The situation under analysis is concerned with Moira’s case that such thing as unconsciously-made work and cases of drinking alcohol and other negative factors take place at the workplace. This employee feels the stoppage of her own principles when observing the facts, which tend to move a company back. She hesitates, due to the situation in the workplace, how to act in terms of prevention of other employees’ ignorance of the requirements at work and specifically for business affairs.
Though, here one can see a deep and prevailing intention of Moira to resolve the problem by means of complaints. The reason is that stools are despised in society, and her direct actions could spoil the opinion of the personnel about her so that the career ladder will not be urged upwards for her then. On the other hand, she intends to maintain the right development of things at the workplace in order to make the results of the company’s production ability higher and higher. Scarifying with her position within the ordinary staff, she, in return, claims to evoke a response from the top layer in the company’s hierarchy.
From first sight, it is the first desire of every conscientious employee when trying to prevent such negative facts in a company. They can do that, but, in fact, they can lose this struggle for two reasons:
- gender;
- age.
As for the first reason, it is clear that sex differences are felt when comparing men and women at work. Journal of Managerial Issues once wrote a very interesting investigation concerning the attitudinal relationships at the workplace and the level of personal responsibility in both genders: “Tyson (1992) concluded that although women appeared to enter the workplace with a greater ethical sensitivity to unethical behaviors.” (Ambrose 454, 1999) Thus, the intention of Moira is made out at the moment.
Another point is that every employee has a well-shaped imagination of what is good or bad in the workplace characterizing the things which seemed at the very beginning of working for a company negative and they did not coincide with an employee idea of what should be done in a weighty company omitting the cases of harmful behaviors. John S. Hunkin strictly criticizes the facts when employees agree with the current state of things leading a company to nowhere.
In fact, by means of such behaviors, the unity of personnel crashes with the occurrence of its full destruction. “Unethical behavior can promise many things: survival, a solution to conflict or punishment, the opportunity to exploit or flatter, and self-enrichment. In business, its impact on both the innocent and the guilty and on social trust is profound.” (Hunkin 64, 2002) Thus, not to make any delay regarding the situation, it is vital for her to inform the HR manager so that this piece of information reaches the director.
Pointing out “ethics as a constraint on profit” (Bowie 22,1998), it is necessary to mention that a witty solution about the problem of Moira deals with her personal reliability as of the company’s success. The probable design of her actions in this situation, as it is seen, can represent the following sequence:
- Do not upset;
- Find like-minded persons;
- Provide perfect results of work;
- Seek for an appointment with official figures of the company in informal conditions (HR manager, director);
- Find out and present to the principal the optimal ways of maintaining discipline (only direct arguments without any presupposition);
- Wait for approved reaction (taking into account probable anger of colleagues);
- Expect advancement.
References
Ambrose, M. L., & Schminke, M. (1999). Sex Differences in Business Ethics: The Importance of Perceptions. Journal of Managerial Issues, 11(4), 454.
Bowie, N. E. (1998). Companies Are Discovering the Value of Ethics. USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), 126, 22+.
Goree (2003) Ethics in the Workplace. Edition 2. Thomson-South Western.
Hunkin, J. S. (2002). Ethics in Business and Everyday Life. Canadian Speeches, 16, 64+.