Professional Workplace Dilemma Paper

Professional Workplace Dilemma Paper

Tabitha Ford

Interdisciplinary Capstone Course

GEN480

Jeanette Jensen

July 11, 2011

Workplace Dilemmas

Nearly every working individual has been faced with a career dilemma. Some issues today’s working industry may face include downsizing of staff, pollution, allocation of scarce resources, employee rights, and discrimination against women and minorities. These types of ethical dilemmas are complex and difficult to resolve. Today's workforce is composed of people who are more diverse than ever in culture, religion, education, and socioeconomic status. These people enter the workforce with differing backgrounds, values, goals, and perceptions. These differences can cause conflict
I remained in this position for two months before the boss, Sean, who also holds sole ownership of the store, told me that one of my employees among several others is to be laid-off soon. I was told not to share this information until instructed otherwise. Meanwhile, one of the employees, Aaron, mentioned that he just bought new carpet for his house and planned to buy braces for his daughter. I continually wondered what the right choice was (I even tried to obtain advice from friends and family). I was instructed not to tell the employees until further notice, but these people are not just employees, they are also my friends. If I keep the information Sean shared with me private I could be jeopardizing a friendship, and placing my employees in a financial hardship (I was aware that Aaron was planning to invest over $12,000 in dental work for his daughter and also aware that his income will stop
There was a significant difference in power and authority; ownership of the jewelry store and all assets belong to Sean, and he had invested his entire savings into the organization. It seemed he was solely concerned with profit and I was concerned with diminishing the relations I had built at the workplace. As manager, I was also concerned with sales, and profit, but to be honest I was more concerned with whether my actions and behaviors were justifiable. I continued to ask myself if I was behaving in an ethical manner. Would I be the underlying reason for my employee’s financial bind once he was laid off because I knew he would soon be unemployed and I kept this information from him to satisfy my boss. Withholding this information from my employees went against my personal values, which include dignity, empathy, compassion, accountability, loyalty, and integrity (to name a few). I am an honest individual, and I cannot willingly withhold information that could ultimately terminate a friendship and cause severe damage to the success and happiness of my employee’s professional life as well as their personal lives.

Potential Consequences

Some of the potential outcomes were to tell my employees before given permission by Sean, and suffer the consequences (which could include losing my job), or keep my mouth shut and watch my friends suffer in more than one way. If I told the employees