the company’s top executive (Putnam, 2004). Instead of telling the investigators anything about the client, an employee should direct them to the relevant authorities where the information needed will be released as per the company’s policy.
In so doing, the employee will avoid breaking either the code of ethics in the company or the laws and regulations set by the government. As an employee, such as a driver, the law acknowledges that every action that one takes in an official capacity is in the interest of the company. As long as the employee is not acting on his own without the approval of the superiors, the top executives will be responsible for any legal issues that may arise (Aristotle & Reeve, 2014). However, the employees should not knowingly engage in an illegal transaction because they may be legally liable for complacency and conspiracy in that crime.
Theories of Ethics
In this study, a number of theories have been discussed which can be applied in different contexts. When developing a code of ethics within a given organization, it may be important to tie them to specific theories of ethics to help in making the implementation simple. At Abu Dhabi Logistics Company, the three main codes of ethics include maintaining high standards, reporting fraud, and to never disclose the client’s information to third parties.
Deontological ethics the best theory that can be used to explain these three codes of ethics. Reamer (2013, p. 78) defines deontological ethics as “the normative ethical position that judges the morality of an action based on the action’s adherence to a rule or rules.” It holds that one should always strive to do the right thing irrespective of the possible consequence.
It is expected that this firm must embrace high standards of services as one of its code of ethics when serving the customer. The need to maintain high standards of services can be explained using the Theory of Deontologism. When a client pays for a given service, it is the duty of the firm to ensure that such a client is offered the best service. Offering the client quality service is not doing them any favor because they are paying for such high-quality services. It is doing the right thing because that is what the client expects after making payments. The employees of this firm should, therefore, remember that they are responsible to the client and must offer the quality of service that they desire.
It is also a requirement that employees of this firm or any of its stakeholders must report fraud. This code of ethics is also supported by the Theory of Deontologism. As Lo (2009) says, no single firm can achieve long term success by engaging in fraud. As such, all the employees must do the right thing, as explained in deontological ethics, by reporting any form of fraud to the relevant authorities. For the junior employees, it is their duty to report any form of fraud to their supervisors for an appropriate action to be taken. For the top executives of this company, they may need to report such fraud to government authorities. Even if such reports may jeopardize the good relationship between the client and the firm, this ethical code requires the firm to do the right thing.
It is also a requirement that the client’s data should never be disclosed to any third party. When a client enters into a contract with this firm, it is expected that both parties will act in good faith in the entire process of the transaction. The firm is bound by its own policy of never revealing the client’s data to other parties. This policy can be explained using deontological ethics. Sometimes parties may try to obtain information from clients for the purpose of gaining a competitive edge in the market over their rivals. It is wrong for this firm to help competitors of its customers to gain an unfair competitive advantage in the market.
In some instances, releasing such crucial data may lead to a serious malicious attack on the client, especially if it is accessed by a rival firm keen on bringing it down. It is wrong for Abu Dhabi Logistical Company to be the reason for the downfall of its clients.
Stages of Kohlberg’s Moral Development
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development identifies different stages of moral development (Pollock, 2012). The three codes of ethics discussed in this paper can be looked at in terms of where they are in Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development. Maintaining high standards is an ethical requirement that falls under the Conventional Level of Moral development. The need to report fraud falls under the Pre-conventional Level of Moral Development.
The firm appreciates the fact that it must operate under the set of laws and regulations in the country. As such, it is required to avoid any engagements in unethical practices that may be against the law. It must report any form of fraud to the relevant authority as a form of obedience to the law. Failure to do so may lead to some form of punishment.
Maintaining a high quality of services is meant to improve the relationship between the firm and its clients. The interpersonal relationship is meant to make all parties satisfied so as to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship. Both parties must be seen to be benefiting from the relationship (Bigbee, 2011). The need to never disclose the client’s data may be classified into the Post-conventional Level of Moral Development. It is a universal ethical principle in global ethics for a firm to ensure that information of its clients is not released to third parties. It is important to treat clients’ data as confidential because there are chances that when such data are accessed by other parties, the client may face some form of harm.
References
Aristotle, H., & Reeve, C. (2014). Nicomachean ethics. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Bigbee, A. J. (2011). Personal values, professional codes of ethics, and ethical dilemmas in special education leadership. New York, NY: Cengage.
Lo, B. (2009). Resolving ethical dilemmas: A guide for clinicians. London, UK: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Pollock, J. M. (2012). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Putnam, H. (2004). Ethics without Ontology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Reamer, F. G. (2013). Social work values and ethics. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.