Different state laws in states across the United States limit employers from checking the financial situations of their employees. This paper overviews how a manager can employ an ethical theory of utilitarianism to handle a situation and conflict of a qualified candidate with poor credit checks. The applicable theory is utilitarianism, which mainly focuses on the client’s feelings, in that satisfaction is the key factor. Under such a framework, the net benefits are weighed against net losses and risks with no attribution of the issue to a person.
In this scenario, the manager employs the theory of utilitarianism, which advocates actions fostering pleasure (happiness) while opposing actions that cause harm (unhappiness) to the candidate. First and foremost, the manager can explain to the supervisor the negative implications of credit checks and their negative impacts on the candidate (Gómez, 2019). Such effects include the invasion of privacy, exacerbating racial discrimination, and creating a barrier to upward mobility and opportunity for the candidate. She can also address how credit checks are responsible for barring qualified candidates from getting jobs because of their poor credit. Notably, these aspects do not tell much about personal job performance; instead, they reveal how the system does not serve justice to the employees and qualified candidates.
The ethical way to preserve professional relationships under utilitarianism can be achieved by ensuring that all actions are done within the ethical boundaries of the company policy as well as state and federal laws. The supervisor should be informed about the ramifications if such practices become public knowledge, such as company reputation damage. The benefits need to emphasize dismissing candidates due to debt is a loss of talent for the company. The conflict should be managed by actively staying within the domains of authority and responsibilities. In both cases, the most ethical manner is to avoid personalizing the action but instead focus on benefits and harms. This approach constitutes ethical reasoning of net benefits weighed against net losses and risks with no attribution of the issue to a person. The same logic applies to any leader, including myself, who seeks to resolve conflicts ethically and preserve relationships.
It is also crucial for the manager to discuss how credit checks affect the economy. Financial difficulties are sometimes caused by uncontrollable external factors, meaning qualified candidates should not be disqualified because of their poor credit checks. For instance, the Great Recession and the financial crisis were responsible for causing several Americans to be denied jobs and laid off because their home values plummeted, hence becoming less than their mortgage debt. As a result, they discovered that their retirement and savings accounts were decimated, which can play a key role in affecting their credit histories.
Several factors affect an individual’s credit score, which may not have personal control. Credit checks do not reflect on their moral character or ability to perform their job adequately. Rather, they perpetuate discrimination and are unfair to disadvantaged groups regarding long-term employment. They are clarifying the source of the conflict and finding a safe and private place to talk about the candidate’s sense regarding the company’s practices and her justice. She should let both the candidate and the supervisor have their say while listening to them actively (Singer, 2018). She should agree on the best solutions and determine the parties’ responsibilities when it comes to resolutions.
In conclusion, the utilitarianism theory is ideal in any organization in that it ensures that the client is satisfied with the services she gets from an organization. Evaluating and analyzing the progress and coming up with useful preventive strategies regarding the same situation in the future is important for both the business and the employees. Evaluating and analyzing the progress and coming up with useful preventive strategies regarding the same situation in the future is important for both the business and the employees. Credit checks should match the latter to ensure that the approaches are well addressed.
References
Gómez, M. G. P. (2019). Credit constraints, firm investment, and employment: Evidence from survey data. Journal of Banking & Finance, 99, 121-141.
Singer, L. R. (2018). Settling disputes: Conflict resolution in business, families, and the legal system. Routledge.