Business Ethics and Ethical Frameworks: Dilemma Analysis Report

This report delves into the realm of business ethics, focusing on an ethical dilemma related to a non-profit organization and the handling of excess funds received for disaster relief. The report explores the ethical challenges faced by the organization's manager, specifically regarding whether to retain or return the surplus donations. It then applies three key ethical frameworks—Virtue Ethics, Consequentialist, and Duty Framework—to analyze the situation. The Consequentialist framework is ultimately chosen as the most effective approach, emphasizing the importance of considering outcomes and developing a clear action plan. The report concludes by highlighting the significance of ethical decision-making in business and the importance of choosing the right course of action, especially in situations where the welfare of others is at stake. The analysis also references relevant literature, including books, journals, and online resources, to support its arguments and conclusions.

Business law
and Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
In conducting the business activities and operation one must keep in mind the ethical
and morale values which can be organisational as well as personal. They must never be
compromised in any case as this directly reflect the conduct of a person in the business. In the
present report the ethical dilemma on the overreaching profits for a disaster is analysed with the
use of three ethical frameworks. With this appropriate solution is also recommended on the basis
of analysis of the ethical issue and stating the ethical conduct which must be followed.
MAIN BODY
Ethical dilemma:
An ethical dilemma is a situation where a choice between the two equally desirable
alternatives has to made by a person. The dilemma arises on the selection of the choice which is
due to various sources of behaviour or the attitude. Under the organisation concept a person mat
face ethical dilemma regarding the business actives where decision maker have to take a decision
and is faced with two or more option as profitability of the business and competitiveness, profits
and the stakeholders the case study over the ethical dilemmas is chosen as the overreaching non
profits. In this scenario as a manager of the non profits organization the ethical issues faced is
related with the treatment of the excess money revived for helping the people effected by the
natural disaster. Here the problem faced is that whether the mangers can keep the more than half
of the donation people gave as relief fund to use it in another cause or shall he return the same.
3 different frameworks for ethical decision making are:
Ethical framework: is a set of codes and rules which a person used to guide his/her
behaviour. The ethics are those which people uses to distinguish right form the wrong in the way
and manner they interact with the world. Under the business the set of rules and values guide the
business operation which a businessperson must take into account while taking a business
decision for an organisational activity.
1. Virtue Ethics framework: is based on the ethics of the modern terms which requires a
decision to be made in accordance to the understanding of the individual's characters and
the moral values. The business leader or managers are required to employee their set of
ethical based criteria and they must ask themselves how their organisation will be
perceived based on the choice made by him/her. For application of the virtue ethics the
person values such as honesty, trustworthiness, and discipline intersect with business
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skills such as critical thinking, communication skills, and financial competence must be
considered by the business person. Virtue ethics deals more with maintaining transparent
relationships as opposed to solving conflicts or deciding on strategic business moves, so
it may be less effective as a strategy for addressing daily business concerns.
This framework can be applied in the given scenario as the manager must act in accord
acne with his persona ethical and molar norms. As a person I as a manger have moral values as
to act honestly, never lie, do not take advantages of the situation prevailing in the organisation
for the personal benefit. In my view I will not to hold the excessive money given by the public
under the relief fund. Rather, it must be used immediately under some other work or for the
development of the communities' and betterment of the life of the people who have suffered from
the natural disaster. But the application of this theory is not a good idea as the decision will
affect many of the people directly and indirectly so action must be taken with taking in account
their opinion as a whole.
2. Consequentialist framework: is the theory that represent the moral framework which
discovers the ethical course of action based in the end result. Before making a decision
the resultant and outcomes must be considered pragmatically. In the first the desired
outcome is chosen and then the framework for the potentials actions toward the end result
is determined. The final goal of the decision is first decided than an action plan is
produced to reach the pre decided result. This is the utilitarian approach which works
well for the decision that affects the large group of people as this maximise the positive
consequences of other decision taken and minimise the negative or unfavourable
consequence for the public as large mass. This is one of the most common approach for
making an ethical decision as this instruct the decision maker to weigh the various
amount of good and bad that will results out of the action taken.
This framework can be applied in the given situation as first deciding the final outcome
for the given ethical dilemma. The Final outcome is decided as to not to keep the money and to
return the money back to those from it came from. The excessive $2500000 will be return to the
those who have contributed in the fund after words. Not the final decision is decides and for the
same action plan is decided as to identify those from the platform of contribution and return them
their money back. This is a very good and effective approach as this helps in making the decision
very quick with considering the ethical values as well.
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3. The duty framework: focus on the duties and the obligations that the decision maker
have in the given circumstances and consider what are the ethical obligations he/she has
as what they must ethically never do. The ethical conduct of a person is defined as the
duty of a person in doing a right thing and the objective is to perform a correct action.
For application this approach in the given case study the ethical conduct suggest that the
money can not be kept as it belong to the people who have donated it for a noble cause
and the same is not utilising for the same purpose. This is also an effective approach as
this also define what ethical conduct the manager of the NGO must follow.
This can be stated that the virtue framework is based on taking a decision on the persons
ethical and moral values which the consequentialist defined that a decision must be taken on the
basis of the final outcome of the decision. Rather, the duty framework states that the decision
must be taken on the basis of ethical conducts and right action as the person have a duty to do the
rightful and ethical thing. Out of all the three the best approach is the consequentialist framework
as this first lead the manner to decide the final outcomes as to return the money back to those
from it belong to. Based on that an action plan is also developed to reach the desired outcome. In
this was the whole frameworks gets defined as what, when and how and by whom to do to reach
the final goal.
CONCLUSION
To conclude the report it can be stated that an ethical dilemma is a situation where a
person need to decide between two of the desired alternative which are both correct. This is
decision to be made between right and right. The ethical framework defines the approach on how
under a gibe situation ethical decision must be taken. There are three type of these frameworks
virtue, consequentialist and the duty based. For the present case study g the ethical dilemma over
the excessive money receive under relief fund the consequentialist approach have been chosen as
the final outcomes have been determined as returning the money back to those from whom it
belongs to.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Lehnert, K., Craft, J., Singh, N., & Park, Y. H. (2016). The human experience of ethics: A
review of a decade of qualitative ethical decision‐making research. Business ethics: A European
review. 25(4). 498-537.
Stewart, D. W. (2018). Managing competing claims: An ethical framework for human resource
decision making. In Classics Of Administrative Ethics. (pp. 128-145). Routledge.
Walker, W., Sque, M., & Long-Sutehall, T. (2017). Ethical issues in bereavement research:
Practical use of a decision-making framework.
Chell, E., Spence, L. J., Perrini, F., & Harris, J. D. (2016). Social entrepreneurship and business
ethics: Does social equal ethical?. Journal of business ethic. 133(4). 619-625.
Online
A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions. 2018. [Online]. Available through
:<https://www.brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/framework-making-ethical-
decisions>.
3 Frameworks for Ethical Decision-Making. 2018. [Online]. Available through
:<https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/3-frameworks-for-ethical-decision-making/>.
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