Please read each passage below, I need a minimum of 150 words for each part (1 & 2 ) which is a total of 300 words in response. I DO NOT need a reference or title page, however please provide the reference(s) underneath the passage. Please label as I have done below, example Part 1 and place your response along with the reference. Please cite properly and use correct grammar.
PART 1
I believe that the key to fully understanding ethical behavior begins in part with an understanding of empathy. Whether as an individual or as an organization, how our actions affect others is one of the fundamental considerations that should be considered before acting. This is especially true in my own profession (firefighting and emergency medicine), where we must constantly practice empathy when dealing with victims of unfortunate events. With that said, “Stand in the shoes of affected parties” (Zwilling, 2013, para.8) is one of the most important aspects of ethical behavior.
One of my responsibilities as Assistant Chief with our organization involves investigating allegations of misconduct. When improper behavior is discovered, it must be considered what will happen to the guilty party. While we make every attempt to consider the time, energy, and money that has been expended on our employees, we must also consider the effects of their actions on victims or observers. I am not sure if I am supposed to use a hypothetical scenario, but I will use a real ethical dilemma that I experienced firsthand. One of our members made a questionable decision during an emergency medical event that resulted in a humiliating outcome for a citizen. While the culprit expressed regret and remorse, a decision had to be made about the punishment of this employee. The decision was made to terminate their employment. It was one of the hardest days of my career, and I promise that the decision was not made lightly. However, this was a situation where the code of conduct had been breached to the point that retaining the employee would have required compromising our ethical culture. One of the primary considerations of an ethical workplace culture involves the collateral effect on internal and external stakeholders (Gonzalez-Padron, 2015). One of the first questions I will typically pose when considering discipline with my administrative peers is “What if this victim was my family member? What would I expect?” We all remember the golden rule: Treat others the way you would want to be treated. This is exactly what we should consider when trying to establish and maintain an ethical organizational culture. Behaving with empathy allows us to transcend from simply considering ethics into the role of living and benefiting from an ethical reality. I know firsthand that it is not the easiest thing to do, but I also know that I can lay my head on the pillow at night knowing that I did the right thing.
References:
Gonzalez-Padron, T. (2015). Business ethics and social responsibility for managers. Zovio.
Zwilling, M. (2013, November 11). How to make an ethical difference in your business (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/martinzwilling/2013/11/17/how-to-make-an-ethical-difference-in-your-business/
PART 2
“I do believe that most business people want to do the right thing.” (Zwilling, 2013). I think this quote is very important because at the basis of all ethical dillemas whether current or past, there would be no hope to reach a consensus of an ethical decision if both parties didn’t at least have the goal of trying to do the right thing.
Of the five solutions, the one that stood out to me the most was number three: “Face the relevant facts”. Working with a very diverse customer base in auto claims, there will always be dilemmas that pop up when investigating a loss. Facing the relevant facts is something I do daily current with external stakeholders. When delivering an unpopular liability decision I begin by stating the facts and getting a customer in agreeance with that and move forward from there to get to a place where they may not agree with the liability decision but they will hopefully understand it a bit better.
As a leader in my organization there comes an entirely new level of dilemmas that occur with “facing the relevant facts”. From concerns from higher ups on how each team should operate to subordinates and adjusters who have issues in their role, facing the relevant facts and coming to an agreement about the situation before tackling an ethical dilemma could make the difference between a more engaged workforce and possibly higher turnover. The most recent example that comes to mind is the issue of staffing. Government regulations have increased substantially in a lot of the states we do business creating additional work that needs to be completed on each claim. Leadership (c-suite) saw issues relating to overtime being paid and began cracking down on middle management on hours worked for adjusters. Middle management argued that if they maintained a strict 40 hour work week, there would need to be corners that get cut on claims and that is unethical claim handling which could put the organization in a very vulnerable legal position. With different levels of leadership coming together to face the facts, they were able to allow adjusters currently employed to work overtime to maintain compliance and customer service and increased staffing levels to ensure that overtime would not be a consistent factor for the job leading to burnout and turnover.
References:
Gonzalez-Padron, T. (2015). Business ethics and social responsibility for managers. Zovio.
Zwilling, M. (2013, November 11). How to make an ethical difference in your business (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/martinzwilling/2013/11/17/how-to-make-an-ethical-difference-in-your-business/
