ETHC 445N Week 1 Assignment: Paper – Ethical Memoir

A majority of the dilemmas I have faced were at the workplace. April of this year I resigned at Ulta due to nursing school and having to move to another city. Earlier in the year, I remember working during tax season so the days we were busy would be pretty unpredictable. On this particular day, I had to do a closing shift with 1 of the 5 managers named Shylo. Once we clocked in at Ulta the closing crew would meet with the morning shift crew in the center of the store to discuss goals, how the day had been going, and what we’re expected of us to complete before we closed. At the beginning of the conversation, the morning manager explained how she had received an email from the DM asking why we had so many employees working on this day when we are over hours for the week and how she needed to cut 2 employees shifts. After stating this Shylo and I looked at each other pretty worrisome because we knew how busy we could get during the evening.

 After two hours of my shift had gone by the store began to get busy and more employees were beginning to get off. By now it was about 5 and we were understaffed because it was just me and the manager. Of course, with it being just the two of us it was quite hard running a register by myself without any backup. At Ulta, there is a policy where the managers are not supposed to be running the registers and only GEM-ing meaning walking the floor to assist with the customers. Thankfully Shylo was a pretty lenient manager so she would help me as needed plus walk the floor to help with customers.

  With time passing by it finally reached 6:30 pm and at this point we could not do the last three hours together by ourselves. Shylo: “Hey, so do you think it would be a bad idea to call two employee’s in.” Camille: “Honestly because the store is very busy, and we cannot handle this by ourselves I think it would be the best option.” Although we knew the number of hours for the week was over, we decided to go above the DM and morning manager to call in two employees. Even though she and I knew the consequences that would come with this decision we decided it was the best choice. We would rather have help on the floor and registers rather than to risk getting complaints, HR calls, and allow people to shoplift. The very next day Shylo and I had another closing shift and the same morning manager asked us why we had called two employees in knowing she had cut their shifts earlier that morning. When we explained to her about our shift that day, she ran the camera back and realized how busy the store was. She then explained to us that she would take the blame for the number of hours used and said it should make up for those hours since we made the goal needed for the rest of the week.

 With that being said I honestly do not regret deciding with my manager to call employees in for extra help and would do the same thing if this were to happen again. I would hate for anyone to go through the same situation while dealing with the nasty attitudes we encountered during that day. At the end of the day, I see this as a win for the employees who shifts were cut because they got to make some money this day and also a win for the store since we hit the goal needed for the week. After our first discussion post learning the Three Primary Schools of Ethics, I realized this situation fit me into the consequentialist theory. The reason I say this is because a consequentialist tends to weigh out their pros and cons to see which outcome would be more beneficial for them or others.

    This is why good ethics is important for humanity to function correctly. With good ethics comes trust within each other as well as ensuring people do the right and noble thing. Using good ethics will help allow individuals to remain headstrong and make the right decisions when it comes to dilemmas like mine at the workplace or anywhere else. I think it is important to be concerned about our actions because usually our first reactions are not quite thought out nor the best decisions. Sometimes we make decisions so fast we do not realize what we get ourselves into or the consequences that come with them.

References

Ruggiero, V. R. (2012). Thinking critically about ethical issues (8th ed.). New York: Mc-Graw Hill.

Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2019, June 3). Consequentialism. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/

Ethics – Introduction to ethics: Ethics: a general introduction. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml

Instructions
Using the ethical memoir from your introductory discussion, compose a paper that describes the moral-ethical dilemma that you encountered and what the outcome of that dilemma was in more detail. This assignment is a revised and extended version of the introductory discussion. Address the following questions:

• Did you solve the dilemma? If so, how? If not, what were the repercussions or consequences?
• What would you do differently if faced with the same problem today?
• What is the importance of good ethics?
• Why should we be concerned about our actions?

Remember, the dilemma should be detailed with description and dialogue. Regard the questions as prompts, not an ordering of your responses. This is not a Q&A essay, but rather a graceful reflection regarding a difficult ethical dilemma you faced.

Cite the textbook and incorporate outside sources, including citations.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

• Length: 2-3 pages (not including title page or references page)
• 1-inch margins
• Double spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Title page
• References page