It is a simple fact of life that at some point in our lives, we will be faced with a moral dilemma. These situations arise due to the fact that as professionals, we are bombarded with the ethical standards and principles of different stakeholders. We all develop a personal moral code, but what are we to do when this code differs from the code of our employer? The code our customers/clients? The law? It is when we are faced with these opposing ethical codes that we are faced with a dilemma in how to proceed. To help navigate these types of situations, it is imperative that human service professionals rely on a logical and comprehensive decision-making process (Woodside & McClam, 2015, p. 286).
Helpers must first truly understand the nature …show more content…
After several conversations with her, I came to realize that our HR manager was engaging in discriminatory hiring practices. While she was always very careful to document her hiring decisions to avoid notice, her statements to me (on multiple occasions) indicated that she would purposely avoid hiring young, white men, no matter their qualifications. As I was charged with prescreening applications, I knew there were several qualified white male applicants that were rejected for lesser qualified/experienced candidates. However, she was never overtly discriminatory and my observations were simply that, observations. I struggled with whether I should bring this to the attention of senior leadership. On the one hand, my personal ethical code dictated that I never falsely accuse anyone and that I should be loyal to my employer. On the other hand, I knew that employment discrimination was against the law and if she was truly engaging the behavior, than she was violating not only the law, but also the expected ethical standards of the organization. So, in keeping with the ethical decision making process outlined above, I went to my supervisor. I explained the situation, my conversations with the HR manager and my misgivings. She told me that if I felt strongly about the situation, than I should approach the administrator. I knew that if I did not disclose the situation, the behavior would continue. If I told and I was simply misunderstanding her and her process, than I would have ruined the working relationship we had and potentially, our future productivity together. However, if I told and there was merit to my observations, I could potentially be saving future applicants from discrimination. Long story short, I told the administrator, an investigation was completed and a substantial amount of incriminating evidence was unearthed. The HR manager was ultimately
Helpers must first truly understand the nature …show more content…
After several conversations with her, I came to realize that our HR manager was engaging in discriminatory hiring practices. While she was always very careful to document her hiring decisions to avoid notice, her statements to me (on multiple occasions) indicated that she would purposely avoid hiring young, white men, no matter their qualifications. As I was charged with prescreening applications, I knew there were several qualified white male applicants that were rejected for lesser qualified/experienced candidates. However, she was never overtly discriminatory and my observations were simply that, observations. I struggled with whether I should bring this to the attention of senior leadership. On the one hand, my personal ethical code dictated that I never falsely accuse anyone and that I should be loyal to my employer. On the other hand, I knew that employment discrimination was against the law and if she was truly engaging the behavior, than she was violating not only the law, but also the expected ethical standards of the organization. So, in keeping with the ethical decision making process outlined above, I went to my supervisor. I explained the situation, my conversations with the HR manager and my misgivings. She told me that if I felt strongly about the situation, than I should approach the administrator. I knew that if I did not disclose the situation, the behavior would continue. If I told and I was simply misunderstanding her and her process, than I would have ruined the working relationship we had and potentially, our future productivity together. However, if I told and there was merit to my observations, I could potentially be saving future applicants from discrimination. Long story short, I told the administrator, an investigation was completed and a substantial amount of incriminating evidence was unearthed. The HR manager was ultimately