Ethics: Public Administration and Workplace Discrimination

This essay examines workplace discrimination as a significant ethical dilemma in public administration. It explores various aspects of discrimination, including cultural and gender-based biases, and their impact on business operations. The paper delves into the ethical issues arising from such discrimination, highlighting the development of in-group bias and the preference for certain groups over others. It identifies relevant ethical values, such as honesty, integrity, and fairness, crucial for maintaining a positive work environment. The essay discusses different ethical approaches, like utilitarianism and consequential theory, used to address discrimination and proposes strategies for resolving ethical dilemmas. It emphasizes the importance of ethical training, employee involvement, and integrating ethical decision-making into strategic management to create a fair and inclusive workplace.

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Ethics: Public Administration
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Introduction
In today’s time, it is essential to maintain ethics in the workplace but somehow the
ethical dilemma of discrimination is increasing in the companies that affect the process of
business. Based on the evidences, this is observed in every different large, small and medium
organisation nowadays. Hence, this proves the force of workplace discrimination affecting
organizational environment and business activities as well. Moreover, there are various
aspects of discrimination such as cultural, social, sexual discrimination and political where
the most prominent one involves cultural discrimination and genderism at workplace (Furxhi,
Stillo, & Zake, 2016). This paper will focus on analysing workplace discrimination as an
ethical dilemma affecting the company’s core activities. The discussion will cover the ethical
dilemma of discrimination in the workplace along with analysing ethical issues and relevant
values. This paper will also show the different ethical approaches used for deciding an
outcome.
Ethical Issue: Workplace Discrimination
Every company at large scale have to deal with ethical issues where workplace
discrimination affects business activities. Ethical issues with such aspect include cultural
discrimination generating negative feelings between employees due to development of in-
group bias and personal prejudice. Another issue is of genderism when leaves negative
influence on performance at work of different employees and feeling uncomfortable at the
time of job performance as male individuals are preferred above female employer. In the
workplace, discrimination affects the skills and performance of employees also affecting
business process altogether (İnceMemed, 2019). Such ethical issues can be solved by the
company’s management playing a major role by adopting effective solutions and strategies
coping with future ethical issues of the company’s human resource (Colella & King, 2015).
Thus, hiring of indigenous individuals is done for making smooth business processes to
handle discrimination in the workplace with extreme accuracy.
Ethics play the role of value formation process in companies and within the economy
of free market. So, to resolve dilemma of workplace discrimination, it is essential to identify
values as per the Poter box model for maintaining the relationship with employees while
avoiding discrimination in treating and hiring employees (Tota & Shehu, 2012). Here, the
relevant values include customs, acts, and institutions for supporting individuals in a

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favourable way containing words such as obligation, approval, and disapproval. The relevant
ethical values consists of honesty, integrity, trustworthiness and promise-keeping, loyalty,
fairness, concern and respect for others, law abiding, commitment to excellence, leadership,
morale and reputation, and accountability for building strong teams in the workplace while
avoiding discrimination (Prasad, 2016). In relation to situations, there are values to align with
ethical behaviour and attitude for being influencing and appealing across the globe that are
wisdom and knowledge, self-control, transcendence, fair and justice guidance, kindness and
love, and integrity and courage.
Relevant Values and Ethical Approaches
In developed countries, companies such as Toyota and Nike adopt approach of
utilitarian while dealing with discrimination in the workplace. Also, consequential theory or
relativism theory is employed used for enabling such organisations while dealing with these
issues along with using practical solutions. In this ethical dilemma, it is essential to
understand business model for making decision ethically and applying it on situations along
with discrimination ethical dimensions (Byars & Stanberry, 2018). The different approaches
used for deciding outcome while solving ethical dilemma of workplace discrimination are
countering dilemma by analysing the situation, choosing alternative through value theory
approach offering the lesser evil and greater good, and finding alternative solutions when the
issue can be reconsidered along with arising of new alternative solutions.
Also, it is essential for the companies to develop ethical standards strictly concerning
employees and demonstrating ethical norms concerns in the workplace. Additionally, it is
also possible to provide employees with ethical training (Mintz, 2014). It is common in the
companies when there is an occurrence of ethical dilemma within the workplace. However, it
is essential for employees to deal with issue such as discrimination for helping and
performing while attaining success and personal temptations in an organisation. Thus, to
resolve such ethical issues of discrimination in the workplace the points need to be
considered are knowing the principles, debating moral choices, using balance sheet approach
at the time of decision-making, engaging individuals from top to low level in the hierarchy,
and integration of making decision ethically into strategic management (Miller, 2020).

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Conclusion
Based on the above analysis of ethical issues, it is concluded that this paper outlines
an ethical situation of discrimination in the workplace as an ethical dilemma which is
common within organisations at large scale. There are values that required to be considered
for getting aligned with ethical behaviour and attitude which helps in resolving such kind of
ethical dilemma. The different ethical approaches are used for deciding the outcome of
workplace discrimination as an issue in the workplace through the management of the
company.

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References
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https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/docs/GSC1730/O0000737491_BusinessEt
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Colella, A., & King, E. (2015, June). Employment Discrimination as Unethical Behavior.
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https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199363643.001.000
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Furxhi, G., Stillo, S., & Zake, E. (2016). Job Discrimination and Ethics in the Workplace.
European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(2), 138-145.
İnceMemed. (2019, January 10). Gender Discrimination in the Workplace and Ethics.
Retrieved from Medium: https://medium.com/@uuharman/gender-discrimination-in-
the-workplace-and-ethics-f11affac8e5f
Miller, F. (2020). Ethical Discrimination in the Workplace. Retrieved from Chron:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethical-discrimination-workplace-14708.html
Mintz, S. (2014, May 28). How to Handle Ethical Issues in the Workplace. Retrieved from
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handle-ethical-issues-in-the-workplace.html
Prasad, S. (2016). WORKPLACE ETHICS AND VALUE SYSTEMS. Retrieved from
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