Ethical Dilemmas (Research Paper Sample)

Ethical Dilemmas Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Ethical Dilemmas Introduction The leaders of multinational organizations often face ethical dilemmas. An ethical paradox refers to a decision-making challenge where choosing between two probable moral imperatives means transgressing one of them (Certo & Certo, 2006). The complication arises from the fact that both options are ethically right. Therefore, managers of such companies should possess proper organizational and decision-making skills to protect the integrity of the organization. Maintaining the integrity of a multilateral firm involves providing ethical leadership, attracting and retaining the right people, utilizing effective processes, and offering confident professional reporting. According to Boone and Kurtz (2011), the challenges of conflicting ethical norms also influence the decision-making process, leading to inconsistency, altering decision-making, and affecting the integrity of the firm. Therefore, due to the impact of ethical dilemmas, it is important to describe the policies or procedures that senior leaders of a global organization can implement to protect the integrity of their organization while maintaining business relationships with other countries with different ethical norms. Ethical Policies and Processes to Protect the Organization's Integrity Ethical Leadership Managers should demonstrate ethical leadership skills to help the company succeed. Their integrity and professionalism should allow them to be an example for the entire organization. Leading by example allows them to build a skilled and respectful workforce. The leaders should be inspired by public rather than personal interests and motivate the rest of the organization to act ethically. Managers recognize the planned benefits of workplace integrity and its capacity to accomplish its objectives, resist misbehavior, and retain talented staff. Professional managers depend on the trust and assurance of a team (Tsalikis, Seaton, & Li, 2008). Therefore, managers should offer ethical leadership to protect the integrity of the organization. Active Management and Supervision Managers should proactively manage the personnel and monitor the performance of the staff by using various resources accessible to them. Active managers understand their staff and how they undertake their duties. They support the professional development of employees and create a continuous learning environment. Managers do not retreat from challenging discussions regarding staff performance, welfare, and integrity concerns (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). They take suitable action when required in the interest of all the staff members, the firm, and the community. Hence, managers should protect the integrity of the organization through proactive management and supervision. The Right Persons The attitude and conduct of the workers should demonstrate their support of the company’s values and goals. Ethical conduct in the workplace fosters a professional relationship between the employees. Staff at all levels of the organization should act to prevent misbehavior and avoid integrity concerns. The workers should understand the organization's expectations and undertake their duties in compliance with such anticipations (Gokmen and Ozturk, 2012). Managers must create a conducive workplace where the employees feel valued and supported. Henceforth, organizations can protect their integrity by attracting and retaining the right people. Effective Processes The processes for recognizing and handling risks in the workplace are valid help the managers to focus on the company’s integrity concerns. Effective processes ensure a high level of compliance with workplace procedures. Such processes must be well documented, regularly reviewed, and updated in consultation with the company’s employees. According to Detert, Treviño, and Sweitzer (2008), integrity is neither an additional learning nor training element since it is part of a continuous learning process. The workers acquire knowledge from their experience. Some possible effective operations include consulting the staff, conducting risk assessments, monitoring trends, reinforcing policies, monitoring compliance, conducting audits, engaging support, and managing current staff. Therefore, ensuring the effectiveness of these processes can protect the integrity of the organization. Confident Professional Reporting The staff must be responsible for reporting the cases of misconduct in the workplace. The workers should be familiar with the reporting process and see that the company takes appropriate actions when the violation arises. The staff ought to be supported to gain confidence to make reports without the fear of intimidation, retaliation, or peer pressure (Bruce, 1994). An organization has to build a robust internal reporting culture within a company and constantly improve it to maintain high professional standards. Integrity issues are achieved in the interest of the individual, company, and public. Hence, confident professional reporting maintains the integrity of the organization. Impacts of Conflicting Ethical Norms on Decision-Making Moral dilemmas occur when a person is required to make a choice between two equally attractive options. In other words, choosing either side leads to losses. Therefore, people should have strong decision-making skills and ethical norms to make the right decision. This case often occurs when one ethical principle overrides the other. Due to such conflicts in choice, the affected person must make an appropriate decision to prevent the problems related to the dilemma. The first impact of conflicting norms is inconsistency in decision-making. Most international firms often insist on making consistent decisions even when operating in different countries. However, globalization demands a company to be flexible enough to adjust to the norms of other countries (Asgary&Mitschow, 2002). For example, using sparingly clothed women for advertising purposes is forbidden in Asian countries, even though it is a common practice in the US. If a company enters the Asian market, it must change the way it approaches its advertising activities. Similarly, the company would find it hard to hold the attention of Americans with conservative pictures that should be used in Asian countries. Therefore, using different models of operation in various countries for a company with the same moral values could decrease the lack of customer trust. The conflicting ethical norms would also alter decision-making processes in a company. When a company expands to other countries, it has to change some of its policies to comply with the rules and regulations of the target nation (Josephson, 2002). For example, when Target Corporation expanded to Canada, customers complained that its prices in Canada were higher than those in the US. This complaint did not only affect its volume of sales but led to the withdrawal of potential customers who preferred to purchase goods from Target's rivals. Later on, the company had to alter the way it approached the Canadian market to maintain ethical norms and its competitive advantage. Moreover, the problems of conflicting ethical norms affect the integrity of the decisions a firm makes. The senior leaders of global organizations must justify the de...