Addressing common ethical questions that arise in the workplace

Apply the following steps to provided case studies addressing common ethical questions that arise in the workplace

For this assignment, you will apply the following steps to provided case studies addressing common ethical questions that arise in the workplace. List the five steps for making ethical decisions for each of the following cases.

Steps for Making Ethical Decisions

Identify the ethical issue or problem.
List the facts that have the most bearing on the decision.
Identify anyone who might be affected by your decision and how.
Explain what each affected person would want you to do about the issue.
List three alternative actions and identify the best and worst-case scenario for each alternative. Provide detail like; anyone would be harmed by this choice (and how), any values that would be compromised by selecting this alternative, and any automatic reasons why this alternative should not be selected (legal issues, rules, etc.).
Determine a course of action.

CASE 1

Susan is an administrative assistant for the director of the Facilities Management Department. She has just received a new computer and is worried about learning the new email software. Though her supervisor has a strict policy about computer use for business purposes only, she wants to practice more than the training provided. One good way to do this, she figures, is to write email messages to her friends and relatives until she gets the knack of it. Her director is not in the office, and she is caught up on all her work and only has 30 minutes left to work today.

CASE 2

Sofia was recently hired to work as a receptionist for a real estate company. As the receptionist, she is responsible for making copies for the realtors. Her son, Alejandro, comes in and needs 150 copies for a school project. He brought his own paper. If he doesn’t bring the copies with him, he will fail the project. The company copier does not require a security key, nor do they keep track of copies made by departments.

CASE 3

Nora is an administrative assistant in the Human Resources Department. Her good friend, Alice, is applying for a job with the company and has asked Nora to be a reference for her and asked for advice on preparing for the interview. Nora has the actual interview questions asked of all applicants and is considering sharing the questions with Alice.

CASE 4

Diego and Latasha are talking in the hallway about the employee benefits program. Latasha, who has had some recent financial trouble, explains to Diego how the benefits program has a loophole that will allow her to receive some financial assistance that she really needs to help pay health care costs for her dad. Andres, a fellow worker, overhears the conversation. Later, Andres is approached by his supervisor, who says he heard a rumor that some people were taking advantage of the company benefits program.

CASE 5

Max works in Inventory Management. Once a year, the company gives away the refurbished computers to the local elementary school. No specific records are kept of this type of transaction, and Max really needs a computer for his son in college. His supervisor asks him to deliver 12 computers to the school.