Ethical Issues, Ethical Dilemmas, and Ethical Theories
Ethical issues arise when a decision or scenario is against the moral principles in society. Employees in a workplace may be confronted with various ethical issues including manipulating sales figures, spending the company’s money on personal budgets and taking bribes (Amer. 2019). The ethical issues are clearly defined by the ethical codes of conduct that are adopted by various organizations. Ethical issues are used to streamline the behavior of the employees to ensure they act according to the expectations of an organization. The issues can arise in critical sectors such as healthcare. Nurses are faced with ethical issues such as seeking patient’s consent, surrogate decision-making, and protecting the rights of a patient (Amer. 2019). It requires a practitioner who is strong-willed to always observe the ethical standards of practice and avoid cases of an ethical dilemma.
On the other hand, ethical dilemmas involve a problem that occurs while deciding between two possible imperatives which are neither preferable nor acceptable. A dilemma occurs when obeying one law will lead to transgressing another one (Amer. 2019). For instance, an employee may be confused between using knowledge about the policies of an organization to accumulate profit for personal gain. Another instance is when salespeople offer poor quality products to clients who cannot suspect for personal gain (Amer. 2019). Salespeople especially those who are involved in selling motor vehicles or real estate properties may sell a house or car that has an ongoing case in court. The sale may be profitable, but it will require the new owner to pay extra cash to retain the property. People who understand and respect the law will use ethical theories to unravel the ethical dilemmas (Savage, 2017). For instance, deontology requires that a person should remember their central obligation when making a decision in a critical situation. Practitioners are involved in an ethical dilemma that results in wrong decision-making.
Ethical theories are used to explain the existence of ethical standards of behavior. Ethical theories are thus to justify morality or explain why an issue was committed in a specific way (Savage, 2017). They are also essential in providing a platform that explains whether an issue is ethical or not. The various types of ethical theories include utilitarianism, rights, virtues, and deontology (Savage, 2017). Ethical theories can be used to unravel the ethical dilemmas that employees encounter in their daily practice. They emphasize the existence and importance of ethics and how they can be implemented.
References
Amer, A. B. (2019). Understanding the ethical theories in medical practice. Open Journal of Nursing, 9(02), 188.
Savage, T. A. (2017). Ethical issues in school nursing. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(3).
