Analyzing Ethical Dilemma: Reporting Inventory Theft by a Friend

This essay addresses an ethical dilemma faced by the author, who must decide whether to report a friend and colleague for stealing inventory from their manufacturing company. The author, working as an inventory manager alongside their friend, discovers that the friend has been leaking company strategies and, later, proposes stealing inventory for personal gain. This presents a conflict between personal loyalty and professional ethics. The author analyzes the situation through the lens of utilitarianism, ultimately deciding to report the friend to protect the company and its employees from potential harm. The essay explains the utilitarian approach, emphasizing the duty to choose the option that benefits the greatest number of people, weighing the consequences of both actions. The author believes that reporting the theft aligns with moral and legal ethics, safeguarding the company's reputation and the well-being of the workforce. The essay concludes by referencing the relevant ethical theories and the decision-making process involved in this complex situation.

Reading Head: ETHICAL DILEMMAS 0
Sociology
April 15
2020

ETHICAL DILEMMAS 1
Should you report your friend at work who’s been stealing inventory?
My friend and I were working in a manufacturing company at the post of inventory manager.
We worked in this company for two years now. So the manager of the company has
developed trust in us. As we all know that inventory is the main and important part of the
organization and it is also valuable. As inventory managers, I and my friend know all the
internal details of the company. But it is in ethics that we are not allowed to disclose the
internal information of the company. But my friend has stolen inventory of the company.
There was a time when we both were involved in some important discussions regarding the
policies and strategies of the company. It is an important part because it is done after the
evaluation of the growth of the company (Gilani, 2017). On the other day, I got the news that
internal strategies and policies are leaked in the market. Then I thought that this information
is known to only employees of the company i.e. me and my friend. This was the first time I
have doubted him. Then after some time, my friend was telling me to steal some inventory of
the business so that by selling them to competitors of the company so that we can earn some
good amount of money from it. But I deny that it will affect my ethics and I will not break the
trust of the company and I also suggested my friend not to involve in such activities.
There are some ethics of the company that have to be followed by every employee. It is
important to follow these ethics because there is some information of company that are only
known by employees of the company. If this information got leaked in the market company
will have to face consequences. These ethics are moral and legal in nature. In this situation
there was an ethical dilemma for me. But then I think that there are two options either to tell
senior authority about my friend or save my friend from this situation (Legal Dictionary,
2016). I have opted for option one it is because according to my ethics and ethical theory of
“Utilitarian approach” it is my duty and responsibility to choose the option through which

ETHICAL DILEMMAS 2
large number of people will get benefitted (Ethics unwrapped, 2020). Because if I did not
disclose this news to senior authority workers have to pay for the consequences and they will
be majorly affected by this step. This step is also against my moral ethics.
With this step, I save the happiness of workers and the company can also take necessary
actions on time against my friend and reputation and goodwill can also be saved (Westacott,
2019). The company does not have to face any consequences in the future. This is something
about “Utilitarian approach” of the ethical theories that I have used in my company.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS 3
Bibliography
Ethics unwrapped, 2020. Utilitariansim. [Online] Available at:
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/utilitarianism [Accessed 14 April 2020].
Gilani, , 2017. Utilitarianism in the Workplace. [Online] Available at:
https://bizfluent.com/info-8785999-utilitarianism-workplace.html [Accessed 15 April 2020].
Legal Dictionary, 2016. UTILITARIANISM. [Online] Available at:
https://legaldictionary.net/utilitarianism/ [Accessed 15 April 2020].
Westacott, , 2019. Three Basic Principles of Utilitarianism, Briefly Explained. [Online]
Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/basic-principles-of-utilitarianism-3862064
[Accessed 15 April 2020].