Ethics

Ethics is an area of study that is rather controversial. This is so, because one action can be interpreted using two dimensions as to whether it is ethical or not ethical. Deontological theory of ethics calls for people to be fair to everyone involved when deciding to do a certain action. It also advocates for respect of basic dignity of human beings and do the right thing in every situation. In the mentioned situation the boss wants me to package meat with the ones that have stayed for a long time at the bottom of the can, and the fresh ones at the top of he can. However, I would not package the meat as requested by the boss. The principle guiding me in this situation is the deontological theory of ethics. If I package the meat as requested, I would be cheating the people buying the meat which is not good. Putting in mind the principle of doing right thing in every situation, I would not package the meat as requested.

    My stand on not packaging the meat as requested further is guided by the care based theory of ethics. This theory says that we should empathize with others by making decisions based on what you would wish done for yourself in the same circumstances, as the people who will be impacted by your decision (Lisman, 1996). The question to ask myself is how will the people who are going to buy the meat feel when they realize of the packaging strategy They would definitely be disappointed and cheated. If I put myself in their shoes, I definitely would not like the same to happen to me. I would want to be ethical or rather do what is moral, thus I would not package the meat as requested by my boss.

    One can also employ the question posed by Laura Nash in trying to solve a problem. To come up with the moral code of action, one should ask oneself some questions and the answers given will guide one in making decisions.

The first question is have you defined the problem accurately The problem I have is, that my boss wants me to package meat in more compact packages with older ones on bottom and the fresh ones on top so as the customer would think it is fresh. If I pack as requested, I would be unfair to the customers and if I dont pack as said, I would loose my job.

The second question is To whom and to what do you give your loyalty as a person and as a member of the corporation In this case, I owe my loyalty to both my boss and my customer who buy products I packed. But the latter is more important than the former since it affects many people together with the company itself, as compared to affecting only the boss.

The third question closely related to this is what is your intention in making the decision My intention is to do right and achieve customer satisfaction and trust of the company. The result of doing right is, live with a clear conscience, which I would achieve in the decision made.

The other question closely related to this is how does the intention compare with the probable results My intention is to right and achieve customer satisfaction and trust of the company. The result of doing right, might also lead to losing my job. The main effect is that the companys reputation will not be damaged since the packaging is good and proper. My intention would thus achieve the expected results.

The next question is whom could your decision or action injure If I had decided to package the meat as requested, then my action would have injured the companys reputation through the customers complaints. But my decision of not to package the meat as requested, would not injure any of the parties involved.
In summary a person can make a decision that can be deemed either right or wrong depending on the theory of ethics under application. A person should always aim to make the right decision after making an analysis of the situation and judging how the decision made would be interpreted by other people.