Code of Conduct and Legal Guidelines

The assignment content discusses two cases of ethical dilemmas in a business setting. In the first case, Jan is criticized for her actions in a tax looping case, where she believed that tax looping was beneficial for the shareholders and justified it as necessary for company growth. She can be placed at stage-4 of Kohlberg's model, which prioritizes law and order over personal interests. In the second case, Borries faces dilemmas related to cancelling his work trip to attend his daughter's birthday party. He must balance his professional and personal responsibilities to make a decision that aligns with his values and priorities.

Running Head: APPLIED BUSINESS ETHICS
Applied Business Ethics

APPLIED BUSINESS ETHICS 1
Table of Contents
Part-A- Ethical Dilemma Essay...............................................................................................................2
Introduction to Ethical Dilemma........................................................................................................2
Ethical Dilemma in Business..........................................................................................................2
Why is it an Ethical Dilemma situation?............................................................................................3
Solutions to Ethical Dilemma of Mrs. Smith......................................................................................5
Part-B-Portfolio of Evidence Contents...................................................................................................7
Appendix-A- Ethical Leadership Debate............................................................................................7
Appendix-B- The Seminar Case..........................................................................................................9
Appendix-C- Reflection on inter-personal and team work skill........................................................10
References...........................................................................................................................................12

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Part-A- Ethical Dilemma Essay
Introduction to Ethical Dilemma
Ethical Dilemma is one of the most complex situation or circumstances (Lo, 2012) where
most of the people face difficulty to choose a course of action. It happens because people in
such situation perceive both the actions more or less equal. It is often referred as “Moral
Dilemma”. (Miller et.al, 2012) Dilemmas can arise from many reasons such as difference in
behaviour, attitude, principles of life, faith, beliefs etc. as personal characteristics and
culture, region, tradition, society, community, religion etc. as outside environment.
It is a paradoxical situation where the human being is stuck with two decision making
situation where none of action is clearly acceptable from ethical or moral grounds and also
none is avoidable.
Ethical Dilemma in Business
How does ethical dilemma arise for a business professional?
There is no definite source or cause from where the dilemma starts. It can be multiple
situations and it is also possible to have co-existence of 2-3 sources at a time in front of a
professional. Normally, the sources are- (Abrams et.al, 2014)
 What is a worthwhile work?- It is the situation where the professional is under the
dilemma of selection of employment after education. (Rossouw et.al, 2017)
 What is the balancing strike between work and family?- It is the situation where the
working professional allot the time for work and family beyond normal working
hours.
 Will I be a team player or a sole runner? - It is the dilemma where the person has to
think about doing work in a team environment or individually. (Collins, 2012)
 What if I feel my leader is misleading me?- It is the ethical chaos where a
professional is to decide a course of action to confront shoddy behaviour of own
leader.

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 Being a change agent- It is the dilemma situation where someone is sighting a
change but fear is there with organisational bosses who may resist or oppose it.
 Career vs the common good- It is the source of dilemma where we have to choose
whether we can serve the society with our professional skill free of cost or not.
A scenario-
Mrs. Smith, an employer published an advertisement for “Financial advisor” position few
days ago. She received 100 applications and they all were called up for the written test and
interview. Mrs. Smith was conducting the interview round and she finally short listed Ms.
Ayesha as the best performing interviewee overall.
Meanwhile, she received a recommendation letter from her senior colleague regrading Mr.
Wilkin for the same post. (The company goes with recommendation as source of
recruitment). The post demanded an experience of 2 years at least and a professional CFS
degree with 1 or 2 attempts.
Mr. Wilkin is having 3 years working experience on the same position in another
organisation and he is also a CFS. Ms. Ayesha is from India (will reside after job
confirmation). She clears CFS recently and was working in similar position over last 2.5 years
in a different firm.
Why is it an Ethical Dilemma situation?
In the above case, Mrs. Smith is having the ethical dilemma situation. First of all, to identify
the presence of ethical dilemma, we need to highlight the scenarios that are indicating
chaos of moral principles.
In the above case, we found that for the position of finance manager, there are now two
candidates in front of Mrs. Smith. One is Ms. Ayesha and other one is Mr. Wilkin.
Can Mrs. Smith apply legal clause in this situation?
If the situation can be handled by following the legal guidelines, then it is certainly not a
ethical dilemma. So to know whether it is a legal or ethical case, let us consider some of the
common legal grounds of employee selection.

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Selection of candidate- Ms. Ayesha is selected after the formal recruitment procedure
conducted by the company and supervised by Mrs. Smith. So her selection is absolutely
valid. Mr. Wilkin is introduced by the senior official who has the authority to recommend
candidates for any position of the company. So his candidature can’t be rejected as per
company policy.
Rejection-The Company goes with diversity culture and also supports the best talent
acquisition in the selection process. In this case, we have both the case of diversity and in
matter of talent, both are having almost similar experience and talent so none can be legally
rejected. (Ferrell et.al, 2015)
From the above two points, it is quite confirmed that this situation is not a legal matter at
any point. Both are having equal skill, talent and experience for the post and according to
diversity and company’s policy, they are both seeming as suitable candidate for the job.
As the company doesn’t laid any guidelines to give preference to formal selection or
recommendation on a specific job, this is now becoming a moral paradox for Mrs. Smith.
This is about the pre-selection part. It is also important to consider post-selection situation
hypothetically to understand how far the ethical dilemma exist.
If Mrs. Smith goes with Ms. Ayesha
If Mrs. Smith goes with Ms. Ayesha as the candidate for the post by rejecting Mr. Wilkin. She
will face the following moral questions. (Crane et.al, 2016)
1. Did I do justice to Mr. Wilkin as he was equally competent?
2. Was it good to say “no” to the superior on this matter?
3. Was it right to go with my selection procedure over and above supervisor’s
judgement?
4. Would it be justifying the organisation’s mission and vision?
5. Would it affect my career and faith on my superior after this decision?
If Mrs. Smith go with Mr Wilkin
Suppose Mrs. Smith decided to go with Mr. Wilkin, then the following moral question will
come into her mind.

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1. What would I say to Ms. Ayesha on not being selected? Will my points be
convincing?
2. Will it go against my personal believe and principles?
3. Will my senior trust on my recruitment process?
4. Is my selection procedure bad which led the senior to find someone?
5. Will it be going with organisational ethics?
6. Will it affect my career? (Eisenbeiss, 2012)
From the above questions, it is quite clear that Mrs. Smith can’t chose a particular course of
action easily as in both cases, some or other negative consequences may happen which is
unmeasurable.
As neither legal guidelines nor company guidelines are going with the decision making
process for Mrs. Smith thus it is definitely a case of ethical dilemma that Mrs. Smith is facing
and any person in that position will face the same.
Solutions to Ethical Dilemma of Mrs. Smith
Mrs. Smith is definitely facing an ethical dilemma situation where she is supposed to select
any one candidate for the post. Ethical dilemma solution is not readily available solutions.
Ethics has no definite right or wrong things. She may approach someone for advice such as a
friend, colleague, senior or any other person but that will affect or influence the personal
behaviour and attitude of her.
In my opinion, ethical dilemma is on us not on others thus the dilemma should be solved by
the person himself/herself.
For the solution finding, I am taking some of the ethical theories that will help to deal with
this situation.
Application of Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that supports the maximisation of satisfaction for a large
number of people. (Dion, 2012)
Mrs. Smith can apply this theory in order to evaluate appointment of Ms. Ayesha and Mr.
Wilkin’s overall impact on organisation.

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If she goes with Mr. Wilkin, then it would please senior officials and may be few more senior
staffs who trust him. The decision may be supported by senior management on experience
ground of the supervisor’s recommendation. However, the lower level management and
some other senior officials will also start expecting their recommendations to be counted
which may cause conflict situations.
If she goes with Ms. Ayesha, then it may not please the supervisor but it will go a clear
message of fair recruitment and opportunity process in the society. Ms. Ayesha will
promote the company’s fair recruitment policy which may attract more talents.
So, on this ground, appointment of Ms. Ayesha is fair enough.
Application of Eudemonism
This ethical theory goes with welfare of human being and fulfilment of goal. If the action
results both then it is fair enough. (Gibbs, 2013)
In this case, Mr. Wilkin’s recommendation came after selection of Ms. Ayesha thus
humanity wise, preference should be given to Ms. Ayesha. The selection process was
conducted with an intention to find the best talent which she fulfilled each criteria. People
will treat this as fair approach towards employment opportunity. Apart from that, the
company needs the best people and she stood up in all criteria thus both condition satisfied.
On the other hand, selection of Mr. Wilkin even if satisfies the organisational goal, but it
doesn’t go with human welfare feature as recommendation restricts employment
opportunity. (Bandura, 2014)
So as per this theory, Ms. Ayesha appointment looks more appropriate.
Application of work character and professional ethics
Work ethics and Professional ethics are important characteristics of a professional to deal
with ethical dilemma. Honesty, loyalty, empathy and truthfulness are the key attributes
towards a profession.
Mrs. Smith should be honest and loyal to the job role she is carrying more than to the
seniors as seniors may mislead her with his power and authority. In her role,
recommendation of senior is considerable but if she went for recruitment process as per the

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request of management thus that seems to be more valid then considering
recommendation.
What else?
 As external recruitment is already done thus a social contract of employment is implied
in the situation which should be given preferences over and above personal judgement.
 Ms. Smith should consult with senior management regarding appointment and hand
over the decisions to any senior officials.
I personally believe, recruitment of Ms. Ayesha is ethically justified in this situation as it is a
matter of general interest and social agreement.
Part-B-Portfolio of Evidence Contents
Appendix-A- Ethical Leadership Debate
Debate on- “Today’s business schools believe that ethical leadership is impossible in a
shareholders focused economy.”
Participants of the Debate-
Mike- Utilitarianism- Against
Jan- Virtue ethics- Against
Mei-Hua-Egoist- Against
Desi- egoist- For
Ethical characteristics explanation of each-
Mike- Mike was the one who disagreed the debate point more strongly among others. He
worked with students of business schools for a number of years. He was the member of
Greenpeace since 1992. He viewed the ethical leadership as virtue ethics. He felt that her
daughter’s mind-set changed because of the working environment. As he believed the
virtue ethics which is non-consequential in nature, (Peters, 2015) he tried to bring back the

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mind-set of her daughter before it’s too late and also continued to be the member of
Greenpeace.
He argued with Desi that a company can behave ethically even if shareholder’s wealth
maximisation is taking place. He questioned the point “Do companies take care of
shareholders who only look for quick return?” This is where the companies go unethical
with shareholders. He made this point by giving her daughter as example.
As a non-consequentialist, he proposed the ethics to the entities as-
“Every company should keep the long term shareholders who value the company not just
ROI. So that it will keep the entity on ethical track.”
Jan- She is too a non-consequentialist in nature. She worked for a social worker company
and had the philosophy of right and justice to help people. Her ethical approach can be
considered to be virtue ethics because she believed in charity and benevolence. She even
asked the employees to do the same. Her approach caused lower ROI but that might not
affect the shareholders due to lesser numbers and expectations. She can be put into stage-
3- of Kohlberg model “Good boy-nice girl” i.e. inter-personal relationship with shareholders.
She believed as long as she continued to do welfare of society, the shareholders will not
force for higher ROI. Thus like Mike, she too disagreed the debate point.
Mei-Hua- She was a stronger believer of code of conduct and legal guidelines. She put the
rules and regulations over and above anything else. It is the reason why she received
criticism for her actions not because they are illegal but because they are unethical. She was
found in tax looping case. She believed that tax looping is beneficial for the shareholders
which will ultimately help the company to grow thus it is justified. She can be put into stage-
4- of Kohlberg model which supports law and order is everything even if it is affecting
someone emotionally. She is partly egoist as well because she was trying to make her
position stronger in the organisation.
Desi- He belonged to a poor family. His sole aim was to make money and improve his
lifestyle better. He believed “bread and butter” philosophy as the mean of survival. He
supported the argument from the earning and livelihood point of view. Since the
shareholders are putting a large sum of money, they deserve to have a good ROI.

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Sometimes, the companies have to go unethical as they are accountable to shareholders
first for generating desired revenue.
Out the debate discussions, I personally believe that ethical leadership is possible with
shareholder focused economy. I would go with Jan’s argument particularly because she not
only considered social benefit but also long term relationship with shareholders. I believe so
because in long run, these people will support the organisation in crisis situation and they
will also show trust and confidence which will improve sales and will generate more profit
i.e. higher ROI.
Appendix-B- The Seminar Case
The case of Holiday-Borries
Ethical Dilemmas Persons
Work life Borries, managers and clients
Personal life Borries and Swee Lan
Friends Borries, Marcus and Other friends of the
company
Borries is a consequentialist whom we can relate with Bentham theory of utilitarianism
where the positive result is the foremost important thing irrespective the course of actions
taken. The principle called “Greatest happiness principle” as it solely focuses on
consequences. This supports positive results that will be helpful for everyone. (Ogden, 2013)
The case begins with the cancellation of holiday for the product launch of the company even
if the manager hasn’t expressed any consequences on taking leave during that period. He
can be placed at (Hawkins et.al, 2017) stage-5 of cognitive model where he has gone beyond
other’s expectation identification and accessibility to the basic rights, values and contracts
to the society.
Dilemma-1- Borries felt that a client is everything for a company thus until he finishes with
the client’s work, it is not right to go on a vacation. Here Borries applied deontology ethics
where duties are given more importance. Borries felt that if he carries with his work now, it
will develop a future relationship with client and more business will come. It will also
impress the manager regarding work dedication (part of egoism to sustain own position). On

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the other hand, he also knew that by cancelling holidays with Swee Lan, Marcus and others
it would bitter his relationship with them.
Dilemma-2- Borries knew that if he cancels his trip with Swee Lan, he would be a promise
breaker for her. He may find himself alone and left in future life as no other girl will trust on
him if similar situation arise in future. This may lead Borries to become an egoist. Here, the
dilemma is to choose short term or long term desire and interest.
Dilemma-3- This was similar case with Marcus and other friends like earlier one. Borries felt
that if he denies the holiday with Swee Lan this time, this will impact his friends and
colleagues in the company. They may think that if he can deny his future life -partner for
money and recognition, he can easily deny them.
The dilemma could be addressed by seeking the help form the senior manager. If the senior
can make some adjustments with any other person, he could go on the holiday. Borries
could also convince her partner to drop the plan for a while by sating the importance of this
work on his career.
Appendix-C- Reflection on inter-personal and team work skill
Inter-personal skill and team-oriented skills are the important aspects in managing ethical
situations in personal and work-life. As the course module was on “Business ethics”, I first
came to know about the terminologies such as ethics, business ethics, ethical theories,
ethical dilemmas and solutions to overcome the dilemmas.
In the first activity of this module, we were supposed to write down an essay on ethical
dilemma by simulating a real life scenario. In this exercise, I learned about the real life
ethical dilemmas where problems related to inter-personal and team work are there. I
learned the fact that majority of conflict arise because of lack of interpersonal
communication and coordination skill.
In the ethical dilemma exercise, I got the opportunity to identify the ethical dilemmas that
may take place in a professional career. I also learned about the understanding business
ethics dilemma. The ethical theories discussed in the module helped me to find the
solutions in such dilemma such as keeping inter-personal relationship with society,

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management and colleagues, team-oriented approach to solve ethical dilemma and
managing conflict situations with professionalism.
In the Ethical leadership debate case, I got the chance to evaluate and highlight the
leadership attributes with respect to ethics. While going with the analysis, I was able to
understand in which situation what inter-personal and team approach are applied. For ex- I
learned that for shareholder relation, interpersonal skill is needed to address their
expectation with the company. Similarly, to keep the society and shareholders satisfied, we
need to find a mid-way to solve the problem (ROI reduction is for welfare of society).
In last case, I learned about work-home transition. How a professional may face ethical
dilemma in managing personal and professional life- I learnt that from Borries case. How we
can convince our nearby people by citing a valid reason or mutual benefit- I understood
from the given scenario.
Overall, the ethical essay writing and portfolio analysis involving group and individual
activities helped me to improve my understanding on requirement of interpersonal and
team work skill in professional and personal life to minimise dilemmas for better results.

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References
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Bandura, A. (2014). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In Handbook of
moral behavior and development(pp. 69-128). Psychology Press.
Collins, D. (2012). Business ethics: How to design and manage ethical organizations.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Dion, M. (2012). Are ethical theories relevant for ethical leadership?. Leadership &
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Eisenbeiss, S. A. (2012). Re-thinking ethical leadership: An interdisciplinary integrative
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Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson
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Gibbs, J. C. (2013). Moral development and reality: Beyond the theories of Kohlberg,
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Hawkins, J. D., & Weis, J. G. (2017). The social development model: An integrated approach
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Lo, B. (2012). Resolving ethical dilemmas: a guide for clinicians. Lippincott Williams &
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Miller, T., Birch, M., Mauthner, M., & Jessop, J. (Eds.). (2012). Ethics in qualitative research.
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Ogden, C. K. (2013). Bentham's theory of fictions. Routledge.

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Peters, R. S. (2015). Moral Development and Moral Education (Routledge Revivals).
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Rossouw, D., & Van Vuuren, L. (2017). Business ethics. Oxford University Press.