Question

Instructions: Read the ethical scenario below and decide what course of action Will should take. In reaching a recommendation make sure you identify the ethical dilemma, offer two to three recommendations for solving it, and then select your best choice of action. Put yourself in Will’s shoes and decide what a business student should do in this situation.

Use a minimum of two outside sources (the textbook can be one of them). Please make sure to type your report and cite and reference the outside sources. This report should be approximately two pages in length to fully explore and analyze the issues.

What do you think? Will’s Ethical Dilemma

                  Will has a summer job working for the local electric company. He has been assigned to the warehouse, where the company stores all of the parts and equipment used to maintain the power lines to keep electricity running. His job is to help load and unload the trucks; to keep the shelves stocked; and to run occasional errands for the warehouse supervisor, Mr. Walker.

                  The atmosphere is tense around the power company this summer. The union and management have been fighting over a new contract; and from what Will can tell, management seems to be winning. The employees are angry and bitter.

                  While completing a parts inventory one day, Will noticed that many of the shelves were bare. A lot of equipment seemed to be missing. When he reported his finds to Mr. Walker, the supervisor told Will not to worry.

                  “I’ve seen this kind of thing before. It’s just the line workers’ way of getting even with management. If the workers don’t get paid what they think they deserve, they make up for it by stealing equipment from the warehouse and off the trucks. It’s not really right, but frankly, I’m on their side. The company is not being fair. So we’ll help hide the missing materials and keep the workers out of trouble. Just change your inventory reports to show that we’re missing only a little each month. With a little luck, the contract negotiations will be over by the time the company catches on to what’s happening.”

                  Will realizes that Mr. Walker is telling him to lie on important company documents. Will doesn’t want to make his supervisor angry, but Will has to sign the documents. He can get into serious trouble if he is caught turning in fraudulent inventory reports. After all, doing so is not just a violation of company policy; it’s against the law.

                  Will found this job through a good friend of his mom’s -- Mrs. Davidoff, a company vice president – a fact he has kept from Mr. Walker. Reporting what he knows to her could make things very difficult for him at the company, but he also might receive some type of reward. On the other hand, Will has made a lot of new friends at the company and he doesn’t want them to hate him.

It seems as though all of Will’s options have strong pros and cons. What should he do? Why?

Answer 1

there are many issues to be discussed in this case, should Will follow the guidelines of his superior, or should he raise voice against to him and inform the illegal things to the higher authorities, is the first one. on the other hand, he notices that the workers were underpaid, with the reason the workers are stealing some material from the godown, where he is the incharge to the godown. should the same must inform to higher authorities or leave it. if any one caught this, legally he is liable and bounded. Or the third option is leave the place and job and search something else, or think that he is only working for 3 months of summer, why should take extra pressure on this?

• should he follow the guideliness of his boss: the duty of any employee is to follow the guideliness of their immediate suprevisor. in this case, if Will follows the guidelines, he may face new troubles. more over he new that it is legally and ethically wrong. if he inform to higher authority, the supervisor may easily escape and he will be caught. Because the supervisor is a senio worker, may have good relations with management.
• Underpaid of workers: The workers may be overpaid or underpaid, it is not the business of Will to decide what is fair, what is right and what is wrong. If the workers really underpaid, the same must be take to the management through the unions. But Will has nothing to do in this context. So, showing this as cuase and let the inventoy lost from the godown is not an acceptable move. if something bigger event happen on tomorrow and you will be leagally bounded..
• leave the place or be silent for this 3 months: is the other option. If you stay silent for the summer and go to your studies later, you will get no problems. But you recollect the same about your entire life and you carries the guiltiness. It is our responsibility to stop wrong actvities from others. if not, at least we must inform the same to higher management and they will take care of it.

If i were Will, I prepare a report of all these things in a document and handover the same to vice-precident. I do not cheat myself and let my company goes worst. of course i may face some strugles and problems by doing this, but i must stand with law of my firm and law of my personal.