Ethical Theories to Show How Religion is Practiced & Viewed in Workplace (Essay Sample)

Religion in the Workplace
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Religion in the Workplace
Introduction
Ethical issues are situations that an individual or institution evaluates by either right or wrong. Religion in the workplace is a moral problem that is on the rise in many places especially in the United States. Many people have complained of religious discrimination especially the Muslims in the workplace. The increased in the globalization of society and economy have resulted in diversity in the place of work where people from different parts of the world brings in their various religious beliefs and culture in the organization. According to classical ethical theories such as utilitarianism, an action is right and moral if it results in happiness for a greater number of people. In this essay, the primary focus will be evaluating the ethical issues arising from religion in the workplace based on classical ethical theories and perspectives such as utilitarianism, deontology, and relativism.
Ethical Conflicts
Religious beliefs and behaviors result in moral disputes between individuals who practice and the organization values. According to Alidadi (2010), religious activities such as holy days, attire, food and values can create an ethical dilemma for the management. For example, in the Muslim religion, the religious attire is composed of a large clock and a head attire which in most companies it is considered unofficial and unacceptable. Besides, in the workplace, the primary goal is to work together to achieve a common goal and not promote religion. Moreover, there is a law that protects employees from religious discrimination such as Title VII which states managers should treat all workers equally. However, this law may not work in a modern workplace that involves diversity. Rao (2012), argues that treating employees equally means treating others differently.
Classical Ethical Theories
Deontologist
The deontologist ethical theory argues that people have an obligation to treat others with respect and moral dignity. Every person is equal and should extend the moral integrity in the workplace and other official places. The deontologist argues that religion in the workplace is an ethical issue that requires attention to avoid religious discrimination and conflicts. When employees decide to read the bible or play spiritual music in the firm, management and other employees should respect the action. For example, in the United States, more than 150 Muslims employees with Somalia descent protested after they were denied the rights of praying in a standard room together (Ghumman et al., 2013). The management of the firm requested the Muslims workers to pray in small groups to avoid disruption of company’s activities. Besides, in the modern workplace setup, the deontologist theory about religion in the workplace is impossible. Today, globalization and immigration have resulted in increased number of employees in a company with various religious beliefs and behaviors.
Utilitarianism
Another classical ethical theory that evaluates religion in the workplace is utilitarianism theory. According to this theory, the most moral act is the one that brings joy and satisfaction to a large number of people. Therefore, religion in the workplace should be considered if it brings happiness to a large number of employees. The Muslims pray on Sabbath and at certain times of the day, the company should set up a common place of worship and prayers where the employees join and utilize their rights of worship (Vickers, 2010). Utilitarianism supports an action that benefits many people to be ethical and right. However, utilitarianism has received widespread criticism from modern business enterprises which argues that the ethics theory is cold, impractical and violates other people’s rights in the workplace. This approach fails to recognize the reality of complexities in the workplace and real life. Today, many companies have adopted international policies such as globalization that federal employees from different religious background.
Ethical perspectives
Relativism
Relativism is an ethical perspective that argues that there is no absolute truth about a moral issue. In this theory, people choose to believe what is moral and immoral on their own and different people can have differences of opinion about an ethical issue. In the workplace, religion can be evaluated on relativism concept where management allows different people to have various religious beliefs and activities. The Muslim religion is one of the most practiced religion in the world. In the Middle Eastern countries, Muslim employees are allowed time to pray, attend hold days, wear casual attire and follow their beliefs in the firm (Grobler and Nicolaides, 2016). In most c