When it comes to frequent ethical dilemmas in workplaces, one of them is discrimination, whether it is based on religion, gender, ethnicity, or nationality. One of the situations I witnessed was the prejudice of one employee toward another based on skin color. While any form of discrimination at the workplace is considered illegal due to policies that protect minorities, such an attitude can be seen as an ethical dilemma. The given issue concerns every staff member and necessitates implementing strategies to eliminate further occurrences of this behavior and incorporate ethical principles.
In the aforementioned situation, the female employee belittled the expertise and experience of the employee of another race due to biases. At this point, among the successful strategies that can be implemented in this situation is to educate the staff on diversity and discrimination and encourage employees to respect their teammates. In the Bible, God said that there is only one race, and it is the human race (Geneva College, n.d.). Later, Paul preached that “from one man God made every nation of the human race” (Acts 17:26). Thus, the strategy that demonstrates God-honoring diversity is encouraging employees to embrace human unity.
As for the principles and ethical theories, one of the theories that might be the most beneficial is the theory of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a philosophical position that promotes actions that bring pleasure or happiness while opposing activities that bring pain or damage (Scarre, 2020). As a result, to resolve the mentioned ethical dilemma, people can be encouraged to treat others as they would want to be treated. For example, one working day can be dedicated to implementing the Golden Rule, which is a principle of kind treatment, and complimenting teammates on their work, efforts, or skills.
The worldview implications from a faith perspective in the given situation can be shifts in the set of beliefs. For example, after being treated with kindness and being educated on the excerpts from the Holy Scripture, it can be possible for a person to change their worldview. The surroundings and environment play an integral role in people’s attitudes. Therefore, in a team where discrimination is not tolerated, and diversity is embraced, such negative attitudes will be eliminated, and a person will have to implement Lord’s precepts.
Lastly, the Six Pillars of Character might allow organizations and leaders to form a healthy environment. The code of conduct will include all six sections, such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship (Drake University, 2021). In this sense, employees must be encouraged to adhere to the Golden Rule, think before they act, be open-minded, loyal, and kind, and protect the safety of others as well as their rights. Consequently, the given code and its constituents must be a part of the company’s values.
Hence, the ethical dilemma of discrimination can be interpreted from both a legal and an ethical perspective. When it comes to discrimination on the ground of race, considering the knowledge in Holy Scripture, there is only one race. Therefore, the strategy that should aim at such a dilemma should involve educating employees on discrimination and diversity. As for the ethical theories and principles, the Utilitarian theory that targets kindness and the Golder Rule principles might also be beneficial in such situations. After incorporating a healthy environment and positive attitudes, discriminative employees might experience a shift in worldviews. In order to sustain a positive environment, the Six Pillars of Character can be helpful since they advocate for trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.
References
Drake University. (2021). The six pillars of character. Character Counts. Web.
Geneva College. (n.d.). A Christian view of diversity. Web.
Scarre, G. (2020). Utilitarianism. Routledge.