Ethical Dilemma Essays - Dilemmas, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Life

Ethical Dilemma Essays - Dilemmas, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Life Ethical Dilemma In this paper I will provide information about an ethical dilemma that I have experienced or witnessed. Included in this paper will be the essential points of the dilemma, how it intersects with my personal values and how would I solve this dilemma and why. Ethics as a philosophy is concerned with being a good person, living a good life and doing what a person feels as right. This includes reasoning about general principles and using thought processes to develop appropriate actions to any given situation. Ethics go beyond the formulating of ideas to justify actions; it attempts to show that some ideas, thoughts, and actions are sounder than others (Freeman, 2000). The "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" (2013) website states that ethics in the workplace are the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. I work as an advocate for a domestic violence agency. Through the last seven years, I have seen people come and go; clients and coworkers alike. I have heard so many stories; good and bad and have dealt with several ethical dilemmas though my time here. The most current and ongoing dilemma in the workplace is with a coworker. The agency I work for has an advocate position at the local Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), which is called the CSO (customer service office) advocate. This position is good for people receiving state benefits in abusive relationships so that the person can talk to an advocate without fear of being found. The advocate in this position is the one causing the dilemma. With any job, there are rules to live by. These are usually stated in workplace policies and procedures, but some are just common sense. My workplace, like many others has policies and procedures. In many places of employment, it is mandatory to call in when running late or when sick. This particular coworker usually does not call in when running late and usually does not call in sick until half-way through the work day. This has been an ethical and moral dilemma for the past few years. She has been asked repeatedly by our director to follow these guidelines but to limited responses. The biggest issue is that calling in is not written in the policies. Common sense says that when a person is running late or sick is that a person calls in before the work day starts. My personal beliefs say that when I am sick or late, it is a common courtesy to let the employer know what is going on. Most employers would fire a person for not calling in. I believe that there need to be a certain amount of accountability for people and if a person cannot participate in the job function, which there are plenty of people qualified who are unemployed and would jump at a chance for a decent paying job. For my other coworkers and I, this has been a major issue. For one, there is no reliability. If we have someone in our office that may need help at the CSO office, we never know if she is there or not. The clients are being hurt by the CSO advocate not showing up for scheduled appointments as well as the possibility of the agency losing a grant because the hours are not being filled. But yet there has been few repercussions associated with the behavior. These behaviors have also had negative effects on the morale of the other employees. The Executive Director of the agency has been documenting these activities and has also stated that she is making sure everything is done legally. The staff does not think that things are being done about the behavior, but we continue to document activity and pass the information to our Director. This seems to be the only thing the staff can do at this point and to have faith that our director will handle the issue in her own time. As Lead Advocate, I continue to pass on information to the Director as well as listen to the director state her ideas and fears about this coworker. The director feels that this person is the type of person who would try to sue the agency