Introduction
It is important to note that the profession of firefighters is highly demanding and requires qualified specialists. The reason is that human lives can depend on the knowledge of the code of ethics, skills, and the speed of firefighters’ reactions. Although, as in any workplace, conflicts of interest may arise in a fire station when people are hired by acquaintances and through family ties.
A conflict of interest is a contradiction between employees’ official powers and personal interests that affects the objectivity or impartiality of their decision-making (Maxwell, 2008). Accordingly, the admission of a conflict of interest is an ethical challenge that must be addressed to create a comfortable and safe working environment. Thus, it is essential to describe the ethical problem of conflict of interest and its solution, and provide my proposal for addressing it.
Ethical Problem at the Workplace
In my workplace, I heard a story about a moral and ethical issue that involved the firefighting profession and resulted in injuries. A fire department needed to expand its firefighting staff and needed to recruit for positions. The human resources representative evaluated their education, professional skills, and moral and human qualities to select the best candidates for the job. Four new firefighters were needed, and ten candidates were available for the position.
The fire department chief approached the human resources representative and asked them to consider his nephew and his friend especially carefully. At the same time, the chief explained to the manager that he was confident these two firefighters could do high-quality work, even though they had recently graduated from college. Thus, the person responsible for recruiting followed the manager’s lead and appointed the supervisor’s nephew and friend to two of the four vacancies. However, for the other two vacancies, a regular competition was held, and candidates who satisfied all the requirements and had experience in firefighting were recruited.
Even though the recruiter was not pursuing his interests, following the management’s request to appoint two people to the position created a conflict of interest. In other words, a conflict of interest is a situation where a person makes rules or performs actions based only on their interests and benefits (Fire Engineering, n.d). The recruiter did not think he had violated any rules because the responsibility for the work of these two firefighters rested with the manager, since he had initiated their hiring.
One day, two calls were to help extinguish small fires in two nearby houses. Two young firefighters were assigned to these incidents and were hired because of the supervisor’s affection for them. They arrived and started extinguishing the fire in the first house, quickly localizing and extinguishing it. During a dialogue with the house’s owners, they learned that a couple of non-traditional orientations lived next door.
It is important to note that fires must be responded to quickly because every second counts to prevent irreparable consequences (Maxwell, 2008). When the firefighters discovered the sexual orientation of the owners of the next house, they decided not to rush to help them and told the fire department that they did not have time to extinguish two fires. As a result of the discriminatory attitude of the perpetrators towards people’s orientation and family status, the cooking area in their house needed major repairs (National Society of Executive Fire Officers, n.d). Moreover, one of the homeowners tried to extinguish the fire on his own and suffered second-degree burns and was taken to the hospital.
When the fire department received a complaint that the firefighters did not respond to the call, the recruiter felt responsible for their actions. Then the recruiter examined their diplomas and realized that they had low grades in fire ethics and were generally not diligent in their studies. Hence, it was logical that they would violate the firefighters’ code of ethics and cause negative consequences for people.
When an internal investigation was launched against the two firefighters, the recruiter said that he saw no fault because the fire department chief had assured him of the firefighters’ professionalism. Consequently, because of the ethical dilemma of a conflict of interest, one person’s property and health were harmed. This scenario could have been avoided if the firefighters’ code of ethics had been adhered to and the recruiter and the fire station head had made fair assessments during the recruitment process.
Accordingly, professional ethics is one of the most significant aspects of any employee’s work. It is essential for workers who hold positions in structures on which people’s lives depend to adhere to ethical and moral rules. Therefore, the conflict of interest in the fire station resulted in injuries to individuals and considerable property damage. However, the recruiter does not see any fault in his actions, as he acted not in his own interests but listened to the advice and request of his superiors.
The head of the department decided not to take a stand in the conflict and did not admit his mistakes. Furthermore, an internal investigation was conducted, and the two firefighters were acquitted, again due to the assistance of the unit’s head. Therefore, due to the conflict of interest, there is still a threat that they will not perform their duties properly, leading to more casualties.
My Solution to the Problem
In the position of a recruiter who was deciding to hire two firefighters at the request of the fire department head, I would follow ethical rules. First, I would assess the possible consequences of the decision and evaluate the competence of the proposed candidates. Accordingly, I would have called them for an interview, which all applicants must complete, to verify their academic performance, and ask about their work experience and knowledge of the code of ethics.
Based on the information I received, I would assess how the two firefighters might act in real-life circumstances and the consequences of their decisions for people. If the head of the department insisted on hiring them, and I was not convinced of their competencies, I would discuss with the head the possibility of an internship for them (Maxwell, 2008). The reason is that after a month of work, it is possible to evaluate the practical training and compliance with the code of ethics, and ensure that they can do the work of firefighters or find arguments and evidence to refuse to hire them.
It is crucial to emphasize that even though the proposed candidates may have performed well during the probationary period, it is also necessary to evaluate others fairly. The reason is that the competence of a recruit will demonstrate their fulfillment of the basic rules and work obligations. Therefore, I would continue to search for the best candidates for the four open positions to demonstrate to the management that they have a choice. In this way, I would simultaneously fulfill the request of the unit commander to pay attention to the candidates and perform my professional and moral duty (Maxwell, 2008). As a result, after selecting the candidates, I would identify the leading candidates and evaluate the internships of the two applicants offered by the unit chief.
I would meet with the unit commander for each potential applicant to demonstrate my ethical competence and awareness. During the conversation, I would show all the facts and materials about the best candidates that are important for hiring. In addition, I would demonstrate the negative feedback on the internships of two of his candidates due to insufficient professional qualities and a clear violation of the ethical code. Accordingly, I would express my position on hiring people who meet the requirements. I should also have emphasized that true professionals do not allow conflicts of interest in the workplace and suggested that the manager demonstrate ethical awareness and competence.
Moreover, all my words would have been backed up by evidence, such as the diplomas of women, references from previous jobs, code of ethics tests for firefighters, and the internship results of two firefighters. This would have enabled me to make a transparent and fair argument to the supervisor and insist on a position that hired the best applicants for the position, regardless of the conflict of interests (National Society of Executive Fire Officers, n.d). In this way, I convinced the head of the unit of the importance of adhering to the code of ethics and the need not to exceed his authority.
According to the work results, I would choose the four best candidates for the position of firefighter who would do their job qualitatively. Additionally, they would know the firefighter’s code of ethics and would follow it, which would not cause casualties among people (Maxwell, 2008). Consequently, the ethical solution to the dilemma would be absolutely correct, as it would involve selecting candidates based on their skills and training results, not on family ties and the favor of management.
Conclusion
Therefore, ethical issues require finding the right solutions and considering the consequences of the wrong ones. This is especially true for firefighters, who are responsible for people’s lives and the value of their property. When a conflict of interest arises, people involved in recruitment or the head of a fire station should be guided by fundamental ethical principles and consider applicants’ professional qualities. Otherwise, promoting relatives who are not competent in firefighting may lead to negative consequences for people needing assistance.
Moreover, suppose there are situations of conflict of interest and pressure from management. In that case, people in charge of recruitment need to provide clear reasoning and evidence that other candidates are more qualified than the one proposed by the administration. Thus, to fulfill the code of ethics and duties, it is necessary to avoid conflicts of interest in the workplace and make every effort to restore fairness.
References
Fire Engineering. (n.d.). Our latest post. Web.
Maxwell, J. C. (2008). Ethics 101: What every leader needs to know. Hachette UK.
National Society of Executive Fire Officers. (n.d). Firefighter Code of Ethics.