Essay Example on Conner's Moral Dilemma

Introduction

Conner is a safety ambassador in the AlumaArk Company and advocates for a safe and conducive environment for all the employees (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2006). He encounters an ethical dilemma, which involves a controversial matter of safety in exchange for increased productivity by the employees. Conner was unsure of the choice he had to make. He was contented with his work and treasured the company and its development. However, he was torn in between pushing the employees more to increase the company's production, which means that the workers would have to be reckless with the safety guidelines, or fail to meet the expectations of the company by observing the safety procedures (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2006). A safe and conducive working environment is vital for the wellbeing and health of the employees. In this case, nonetheless, the top-level managers involved in making decisions preferred high production to safety guidelines (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2006). Therefore, Conner is virtually in conflict with his fellow workers, including the manager, who might fire him for attempting to defy the established incentives. Their main objective is to increase output production, but they appear to put the workers at high risk. Thus, the safety of the employees is compromised if Conner would let them disregard the safety precautions to increase the output rate and meet the target required.

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Potential Backfiring of AlumaArk Approach

In AlumaArk reasoning, the advantages of increasing production outweigh the risk of potential injuries and could backfire because they may have underestimated the risks. Besides, too much work for tired and worn-out employees could easily lead to severe wounds or death. If the injured workers sued the company for a precarious working environment, the company's lawsuit, compensation, and other expenses might surpass the expected benefits of increased production. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration abbreviated as OSHA would additionally take severe measures on the company for not observing the requisite rules. Many clients, MNCs included are particular that their sub-contractors and vendors adhere to the rules of the land. Therefore, they may decline to engage in any business with the company in case they discover that the company fails to adhere to the OSHA rules.

The company may also have overestimated the benefits of implementing the incentives. Raising productivity targets to unreasonable limits may lead to the reduced work quality. There might be additional rejections and rework, crushing the objective. Moreover, flaying the machines continuously without any preventive measures to maintain them may cause breakdowns, lowering productivity (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2006). As a result, the workers may not achieve the productivity target, even after spending lots of time physically at work.

Tactic that Connor can Use to Approach the Issue

Connor is well informed that in some departments, accidents have increased due to constant pressure from the top managers for increased production. With this information, I would advise him to take his chances and approach the General Manager. He had spoken earlier to the Assistant General Manager (AGM), and because of the unsettled issue, the right procedure would be to communicate with the General Manager (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2006). Therefore, he should explain how he feels about the incentives and why the company should consider the safety of the workers. The general manager needs to know the dangers of implementing the incentives to both the company and the employees. Therefore, since the procedure may cost the company a great deal, Connor should do everything in his power to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all the employees is adhered.

References

Ferrell, O., & Fraedrich, J. (2006). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.