“Economically, there is no moral difference between a machine and a person.” This is a quote from Management Ethics by Norman E. Bowie and Patricia H. Werhane from the chapter “The Ethical Treatment of Employees.” While there truly is no moral difference for companies and machines, employees may have a different view. Employees view employment with an organization as personal relationship in which they expect to be treated with respect, compensated fairly, and to perform meaningful work. They also expect to provide a positive return to their employers, do good work, and be dedicated to the organization’s goals. Both employees and employers should expect this relationship to last for an employee’s career. Unfortunately, the current economic
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As we viewed in this week’s film, most terminated employees were asked to pack up their personal belongings and exit the facility; however, these employees are emotionally connected to their work. Reflecting back on the film Margin Call, Stanley Tucci’s character Eric Dale was in the middle of very important work but was unable to finish it before he was terminated, which created the entire plot for the film. Instead of immediate termination, employers should allow employees a transitional time to continue working so that their work can be successfully transferred and they feel closure with their …show more content…
In the assignment for week one regarding what we saw in Margin Call, I described how a self-interested decision by ConAgra Foods to acquire Ralcorp Holdings resulted in a two to three percent force reduction in the summer of 2014. While the employees who were terminated were offered various severance packages, the manner in which some were informed was unethical. The employees in my group, the corporate accounting function, were escorted out of the front doors, asked to remove their identification badges and told to wait while their necessary personal belongings were collected: car keys, wallets or purses and cell phones. What was not included were items like personal photos, educational degrees and certificates, and other personal items. Instead these items were to be packed up by their manager and mailed to them. Additionally, I remember this day was windy and rainy and must have been miserable for them to stand outside waiting. This, to me, is a direct violation of Immanuel Kant’s Rights Approach reading from Manual Velasquez’s article in Annual Editions Business Ethics 13/14 which describes that “it is a violation of human dignity to use people in ways they do not freely choose.” I can only imagine the indignity of being forced out into poor weather and having to wait to leave as former coworkers passed, looking at you like a caged animal at the
As we viewed in this week’s film, most terminated employees were asked to pack up their personal belongings and exit the facility; however, these employees are emotionally connected to their work. Reflecting back on the film Margin Call, Stanley Tucci’s character Eric Dale was in the middle of very important work but was unable to finish it before he was terminated, which created the entire plot for the film. Instead of immediate termination, employers should allow employees a transitional time to continue working so that their work can be successfully transferred and they feel closure with their …show more content…
In the assignment for week one regarding what we saw in Margin Call, I described how a self-interested decision by ConAgra Foods to acquire Ralcorp Holdings resulted in a two to three percent force reduction in the summer of 2014. While the employees who were terminated were offered various severance packages, the manner in which some were informed was unethical. The employees in my group, the corporate accounting function, were escorted out of the front doors, asked to remove their identification badges and told to wait while their necessary personal belongings were collected: car keys, wallets or purses and cell phones. What was not included were items like personal photos, educational degrees and certificates, and other personal items. Instead these items were to be packed up by their manager and mailed to them. Additionally, I remember this day was windy and rainy and must have been miserable for them to stand outside waiting. This, to me, is a direct violation of Immanuel Kant’s Rights Approach reading from Manual Velasquez’s article in Annual Editions Business Ethics 13/14 which describes that “it is a violation of human dignity to use people in ways they do not freely choose.” I can only imagine the indignity of being forced out into poor weather and having to wait to leave as former coworkers passed, looking at you like a caged animal at the