Ethical Dilemma vs. Ethical Lapse

Peer Post 1 to respond to: Donella Anderson YesterdayMay 6 at 4:46pm

Describe the difference between the terms “ethical dilemma” and “ethical lapse”.

Ethical dilemma is choice that you make that may or may not be clearly right or wrong.

Ethical lapse is making a choice that you know for certain to be unethical.

Provide an example from your life, or of someone you knew, who was faced with an ethical dilemma in the workplace. Explain an alternative solution to the dilemma. Then think of a time where you or someone you knew demonstrated an ethical lapse. Describe the situation and the decision. Then provide an alternative solution to the situation.

I can recall when I first joined the military being at a party with a group of friends and tons of other people I didn't know and watching many people at the party drinking and dancing. I recall being offered a beer and declining due to my age, I was only 18. I was looked at as being a "good two shoes' because I didn't want to break the rules and underage drink. A few days later while at work the party came up and our supervisor started asking probing questions. Who was at the party, when did y'all leave? It was very odd, so we thought. The next morning when we were all called to our leaderships office and "asked" about the party; this time they read us our Miranda rights. It seems one of the party goers, who was underage left the party hit three cars and ran the gate (didn't stop for security at the entrance) and was now hospitalized. A total of 15 personnel from my job went to disciplinary review board where we have to explain our action or inaction and all the details of the party and of course provide names of any other person that was in attendance. Personally, I knew I should have left as soon as I saw the party heading the wrong way and when I seen my friend underage drinking (and take them with me). It is not taken lightly to receive a DUI/DWI in the military and in hindsight I should have been more proactive and making sure we are all safe and we all could have avoid the entire situation.

PEER POST 2 to respond to: Nataliya Hampton 10:42amMay 7 at 10:42am

Week one is on a roll classmates and instructor,

Describe the difference between the terms

“ethical dilemma” : “a choice between alternatives that may not be clearly right or clearly wrong”

“ethical lapse” : “is making a choice you know to be unethical.”

Difference: a dilemma would be that technically there is no right or wrong answer, while in a lapse you no something is wrong but still do it.

Provide an example of ethical dilemma: There were 2 opportunity that came up for career growth for an employee. One was to be a Leader on the floor of the unit the employee worked on, and the other was to work with coordinating patient care for people coming in from down range. Yes this is a hospital setting. Both would give the employee growth but it was a hard decision for the leadership above the employee to decide which one would be best for the growth of the person. Since neither option was right or wrong, it was a hard decision to make.

Provide an example of ethical lapse: In the food industry Food temps and Fridge temps are to be monitored on a schedule and regular bases, it’s wrong to pencil wipe these numbers on a document but it happens for food safety, no one wants to get food poisoning

Alternate solution: To develop a habit and routine to make sure staff is properly completing temp checks with quality checks and if a time frame was missed to leave it as missed to identify that maybe further training needs to be completed.

Reference:

Bovée, C. L., & Thill, J. V. (2018). Business communication today (14th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

PEER POST 3 to respond to: Azayen Loyo 1:46amMay 7 at 1:46am

Hello,

The difference between an ethical dilemma and ethical lapse is in the clarity of the outcome that choice will bring. According to Bovee and Thill (2018), the difference between an ethical dilemma and an ethical lapse is a question of clarity.

First, an ethical dilemma is when it is unclear whether a choice is equally right or equally wrong. I recall being in a situation during one of my first jobs when a customer asked me if I could share my client's contact information. I worked at a car wash in a building where the cars are washed in an Eco-friendly setting. This customer, who was also a tenant, stated his company offered a significant discount to all tenants, and he wanted to share this with them. Initially, I thought it would be a good idea, but my manager enlightened me with the legal aspect of the matter and customer confidentiality. My age and lack of experience combined with a good sales pitch made it difficult for me to determine that this was wrong. Instead, I thanked the guy for his intentions and offered an idea to have the building manager send an email to tenants to make employees aware of the products and discounts. Second, an ethical lapse is an intentional choice made knowing the outcome is unethical. I experienced an ethical lapse in the workplace. My current employer prohibits actions like accepting gifts from clients. Knowing this, I witnessed my colleague accepting tickets to a game from a client, and immediately I knew I had to report it. It put me in an awkward position because I didn't want to get my colleague in trouble. I decided to approach my colleague with the mindset that she might not have realized these high valued tickets were considered gifts. After bringing it to her attention and sharing my perspective, she decided to return the tickets. As employees, we share the responsibility of maintaining the company's reputation and integrity by making the right ethical decisions. Regardless of how minimal or not an ethical lapse is, it is not justified.

Bovee, C. L., and Thill, V. J. (2018). Business Communication Today (14th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc. https://content.ashford.edu/books/Bovee.7626.18.1/sections/cover