George Stein is faced with an ethical dilemma in the assigned case. The difficulty and complexity of this dilemma are caused and compounded by a variety of factors. A discussion of these factors, as well as conclusions regarding what George ended up doing, serve as the foundation for this case analysis. The first influential factor in George’s decision-making is his young age. Researchers suggest that younger individuals are more likely to make unethical decisions than older individuals (e.g., Longenecker, McKinney, & Moore, 1989; Ross & Robertson, 2003; Waters & Bird, 1987).
Other researchers, such as Hunt & Jennings (1997) and Jennings, Hunt, & Munn (1996), have examined ethical decision making in the context of groups and teams. These researchers jointly proposed and confirmed that younger groups and teams tend to make more unethical decisions compared to older groups and teams. Furthermore, they discovered that student teams are more prone to making unethical decisions compared to professional manager teams.
These research findings are significant for this case as the night shift crew at Eastern Dairy, including George who is a student, can be seen as a group of young, non-management individuals. Additionally, George’s newness to the job and his young age indicate a lack of experience. According to Glover, Bumpus, Sharp, and Munchus (2002), research demonstrates that a higher level of experience is more strongly correlated with ethical choices compared to lower levels of experience. Collectively, these findings suggest that George is inclined to make an unethical decision by removing the filters.
Both age and gender are personal characteristics that can affect George’s decision-making process. Numerous studies (Glover et al., 2002; Ross & Robertson, 2003) have demonstrated the influence of gender on ethical decision making. According to research, women are more inclined to act ethically when confronted with questionable business practices compared to men (Glover et al., 2002). Given George’s gender, it is plausible that he may lean towards making an unethical choice.
George shows genuine concern for his coworkers’ opinion of him and wants to be liked. He worries that if he refuses to follow Paul’s orders, he will be teased and called names by his colleagues. Research by O’Leary and Pangemanan (2007) indicates that people tend to make decisions that align with the group’s consensus when deciding in a group setting. Essentially, they feel peer pressure to go along with what the group wants. Similarly, Bommer, Gratto, Gravander, and Tuttle (1987) discovered that peer pressure from a group can lead to unethical decision making.
Research suggests that whistle blowers, individuals who report wrongdoings in an organization, are likely to face retaliation (Near & Miceli, 1986). This evidence implies that George will obey Paul’s commands and remain silent about the maggots because he does not want to oppose his colleagues or suffer any form of retaliation from them. Additionally, management problems are affecting ethical decision making in this situation. The absence of an official manager during the night shift at Eastern Dairy exacerbates the ethical dilemma.
Lack of effective supervision within an organization can lead to the development of unethical conduct (Hunsaker, 2005). On the night shift at Eastern Dairy, Paul Burnham is seen as an unofficial leader and the employees rely on him for direction and guidance. Studies have shown that supervisors have a significant impact on the ethical behavior of their subordinates, as subordinates often imitate their actions (Posner & Schmidt, 1984). This presents a problem for Eastern Dairy because Paul’s conduct sets a negative example of ethical behavior, evident in his engagement in horseplay and his instructing George to remove the filters.
The absence of an official manager during the night shift and the presence of an unofficial manager who sets a negative example for his subordinates suggest that George will ultimately engage in unethical behavior. This is supported by the occurrence of horseplay, pranks, joke telling, balloon fights, and wastefulness on the night shift at Eastern Dairy. These actions indicate that the organizational culture promotes unethical conduct. When there is uncertainty or negativity in the ethical environment, ethical dilemmas often lead to unethical actions. In such cases, an organization’s culture can predispose its members to act unethically” (Sims, 1992, p. 510). Given that the culture and climate of the night shift at Eastern Dairy do not appear clear or positive, it is likely that George’s ethical dilemma will result in unethical behavior. Additionally, it is mentioned in the case that George only had to complete a few employment forms and was instructed to report for work on the same night he was hired.
It appears that George lacks training or formal instructions, and there is no mention of a procedure for handling the current problematic situation he faces. Even if George had an employee handbook outlining this procedure, he seems unaware of it. Badenhorst’s study (1994) identified the absence of a company policy on unethical behavior as a likely cause for its prevalence. Delaney and Sockell (1992) found that ethics training can reduce unethical behavior in organizations.
Given George’s lack of knowledge regarding any policy or procedure to address this predicament, as well as his absence of formal ethics training, it is probable that he will lean towards unethical behavior. George Stein’s principles, values, and intuition convince him that the act of removing the filters is morally incorrect. As the scenario illustrates, he felt troubled by the thought of children consuming the contaminated milkshake mix and made a personal commitment to abstain from drinking milkshakes for a while. George ought to decline the task of removing the filters and, the following morning, inform a manager about the incident when the next shift commences.
Unfortunately, I doubt that George Stein will follow my suggestion. This skepticism is based on empirical evidence indicating that individuals are unlikely to make ethical decisions under similar circumstances as described in this case. (References: Badenhorst, J. A. (1994). Unethical behaviour in procurement: A perspective on causes and solutions. Journal of Business Ethics, 13(9), 739-745. Bommer, M., Gratto, C., Gravander, J., & Tuttle, M. (1987). A behavioral model of ethical and unethical decision making.)
Delaney and Sockell (1992) conducted an empirical analysis to examine the effectiveness of company ethics training programs (Journal of Business Ethics, 6(4), 265-280). Glover, Bumpus, Sharp, and Munchus (2002) followed up with a study exploring gender differences in ethical decision making (Women in Management Review, 17(5/6), 217-227). Hunsaker (2005) contributed further to the field of ethics management with his book on management skills (Management: A skills approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall). Lastly, Hunt and Jennings (1997) used simulation analysis to investigate the relationship between ethics and performance in team decision making.
The following articles are mentioned in the text:
– “Ethical decision making: An extension to the group level” by Jennings, D. F., Hunt, T. G., & Munn, J. R.
– “The generation gap in business ethics” by Longenecker, J. G., McKinney, J. A., & Moore, C. W.
– “Retaliation against whistle blowers: Predictors and effects” by Near, J. P., & Miceli, M. P.
– “The effect of group work on ethical decision-making of accountancy students” by O’Leary, C., & Pangemanan, G.
(Source:
Journal of Business Ethics, 16(2), 195-203.
Jennings, D. F., Hunt, T.G., & Munn,J.R.(1996).Ethicaldecisionmaking:Anextensiontothegrouplevel.JournalofManagerialIssues,
8(4),425–439.
Longenecker,J.G.,McKinney,J.A.&Moore,C.W.(1989).Thegenerationgapinbusinesse thics.BusinessHorizons,
32,9–14.Near,J.P.&Miceli,M.P.(1986).Retaliationagainstwhistleblowers:Predictorsandeffects.JournalofAppliedPsychology,71(1),137–145.< p>O’Leary,C.&Pangemanan,G.(2007) . Theeffectofgroupworkonethicaldecision –makingofaccountancystudents . )
The following articles are cited:
1) “Journal of Business Ethics”, Volume 75 pages 215-228
2) Posner B., Schmidt W., “Values of the American manager: An update” published in the “California Management Review”, Volume 26 Issue 3 pages 202-216
3) Ross W.T., Robertson D.C., “A typology of situational factors: Impact on salesperson decision-making about ethical issues” published in “Journal of Business Ethics”, Volume 46 Issue 3 pages
213-234
4) Sims R.R., “The challenge of ethical behavior in organizations” published in the “Journal
of Business Ethics”, Volume11 pages505-513
5) Waters J.A.. Bird F.”The moral dimensions
of organizational culture” published in the “Journal
of Business Ethics”, Volume6 pages15 -22
