Introduction
Fundamental concepts for any organisation or workplace are the ethics constructs, such as morals, legal standards, and ethical conduct. They guide employees and leaders in how they behave and act with clients and colleagues. The branch of philosophy called ethics examines the moral principles and standards that guide the behavior of people and organisations. While moral standards are the beliefs and values individuals have about correct and incorrect behavior, legal standards are laws and regulations that control behavior in certain societies or countries.
My purpose in this paper is analyze an ethical or moral dilemma encountered during my job and to discuss its implications on legal, moral and ethical grounds. This paper will outline my role as a moral advocate or moral agent for the issue, and discuss my leadership style, which was based on my self-assessment.
Working Environments: Moral, Legal, and Ethical Dilemmas
As a former customer service representative for a telecom company, I was faced with a moral quandary that could have serious implications. One day, a customer called me to inquire about a product that was not available on our company’s website. A customer who had bought the product before was calling me to inquire about a possible replacement. The product wasn’t available anymore, so I told the customer and apologized. But the customer insisted and demanded the product be found for him. He stated that he was desperate to have it.
I checked with my supervisor to see if it was possible for me to find the product for her. My supervisor informed me that the product was discontinued. There wasn’t any way to obtain it for the customer. But, my supervisor kept getting calls from the customer, who finally spoke with me. My supervisor assured the customer that the product would be found and shipped within 2 days.
My supervisor instructed me to falsify the information on the customer’s account by adding a note indicating that the product was on backorder, and it would be shipped within two days. My supervisor stated that it was a company policy to please customers and that sometimes it was necessary to twist the truth to satisfy customers.
Analyse of Moral, Ethical and Legal Implications
Falsifying information on a customer’s account is a serious offense that has implications on moral, ethical, and legal grounds. Falsifying information regarding the availability of products is a moral offense. This behavior undermines the trust that customers have in the company and can have long-term consequences on the company’s reputation. This behavior is also against the fundamental principles of transparency, honesty and integrity that all organizations must uphold.
Falsifying information can be considered ethically unethical because it is against the ethics of ethical conduct. The act of falsifying information is considered unethical because it violates the principles of ethical conduct. In this case, my supervisor’s instructions were unethical since they required me to engage in dishonest behavior that went against my personal beliefs and values.
Legally, falsifying information on a customer’s account is a breach of the law, as it constitutes fraud. Fraud can be defined as an intentional misrepresentation or distortion of material facts with the intent of convincing someone to believe that information and then act to their disadvantage. Falsifying information on a customer’s account can have legal consequences for both the company and the individuals involved.