Introduction
Hiring a specialist is a typical process in the life of a growing company. The more the firm itself expands – the more challenging the tasks become. For this reason, genuinely professional specialists are promoted because they have experience in any company and a general understanding of their business. However, things do not always go exactly as one would wish without moral and ethical problems because not everyone has the opportunity to grow a career for various reasons.
Dilemma
A typical example of such a situation is Matt Moreau’s dilemma, created by Professor Jeffrey Gandz. It has such a plot: a vice president of the customer service department at Foremost Department Store named Gregson is looking for someone to take place as head of a newly created department. A couple of days later, he received a recommendation to appoint a person named Dianne Reilly to the new position. Dianne is an excellent professional who has worked in one of the company’s sections for over 15 years and understands her job. After examining her file, Gregson decides to meet her department manager to discuss her promotion. However, during the conversation, it is revealed that she has been ill with cancer for some time and is not suitable for the workload that the promotion will place on her (Shaw, 2012). The question is: is it worth promoting a top-notch professional but putting her health at risk?
If we look at the issue from a moral point of view, we should first of all be humanistic. In many ways, this means putting human life first and continuing to look for other candidates for the position. On the other hand, Dianne has the right to decide her own fate. It would be better to discuss the matter in person with the employee and discuss all the details. However, it is very impolite to talk about someone’s personal problems directly. In this case, it is better to hint that the job is demanding, and you should understand that it involves a lot of risks. In addition, it is better to give her some time to decide because of the need to weigh up the pros and cons. It is important to respect someone’s write for personal secrets, and touching on some of that challenging problems may lead to mistrust. However, respect is only one of many parts of ethical factors that impact the working process, such as honesty, responsibility, and good communication. Ignoring at least one of those factors may lead to misunderstandings between colleagues and, therefore, worsen interactions.
It is never a good idea to talk directly about employees’ health problems. It has been said before that it is everyone’s own business, and it may be insulting to meddle in someone else’s life. In my opinion, Gregson should never talk directly about his employee’s illness. The best he can do in this situation is to give a hint, but not to say that he knows.
If the most pessimistic prognosis for this situation is that Dianne will suffer because of her rash decisions, Gregson should also consider this in a face-to-face meeting. By hinting that he is aware of the situation, he may suggest Dianne to think about taking this vacancy herself. I am sure she knows whether she is ready to take that responsibility because it is her life, and it is up to her to decide how she wants to handle it. To save Gregson from future troubles in case of the accident dealing with her health problems, their dialogue should be documented, and there will be no Gregson’s fault in the worst scenario.
Conclusion
To sum up, no matter how professional a person is, all factors need to be considered, no matter how well they know about certain things. Every life is unique, and everyone is responsible for it, so I think Dianna is the only person that can choose her life direction and whether this job is worth the risk or not.
Reference
Shaw, D. (2012). S w FOREMOST DEPARTMENT STORES INC. Web.