Analysis of Discrimination at a Utility Company

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS
Business Ethics
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

Part 1 – Topic Selection and Paper Outline
To deploy ethical standards and behavior at the workplace is of crucial importance if all
those employed at an organization or business enterprise are to feel included and valued by
their employers (Bowie, 2017). It is only when an employee feels acknowledged for who he
or she is, at the professional level, that such a person will have the motivation that is needed
to perform job roles and duties with the greatest degree of efficiency and commitment (Barry,
2016). For my final paper, the topic that I have chosen is an analysis of the business ethical
problem of discrimination as carried out at a utility company. After describing the problem
and the negative impacts that it has on the employees of the organization, I proceed to
recommend ways by which such a problem can be resolved, using ethical theories, after
which I provide a detailed long-term strategy for change.
Being ethical in the act of business is and has always been a rarity. It is a fact well
established that business deals and negotiated can never be finalized or concluded in the
desired manner if the concept of ethics is incorporated into such activity. Yet making use of
ethical behavior and work standards is of vital importance in any and every organization, as
such standards and behavior exercise a positive influence on the people who are working at
the organization (Chell et al., 2016). Employees will not have any desire to serve their bosses
or superiors at the organization as best as they can, if they are treated with unfairness and that
too very frequently. It is natural for every human being to be resistant to the whole act of
unfairness and oppression in any form, and unethical behavior and workplace standards falls
within such a category. All business organizations and enterprises need to be ethical and fair
when it comes to the treatment of those who serve them if they are to maximize on the
potential of the employees and motivate them well enough to contribute heavily to the
wellbeing of the organization (Crane & Matten, 2016).

For my final paper, I have decided to work on the topic of discrimination at the
workplace with special reference to the discrimination practices that are implemented at a
utility company, specifically, an electric supply company. Discrimination is one of the worst
forms of unethical behavior that any company can engage in towards its employees as it
makes employees feel segregated and unwanted, de-motivating them and preventing them
from fulfilling their professional duties and responsibilities in a harmonious manner (Davies,
2016). The problem of discrimination as witnessed at the electric supply company is
something that I wish to analyze in great detail by using a rights based framework, the
common good approach and the fairness or justice approach. My decision to make use of
a rights based framework in particular lies in the fact that it is such a framework, which
highlights the importance of ethical action for protecting and respecting the moral rights and
values of people. Such a framework stems from the notion that every human being has the
right to lead a dignified existence and that they should be in a position to choose freely what
it is that they wish to do with their lives. According to the rights based framework, human
beings possess the right to not be treated just as the means to an end, but as an end in itself.
Although the notion of moral rights, and what exactly it is that constitutes moral rights, is
something that is greatly debated in today’s day and age, what the rights based framework
succeeds in doing, is pointing out that it is the duty of human beings to respect other people’s
rights in addition to their own (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015).
Part 2 – Final Paper
The Jameson Electric Supply Company in the city of St. Louis is well known for the
efficient rendition of electrical supply services in the city. It carries out its operations with
plenty of efficiency and punctuality all through the year, never giving its customers any
reason to complain or find fault with the services that are provided. However, when it comes
to the internal operations of the Jameson Electric Supply Company, it must be pointed out