PART I.
Solving ethical dilemmas comes with a decision making challenge that uphold the values an organization views as most significant. It involves a consideration of actions relative o the consequences. It involves making decisions that put the values of an organization at stake. Coming up with such decisions involves a consideration of staff loyalty, fidelity and honesty. Such a decision should uphold the critical values whilst minimizing the consequences in the behavioral conduct of the workers. Besides having clear vision and mission statements, most organizations lack an ‘ethos’ element in ethical maintenance. They lack communication of beliefs, existing cultures and expected behavior. This creates dilemmas on staff expectations and also contributes to challenges in solving organizational ethical dilemmas.
The BELIEVE IT model is a seven step strategy that advocates for uniformity and clarity in organization expectations in development of sustainable solutions. In solving a dilemma, the Background and Estimate of the problem should be established followed by a List of possible solutions. The likely Impacts of the solutions should be assessed to Eliminate the unacceptable solutions. The remaining solutions should then be measured against the organizational Values that they uphold. Finally, the values should be Evaluated in relation to the likely impacts, values and eliminated solutions. This model assists in staff training on expectations and organizational values, and incorporates organizational values in decision making. It is a constant reminder of behavior analysis and justifiable means of solving ethical issues. The decision made is concrete and covers the interests of both the employer and employee.
Part II.
There is no doubt that the nature of work places is becoming diverse in terms of backgrounds, cultures and perceptions. This is propelling ethical training as a priority in most organizations (Bredeson and Goree, 2012). Cooperation amongst the management and staff has become one of the significant challenges that most organizations face as a result of unclear ethical expectations. Following the steps outlined in BELIEVE IT model guarantees a formulation of a concrete decision that incorporates the origin of the ethical problem, the possible solutions and impacts that such solutions have on the values of an organization (Saleem, 2010). It is a comprehensive remedy that offers a reliable method of solving ethical dilemma with less reliance on individual judgment but more emphasis to organizational values.
BELIEVE IT model is, however, limited on the methods applicable in defending the decisions made in solving the dilemma. Some decisions may be applicable in observing an organization’s values whilst they may have some weaknesses that may make them insufficient. For instance, a case involving a behavior considered as a culture yet does not fit in an organization’s values may hinder the appropriateness of the model. In such a case defending the values against the cultures may hinder the ‘evaluation’ step and this may imply an unsustainable decision to the dilemma (Saleem, 2010).
In conclusion, BELIEVE IT model can be considered as a sufficient tool in solving staff ethical dilemmas. Its effectiveness, however, can be boosted by complementing it with simulations, integrations and incorporation of interpersonal approaches and a comparison with other organization’s strategies. In addition, having practical approaches that measure the consequence of a decision may also assist in determining the effectiveness of the model in solving dilemmas. This assists in assessing the applicability of a decision and the impact that it has on the workers in promoting the values (Bredeson and Goree, 2012).
Reference.
Bredeson, D., & Goree, K. (2012). Ethics in the workplace. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.
Saleem, S. (2010). Business environment. New Delhi. Pearson.
