Introduction
As part of this work, two articles from recent months are analyzed, devoted to rearrangements in the internal organization of two companies, GameStop and Tesla. The analysis identifies the nature of the ethical problem that accompanies changes within companies. The social nature of the problem is revealed in the decisions of Tesla leader Elon Musk, while GameStop, which is in a financial and equity recession, demonstrates the commercial aspect of its problem. After choosing a specific ethical framework to solve the problem, an attempt is made to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken by the company and, probably, to propose more successful strategies. Each chosen analytical method is justified in comparison to other ethical frameworks.
First Article
Identification of Issue
The first article focuses on the commercial problems that GameStop is experiencing in light of the financial recession. Shares of the video game retailer are down 12%, which is reflected in the decisions made by the authorities (Schuetz, 2022). The problem of personnel distribution is complicated by the fact that the Chief Financial Officer of the company left his post. GameStop cuts the number of employees against the background of which the company is left by the most responsible employee for financial affairs.
Ethical Framework
In this aspect, the dismissal of employees is contrary to the Justice framework, which are included in the list of six parameters of ethical decision-making. The company also violates the rights of workers undergoing layoffs in this way. The Virtuous Approach, also included in the list, would require retaining employees and finding alternative solutions that could raise the profitability of the market while keeping GameStop employees busy. The Utilitarian approach, on the contrary, turns out to most suitable for the decision taken by the authorities, and also these approaches in this case correspond to the features of teleological philosophy. By laying off employees, GameStop’s management regulates the growing losses in such a way as to preserve the functionality of the company, as it is the most rational principle of survival, which may however be contrary to humanistic ethics.
Second Article
Identification of Issue
The following article interprets the social aspect of the investment value of Elon Musk’s Tesla. The eccentric businessman has attracted an impressive number of investors to his unique electric car production, which now leads the company to a value of $1 trillion (Jolly, 2022). However, analysts express concern that this value of the company may suffer a serious defeat in the future if it does not meet the immense expectations that shareholders place on it (Jolly, 2022). The ethical problem is expressed in the fact that the popularity of the brand increases the social and commercial value of the company, which it may not justify.
Ethical Framework
In accordance with the Utilitarian ethical approaches, Musk’s company is now conducting a series of layoffs among workers, reducing the number of permanent employees (Milmo, 2022). In this way, Tesla can save on fees and allocate finances more carefully by paying hourly work to the majority of the workforce working under this type of contract. However, from a position of the Common Good, the most ethical choice for the company would be to reassign workers to new positions in foreign countries given Tesla’s promised expansion. In this way the new manufactories would be taken over by already trained professionals who would save the job by training foreign workers. A high payment for a business trip could ensure the comfort of an employee and a high quality of the result.
Conclusion
Thus, in both cases, the companies are faced with an ethical choice regarding the dismissal of employees, which, however, occurs for different reasons. GameStop is on the brink of commercial failure, forcing them into this financial need, which can only be addressed by an innovative marketing approach with employee engagement. Tesla is a much more successful company, whose ethical difficulties are social and associated with high investor expectations. Therefore, in the context of this company, the human resource could be used effectively to help the company enter the promised international market.
References
Jolly, J. (2022). Forget Twitter: Elon Musk has his hands full keeping Tesla on the road. The Guardian.
Milmo, D. (2022). Elon Musk says ‘inevitable’ US recession will probably come soon. The Guardian.
Schuetz, M. (2022). GameStop tumbles on report CFO leaving, job cuts coming. Bloomberg.