Ethical Dilemma

Running Head: ETHICAL DILEMMA
Ethical Dilemma
The Credit Manager
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Ethical Dilemma
Introduction
The ethical dilemma chosen in this assignment is the case of ‘the credit manager.’ John, an
employee of a company that recovers debts for other businesses, chooses to deliberately take
legal actions against the debtors without contacting them. By so doing, he anticipates to make his
company more profit and probably earn himself a promotion.
The Dilemma?
The case of John is an ethical dilemma because it involves a situation where a person has to
make a choice between two options. It could be considered a positive thing for the company to
make more profit. It is also a good thing for John to get a promotion. But in so doing, John will
be going against the value of ethics of his company.
On the other hand, contacting the debtors would mean that the company may or may not make
profit. Also, John may never receive a promotion during his tenure at the company. Perhaps the
company may run out of business, and John will lose his job too. The decision that John will
make will impact his personal interests, the credibility of the company and the rights of the
debtors. This is the dilemma that John is facing. This case thus qualifies to be an ethical
dilemma.
In solving this ethical dilemma, I am going to use three ethical frameworks; ethical egoism,
utilitarian and moral rights.
Ethical Egoism
Ethical egoism involves making a decision merely to benefit oneself against the interests of
others (Fan & Fox (2009). The egoistic framework states that ‘an individual employs the
utilitarian calculation to have the greatest amount of good to themselves,’ (Woiceshyn (2011).
Applying this framework to this case, it is ethical for John to take legal actions against the
debtors without contacting them. One version of this framework called individual ethical egoism
holds that, ‘one will be concerned about others’ interests only as it contributes to their own
interests,’ (Gates & Steane 2009). According to this framework, the decision of john is ethical
since it will achieve him his interests.