Connie contacts
Craft has applied for a resident artist position even though he has failed to reveal his real qualifications. He has indicated on his CV that he is a PhD holder yet he has not been awarded the qualification. Connie, the head of the foundation feels this is wrong but she has not decided on what to do to solve the issue. Craft does not seem perturbed by the anomaly on his CV, after Connie contacts him to find out the truth. He does not regret what he has done. He is not willing to take responsibility for his failures and this puts Connie in a difficult position. If Connie votes in favor of Craft’s application, it will compromise the foundation’s integrity and cast aspersions on her suitability as a leader (Bentham, 2009, p. 73).
Craft has threatened to sue Connie’s foundation if he is not hired which shows that he uses threats to make people yield to his wishes. Even though he is popular, he lacks the moral character needed to impact positively on middle school students. As the head of the foundation, Connie needs to lead by example by voting against Craft’s application. This will ensure he does not get hired as a resident artist by the foundation.
He has shown that he is not willing to tell the truth and this will affect the way he performs his duties if he gets hired as a resident artist by the foundation. Therefore, Craft is not the ideal candidate required to perform duties of resident artist in the foundation (Bentham, 2009, p. 78).
A rule utilitarian
A rule utilitarian would have advised Connie to follow rules put in place by the foundation without making any compromises. He would have advised other committee members not to disregard integrity policies in the firm. Rule utilitarianism is a principle which states that an action can only be considered right if it follows a set of rules that maximize utility. It requires people to observe rules without compromise to ensure crucial systems are not manipulated to favor a few influential people (Singer, 2011, p. 45). This will ensure the process of selecting suitable resident artists is transparent and meets high standards put in place by the foundation. It gives the foundation an opportunity to select candidates that have good values who are able to influence young learners positively.
This advice will help the foundation avoid compromising its ideals to benefit one person. Connie and her team will be encouraged to scrutinize all applicants’ credentials to determine if they are suitable to perform various tasks. This will enable the foundation to hire artists who are honest and transparent. However, this advice may demoralize some learners who were looking forward to interact with Craft. This will also deny the foundation a chance to utilize Craft’s skills and knowledge because he is a renowned artist famous for his work (Singer, 2011, p. 50).
A Kantian duty ethicist
A Kantian duty ethicist would advise Connie to act on her own and think about the goodwill that will come out of the decision she makes. Therefore, Connie has to perform her duty as a leader and the decisions she makes must serve the foundation’s interests effectively. She needs to act morally to safeguard the interests of the foundation without yielding to Craft’s threats because that is the right thing to do. She needs to make a bold stand to show she is in charge of the organization by rejecting Craft’s application. This will show other committee members the importance of upholding integrity in the organization (Schneewind, 2002, p. 57).
This approach will allow all committee members involved in making the decision to think about its morality and how it affects other people. Therefore, this will encourage Connie to make a rational decision without being subjected to unnecessary pressure to accept Craft as one of the successful candidates recruited by the foundation. She will use human resource guidelines observed in the foundation to decide on the matter without being coerced to compromise her ethics (Schneewind, 2002, p.63). However, this advice does not take into consideration that Connie is a human being who can be easily influenced by her personal desires. Therefore, this may make her yield to Craft’s threats to support his application to become a resident artist.
Advise for Connie
A virtue ethicist would advise Connie to use her own moral conscience and make a rational decision that is good for the foundation’s reputation and interests. He would advise her not to be swayed by Craft’s threats because she is the leader and other employees rely on her for guidance. He will advise her to consider the implications of hiring Craft, who has falsified his credentials yet he has not been awarded a PhD. He would advise her that she needs to make a rational choice by rejecting Craft’s application to ensure he does not get hired by the foundation. She needs to protect the foundation from getting involved with an individual who is not trustworthy (Schneewind, 2002, p. 69).
This decision will portray Connie as a steadfast leader who is not willing to compromise her moral principles for the sake of an individual. This will help to safeguard the interests of the foundation from a dishonest individual who only cares about himself. This approach may turn some members of the committee against her and this may lead to fractured working relationships in the foundation (Schneewind, 2002, p. 76).
Appointment of Craft
Connie needs to oppose the appointment of Craft because he has shown that he lacks integrity. He presented false facts about his qualifications intentionally which shows he does not care about the consequences of his actions. Connie needs to explain to other members of the committee why she is against Craft’s appointment and the impact this decision will have on the foundation’s reputation. This will make other members see her as an unwavering leader who is willing to safeguard the reputation of the foundation at any cost. She needs to show her true character as a leader and lead by example (Soifer, 2009, p. 87).
A leader should not yield to pressure from internal and external forces that compromise her beliefs. Connie needs to encourage all members to follow good organizational values that bring about transparency, honesty and integrity. She needs to show she is a model of good behavior to other employees that work under her. This will strengthen their confidence in her leadership abilities. Therefore, other stakeholders in the foundation will emulate her and perform their duties without compromising organizational values and their own integrity (Soifer, 2009, p. 93).
References
Bentham, J. (2009). An Introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. Boston, MA: Dover Publications.
Schneewind, J.B. (2002). Moral philosophy from Montaigne to Kant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Singer, P. (2011). Practical Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Soifer, E. (2009). Ethical issues; Perspectives for Canadians. Toronto: Broadview Press.