Ethical Dilemma Is a Problem That Cannot Be Fully Resolved Essay Example

fairness for all, regardless of their positions or beliefs. This encourages the establishment and enforcement of ethical standards, motivating individuals and organizations to obey the law and behave ethically. Additionally, it creates a positive organizational environment where valuing each other's emotions is important. Building strong personal connections and trust can simplify ethical decision-making by clarifying moral boundaries. Furthermore, power and influence, along with the fear of consequences, can ensure individuals adhere to rules and regulations. When a leader discourages unethical behavior, their followers are more likely to listen to their guidance and make appropriate choices.

Corporate social responsibility is now seen as essential for organizations to uphold their community reputation, with a focus on preventing unethical behavior through public assistance.

The prevalence of conflicts between personal and professional codes of conduct requires caution from both employees and employers to avoid creating unrest and instability. These conflicts may arise from differences in working style or personal beliefs, but ethical disagreements can have severe repercussions.

The diagram below illustrates the impact of ethical concerns on an individual's work performance, whether they pertain to the organization or the team.

How can ethical dilemmas be resolved?

Resolving ethical dilemmas does not adhere to a fixed set of rules. As previously mentioned, it is not simply a matter of right or wrong decisions; rather, it involves making decisions that are more suitable for a given situation. However, numerous business ethics experts have proposed different approaches to assist organizations and individuals in making better decisions in specific circumstances. For instance, organizations and individuals may opt to adopt recommended ethical theories as guidelines for their decision-making process.

Examining past examples of ethical dilemmas involving individuals or organizations is

an effective approach to making ethical decisions. By analyzing the actions, motivations, and consequences in these situations, we can gain valuable insight on how to navigate similar predicaments. It is crucial to assess potential outcomes and ensure they align with one's moral values and rules before deciding on a course of action. The right decision can lead to various positive effects such as creating a better society, maintaining moral integrity during challenging times, fostering teamwork and productivity, supporting employee growth and purpose, ensuring compliance with legal policies, and promoting a positive public image.

In this project section, we will explore ethical dilemmas from Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. These character-driven scenarios offer valuable lessons for navigating complex situations. Moreover, these timeless narratives serve as relevant examples that resonate across different levels - be it individual, family, organization or national level - in today's world.

The characters from heroic poems and their ethical quandary state of affairs are as follows: Bhishma . Bhishma, also known as "Gangaputra," which means the son of Ganges (the holy river). The mentioned ethical dilemma with Bhishma is regarding his participation in the war of Mahabharata on the side of Kauravas, despite wanting the victory of his opponents, the Pandavas. This ethical quandary highlights how even someone as powerful and knowledgeable as Bhishma can fall into the trap of ethical dilemmas and struggle to determine which decisions are better to make. Let's analyze Bhishma's ethical dilemma based on the following criteria.

Why did such a quandary happen? Bhishma, an obedient boy, had made a pledge to his father Shantanu. He promised to always obey the king's orders and vowed to never

marry or become the king himself. Thus, during the Mahabharata war, he found himself in a dilemma as his pledge required him to follow the orders of the king and fight on the side of the Kauravas. However, he was well aware that the Kauravas' intentions for the war were not good and knew that it was actually the Pandavas who deserved to rule Hastinapur.

He faced a dilemma of whether to interrupt his vow of obedience for what he believed was right or to blindly adhere to it. This situation exemplifies a current director's predicament when faced with conflicting ethics and the choice to follow or reject directives from higher authorities, even if complying could lead to personal gain.

Bhishma's decision to fight alongside the Kauravas against the Pandavas ultimately resulted in his defeat and death after the war ended. In his final moments, he admitted that it was a mistake to prioritize his own interests over the welfare of the nation or align with a faction not fighting for justifiable reasons.

Conclusion: Analyzing Bhishma's character, we can conclude that while his intention to serve his king was noble, he erred by blindly adhering to it without reflecting on his decisions over time. He should have realized that the welfare of the country should always take precedence and should not have allowed his personal choices to override this.

When considering whether to join an organization, individuals must evaluate if the current managerial decisions:

• validate managerial actions
• enhance the coherence and equilibrium of the organization's culture
• foster trust in relationships between individuals and groups
• promote consistency in standards and qualities of products/services
• nurture sensitivity
  

to the impact of the company's values and messages

The Chairperson of Hyundai, Chung Mong-koo, was imprisoned for embezzlement and breach of trust.

The Issue:

In April 2006, Chung Mong-koo, President of Hyundai Motor Company, was arrested. This example illustrates that societal concerns take precedence over individual interests.

Specifics regarding the Issue:

In May of that same year, he faced allegations of breach of trust, misappropriation of company funds, and causing harm to companies within the Hyundai group.

Consequences:

In April 2006, Hyundai's managers issued an apology to the public and announced that the Chung family would donate assets worth 1 trillion Won to society. In June 2006, Chung appeared in court and accepted his guilt "to a certain extent."

Karna

Karna, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, was unknown to his brothers. He was a loyal friend of Duryodhana. The ethical dilemma surrounding Karna has been analyzed as follows:

Why did such a dilemma occur?

Karna was the son of Kunti (the mother of the Pandavas). He was born before Kunti's marriage and, out of fear of societal retribution, she floated the child in the river.

Karna was raised by Adhirath, the king's chariot driver. He received support from Duryodhana when no one else would accept him, and as a result, Duryodhana appointed him as the ruler of "Angdesh". These favors bestowed upon Karna created a sense of gratitude towards Duryodhana, leading him to pledge his unwavering loyalty for the rest of his life. Once again, we witness the clash between Karna's allegiance and his ethical principles.

This is because Karna always knew what is right and wrong. However, he chose to be

loyal to Duryodhana rather than follow his own moral compass.

Consequences of Decision As a result, Karna fought in the Mahabharata war on the side of the Kauravas instead of making the morally correct choice or considering the benefit of the larger population. In the end, he was killed by Arjuna.

In this context, we can see that Karna prioritized his loyalty to Duryodhana over his moral values and the well-being of the majority. This can be compared to how employees at Enron remained loyal to their top management by concealing the true state of the organization from stakeholders. They chose not to make the morally right decision of informing stakeholders about the deteriorating condition of the company.

Dell is being sued by investors for their accounting practices. The investors accuse Dell of using illegal tactics to hide kickback payments received from Intel. This case highlights the fact that even though they are associated with the company, the investors still chose to take legal action against Dell.

Problem Details:

According to the investors, Intel made payments to Dell in order to ensure that only Intel Processors were used in their PCs. The investors argue that this caused Dell's profits to be inflated by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Consequences:

As a result, both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S.

Investigation into Dell's accounting practices: The lawyer for the Southern District of New York started a probe because Dell didn't disclose its quarterly earnings figures for the periods ending Aug. 4, 2006 and Nov. 3, 2006. Consequently, the Nasdaq stock exchange opted to temporarily delist Dell.

Yudhisthira: Yudhisthira is Pandu's eldest son and the former ruler of Hastinapur.

Yudhishthira, despite being known

as the King of Righteousness and highly knowledgeable in determining right and wrong, faced an ethical dilemma in the Mahabharata. This shows that even individuals with great wisdom can encounter moral challenges.

The cause of this dilemma was

the invitation Yudhishthira received from his younger brother Duryodhana to participate in a game of chance called "dhyut krida". In that time period, gambling had the power to either enhance or tarnish a king's reputation. It was seen as cowardly or financially unstable to refuse participation in such games.

Yudhishthira, a male monarch, went beyond his limits by gambling on his wife and ultimately losing to Duryodhan despite being fully aware of the associated risks. Despite sensing the potential severe loss during the game, he chose to continue playing in order to demonstrate his strength. As a result, he not only insulted his wife but also tarnished his own reputation.

Consequences of Decision

By prioritizing personal desires over societal expectations and ethical values, Yudhishthira faced consequences that included a decline in fame. He lost the admiration and respect of those who considered him an impartial judge of right and wrong. This act of gambling continues to be seen as a stain on Yudhishthira's character even today.

Decision By examining Yudhishthira's nature, actions, motivations, and their outcomes, it can be concluded that people should base their choices on ethical principles rather than self-gain. This is similar to a situation in the corporate world. Samsung paid $90 million in DRAM.

Problem: Samsung settled with 41 US states for $90 million after being involved in a global price-fixing cartel regarding DRAM. This serves as an example of how Samsung fell into a trap while attempting

to manipulate the market, resembling Yudhishthira's misguided pursuit of pride.
Problem Details: The US Department of Justice found Samsung, Elpida, Hynix, and Infineon guilty of conspiring to manipulate memory prices from July 1999 to June 2002.
Consequences: As a result of the alleged conspiracy in May 2006, Samsung, Hynix, and Infineon agreed to pay $160 million as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by individuals who claimed financial harm.

Vibhishan: Ravana's brother, Vibhishan, recognized Rama's exceptional abilities and advised Ravana to approach him as a friend instead of an enemy. Vibhishan was aware that Rama's power was greater than his own brother, Ravana, which caused his dilemma. He tried to convince Ravana to embrace righteousness and befriend Rama.

When all of Vibhishana's attempts to reconcile with his brother and the state during the time of war failed, he faced a dilemma. He was torn between staying loyal to his brother and country or supporting Rama, who he believed to be right. Therefore, Vibhishana found himself caught between being a dutiful brother and an enemy to his own kin and nation.

Consequences of the decision made

In front of society, Vibhishana was insulted by his brother and was commanded to leave his homeland. Despite trying to mend the relationship between his brother and Rama, he was unsuccessful. Eventually, he made the decision to follow the path he believed was morally correct and would lead to attaining Moksha. He approached Rama, becoming his friend and an important advisor in the upcoming conflict against Ravana.

After winning the conflict, Rama offers the land of Ravana to Vibhishana as a gift to show his friendly relationship and gratitude for his aid

and support in the war.

Decision:

Here we once again witness a moral dilemma faced by a character torn between loyalty to personal relations and ethical principles. However, if we examine the conditions, actions, and consequences experienced by the character in detail, we can conclude that Vibhishana ultimately made the right decision to join Rama. By aligning himself with Rama, Vibhishana ensures that the impact of the conflict on the citizens of his own country, Lanka, is minimized. Upon further reflection, it becomes clear that his decision stems from a genuine love and respect for his country, as he understood that by joining Rama, unnecessary damage to his land could be avoided.

Therefore, by recognizing the situation of Vibhishana, we can also infer that the individual who appeared to have defected to the enemy camp during the war and was deemed a traitor by his own citizens was actually someone deeply concerned about the safety of his country. This serves as a prime example to illustrate that ethical decisions, which may initially seem to oppose some well-known and cherished ones in the short term, ultimately prove to be morally and ethically correct choices that greatly benefit organizations. The case of Johnson & Johnson recalling all its medications, despite causing significant financial loss in the short term and even risking bankruptcy, is another notable instance of an ethical decision leading to long-term improvement for the organization. Today, it is widely recognized that Johnson & Johnson is a leading organization in its field with a strong brand reputation, primarily due to its ethical practices.

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