The necessity for diversity in the workplace is reflected in the relatively higher output that such diversity contributes to improved firm performance. However, this also creates an environment prone to ethically-oriented conflict especially since employee sense of right and wrong may differ greatly that leave managers with ethical dilemmas involving highly explosive situations requiring effective solutions. Essentially, ethics are standards of right and wrong which set out how and what people ought to do in terms of obligations, rights, specific virtues, fairness and benefits to society. Relatedly, ethical dilemmas depict business situations where the choice of an ethical solution to a problem violates some moral principles to a certain extent in favor of a higher moral imperative. As such, addressing related situations means that some parties may feel disenfranchised with solutions favored which means that managers have to very careful about the approaches they choose to resolve ethical dilemmas in the workplace. An online publication by the Ontario health Promotion E-Bulletin (OHPE) (1998) identifies the use of a persuasive approach as a viable way to resolve ethical dilemmas in the workplace. A vexing question is raised with regards to the degree to which persuasive strategies may be justified for solving ethical dilemmas even if there is loss to others.
The use of persuasion provides a great avenue to solve ethical dilemmas in the workplace as they can succeed to gain respectful compromise in problematic situations while allowing the losers to understand the necessity for seemingly negative solutions to ethical problems. Viewing ethical dilemmas as conflict situations, the use of an adversarial approach to solve ethical dilemmas represents another potential approach where the manager’s goal is to ensure that involved parties forcefully understand the necessity for seemingly unpopular solutions. In this case, the manager’s solution whether supporting one party or another does not lead to compromise unlike the case where a problem-solving approach is used. The latter approach identifies the necessity for uniting parties involved in the ethical dilemma towards a collaborative problem solving exercise that considers ethical elements for both sides. Another collaborative approach involves the use of dialogue where parties involved in the ethical dilemma come together with the goal of sharing and learning from each other with regards to the elements constituting the ethical dilemma in the presence of a mediator. In this case, the non-adversarial approach taken by the parties involved including the third party fosters a learning environment that establishes a strong foundation for future ethical actions by the party without the necessity for mediation.
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The merits of a persuasive approach are evident in the achievement for compromise and acceptance of proposed ethical solutions despite any loss experienced. However, it can fail because it only indicates an effective short-term measure in solving ethical dilemmas where the compromise can be achieved through coercion where persuasion only acts as a formality in solving ethical dilemmas. Consider a situation where an employee wrongs another personally but which is acceptable in a profession where outcomes matter more; solution to the personal wrong is downplayed in favor of positive firm outcomes. On the other hand, the use of the confrontational adversarial approach directly alienates the parties involved even though it may be beneficial in the short term. The problem-solving approach is more favorable as it takes a collaborative stance towards solving ethical dilemmas where parties are united towards a favorable solution. However, even though the ethical solution proposed offers a compromise, the approach’s efficacy is eclipsed by that of the non-adversarial, dialogue approach, as the latter allows both understanding of the situation as well as learning. The benefits of learning are indicated through the abilities of potential conflicting parties to solve ethical dilemmas without mediation as they understand the necessary solution. Therefore, an application of a dialogue approach by managers to solve ethical dilemmas can provide relatively permanent ethical solutions that parties involved not only understand and accept but can also be used to solve future problems without the manager’s mediation.
- Ontario Health Promotion E-Bulletin (OHPE) (1998). Ethical Dilemmas in Health Promotion. OHPE Bulletin, 1998(79). Retrieved from http://www.ohpe.ca/
