An Ethical Dilemma (Chapter 6)

Lael Mathews has to decide between three different people to promote to manager. One is a thirty-four year old African American female, one is a fifty-seven year old Caucasian man, and the third one is a twenty-seven year old Asian American. They all have three different situations and problems of their own. Lael Mathews know each ones background which makes it even harder to make a decision as to which one deserves and will best fit the position.

Liz is the thirty four year old African American who is divorced, has one child, been in the company four years, has a high energy level, and graduated in the lower half of her college class. Roy is the fifty seven year old Caucasian who is married, has three children, been with the company twenty years, energy level is average to low, and graduated in the top half of his class. And lastly Quang is the twenty-seven year old Asian American who is single, no kids, been with the company three years, works sixty hours a week, and graduated top three percent of her class.

Advantages and Disadvantages of each Candidate

Liz only really has maybe two advantages and that would be that if she was chosen she would be the first African American female to manager at that level and she has a high energy level meaning she is willing to put forth the effort. Now her disadvantages would be her academic credentials, her job experience, and the fact that her child has had many medical issues that could cause her to be gone from work for long time periods. Roy has a few advantages that include he has been dedicated to the company for twenty years, he is a steady performer, and he has produced many of the top sales. But with his advantages comes with some disadvantages which are his energy level is average to low and the fact that he is older could play a factor in too much stress. Lastly Quang Yeh her advantages are that she graduated top three percent in her college class, she puts in sixty hours a week and is willing to go above and beyond, and she has proven she can increase her records. Her disadvantage would be that she has only been with the company for three years and her previous suing of her employer for discrimination.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Lael sure does have a tough job in deciding which candidate will suit the job the best. She also has pressure from the company and the candidates themselves. If you think about it if any of these three people do not get chosen they can easily say what you didn’t choose me cause I am black, old, or Asian. If I were Lael I would be very scared considering one of the candidates has had a previous encounter of suing because of discrimination. Lael will need to have good and ethical explanations for the two individuals who end up not receiving the promotion. One little slip up in wording to one of these individuals could cause a big legal battle. Lael would definitely have to make her decision in a deontology manner (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2014, p. 159-161).

Identify the Pressures

Lael has been in pressure since the day she was asked to decide which one should get the promotion. She is definitely in an ethical dilemma. Lael feels obligated to give the job to Liz considering she could really use the raise since her sons health is at risk and she would love to do this favor for liz. But the thing with that is since her and Liz are friends this could get Lael in trouble for favoring her “friend.” But if she doesn’t pick Liz then she might lose Liz as a friend. Another pressure is Roy son is getting married to the vice president’s daughter. She has also been pressured by one of the senior managers to give the promotion to Roy because he has been with the company for quite some time now and that Roy has sacrificed himself and his family. This senior manager was basically asking for this favor from Lael. Another person Lael is being pressured by is a upper management individual that has said Quang is engaged to my son. Overall Lael has been pressured in every way imagined and it is really making her life difficult. I could not imagine being in her shoes right now. I personally would not want anyone to know that I was the one giving the promotion so that I would not get any pressures from the upper current employees.

References

Ferrell, O.C. Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases, 9th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.