HWR Berlin, Winter Semester 2021-22

LV 200191 Human Resources and Organization

Dozent: John Calvin Davis

Feedback on Research Article Submission from:

Student Name / Matriculation Number: Guillermina Simari / 77211903164

Theme / Topic: Ethical Dilemmas

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The work will be evaluated with a total possible score of: 25 points

Berlin, John Calvin Davis

1
An Ethical Dilemma is “…a situation that requires a choice regarding a possible course of action that, although offering
the potential for personal or organizational benefit, may be considered unethical” (Schermerhorn, 2015, p. 63). I
received an attractive offer from a business in Bangladesh to manufacture gloves, but then I get new information saying
that they operate with child labor. As you can see, here, I faced an ethical dilemma. I am not going to hire this
organization that uses children for their work, because I think that is unethical. Even if it would be a better option for
the company´s costs.

I want to consider some views of Ethical Behavior to explain why I rejected the offer. The Individualism view “…is based
on the belief that one´s primary commitment is to the long-term advancement of self-interests” (Schermerhorn, 2015,
p. 60). The moral rights view is the one that “…respects and protects the fundamental rights of people” (Schermerhorn,
2015, p. 60).

The individualism view just looks for the long-term advancement of self-interest; following this idea we are going to
focus on the development of our image. The image of our company is one of the most important assets to stay and
grow in the market. Our company´s social responsibility is a big issue not only for our consumers, such as for our
employees. This means that taking care of our manufactory process is relevant for our sales, in two directions. On the
negative one, not taking care of people involved with this organization can impact our profits, because we are going to
be banished by our consumers for being “bad persons” (considering their ethical framework). On the positive one,
taking care let us get paid a higher amount of money for investing in social issues. Furthermore, working in a place that
cares for persons, and cares for society is more important to workers every day. That is why we need to take seriously
our position in this topic, to get the best human resources; the ones that are important for our development.

Protecting the fundamental rights of people, as shown in the Moral rights view, guide us to the “Declaration of the
Rights of the Child” that the ONU made in 1959 to protect kids’ basic rights. The right of study is the one that bubbles
every time Child labor is mentioned; the problem in Bangladesh is that “[employment of children] …It´s part of their
economies and many families depend for their daily substance on the income that children provide” (Schermerhorn,
2015, p. 62). That is why I take into consideration cultural relativism, which said there is no one right way to behave and
that ethical behavior is always determined by its cultural context, which means that my view of not working kids in
society is not possible all around the world. That takes me to Donaldson´s idea of business ethics; “the core values or
“hyper-norms” that should transcend cultural boundaries focus on human dignity, basic rights, and good citizenship”
(Schermerhorn, 2015, p. 62). An option would be to hire them and let children work if they have a schedule that let
them work and study in their daily life. However, we would need a code for that; and we can not invest in controls to
check if this other organization guarantees these rights to their child employees.

In conclusion, the offer is attractive in number but unethical. Taking care of making children's rights to be respected
takes us out of our budget and does not make the offer as attractive, as if we do not have to consider this. Besides, our
image impact in our profits and this offer could damage our reputation. So not taking the offer is the best option.