Thinking Ethically

6.1  Grey Matters

       The Case Study

In order to create ethical awareness in the workplace a cooperation by the name of Lockheed Martin, issued a quiz titled " Grey Matters. In this quiz employees were asked  to answer questions multiple choice questions in which they would be awarded or subtracted  points based upon their answers.  This method has actually became adopted by numerous corporations today. Bellow is a sample of the Test

The Test
Six months after you hired an assistant accountant who has been working competently and responsibly, you learn that she departed from the truth on her employment application: she claimed she had a college degree when she didn’t. You’re her manager; what should you do?

A.Nothing because she’s doing her job just fine. (–10 points)
B.Bring the issue to the human resources department to determine exactly how company policy determines the situation should be handled. (10 points)
C.Fire her for lying. (5 points)
D.Carefully weigh her work performance, her length of service, and her potential benefit to the company before informing anyone of what happened or making any recommendations. (0 points)

The Business Ethics Workshop

Flat World Knowledge, L.L.C.

What's Wrong with That ? 

Duty Ethics

In Duty Ethics pertaining to the workplace, 
it is the agents obligation to do whats right for the agency(corporation). However in this Case, how is it possible for the agents of Lockhead Martin to remain true to the agency and themselves  with the knowledge that the most probable answers that they would select will result in a negative score? 
To learn more about Duty Ethics, visit the link below
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/workplace-example-duty-based-ethics-11972.html

Virtue Ethics

Virtue Ethics would disagree with Duty Ethics in this case scenario. Virtue Ethics calls for an individual to do the right thing based on their moral in a given situation.  A virtuous person may select D, because he or she knows that that person is an amazing employee and despite  the means they utilized to get the job, it has not hindrance their performance.

To learn more about Virtue Ethics visit the link below

http://www.iep.utm.edu/virtue/  

Consequential  and Non Consequential Ethics

Consequential Ethics would tell one in this given case scenario, to select the Answer A, or possible D. The ends justify the means. On the contrary, Non - Consequential Ethics may lead an employee to make a decision 

based on the means and not  the ends. Therefore, C. may be the only possible selection according to this theory. 

To learn more about Non Consequential and Consequential Ethics visit link below
http://faculty.washington.edu/wtalbott/phil240/trconseq.htm

 

 

Bottom Line 

There are other methods that can be used in order to create an awareness of ethics in the workplace that will not sway or alter agents morale or virtue by scoring their response. An alternative is to have a ethical workshop day or any-other median that does not involve a scoring a response. 

  Additional References

James Brusseau, The Business Ethics Workshop

Flat World Knowledge, L.L.C.