Ms.

Introduction

This document analyzes a professional dilemma and values conflict that I experienced before I began my major course of study or during my program of studies at the University of Phoenix. This incident occurred prior to my employment with the Federal Government. Anyone who is aware of the traditional good ole boy network knows what I am referring to. I experienced first hand an ethical decision for a supervisor to either select the best candidate for the job or someone who is in the network or one they knew. (Kathy Cozza, 2007)

Experience

This is an experience that many still come on contact with today. I wonder if there will be a system ever in place that will at least prevent some of the good old boy network to exist. The ethical situation dealt with my getting a position over someone who was already in the General Schedule (GS) system. The people involved were Anthony and John potential employees and Don the supervisor. Mind you all that Don is a Christian like me. However, John and I did not know each other, but were able to meet during the interview process and had some discussion. He merely explained how he had been in the system and knew the supervisor. I had some concerns with that, but I was hoping that this did not have an impact on the decision for the position. I may seem a bit optimistic seeing I knew what the system had done too many qualified applicants.

Ethical Dilemma

There was no real difference in power and authority other than the fact that John knew the supervisor and made it seem as though he were going to be the choice for the position. I guess the ethical dilemma for the supervisor is that; would he use best methodology for hiring the best candidate for the job. Our reading this past week describes what the supervisor had to consider. This is why unfortunately most people confuse ethics with behaving in accordance with social conventions, religious beliefs, and the law. Most people do not see ethics as a domain unto itself, a set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behavior helps or harms sentient creatures. Most people do not recognize that ethical concepts and principles are universally defined, through such documents as the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and that these concepts and principles are trans-cultural and trans-religious. One need not appeal to a religious belief or cultural convention to recognize that slavery, genocide, torture, sexism, racism, murder, assault, fraud, deceit, and intimidation are all ethically wrong. Whenever we base ethical conclusions on religious or cultural standards, we separate ourselves from those who hold contrary religious or cultural beliefs. It is critical, therefore, that we use shared ethical concepts and principles as guides in reasoning through common ethical issues. We can find a wide array of important ethical concepts by reviewing the terms available for ethical discourse in virtually every natural language. All spoken languages contain synonyms for desirable ethical traits such as being kind, open-minded, impartial, truthful, honest, compassionate, considerate, and honorable. They also contain hundreds of negative ethical traits such as being selfish, greedy, egotistical, callous, deceitful, hypocritical, disingenuous, prejudiced, bigoted, spiteful, vindictive, cruel, brutal, and oppressive. The essential meanings of these terms are not dependent on either theology or social convention. Living an ethical life emerges from the fact that people are capable of either helping or harming others, of contributing to or damaging the quality of their lives. The ethics in question is to seek the common good for the organization. Discarding all the other factors or traits involved. The personal values listed above are in conflict mainly with the one concerning religious beliefs and I like how Dr. Paul and Elder describe it; in short, ethical persons, however strongly motivated to do what is ethically right, can do so only if they know what is ethically right. And this they cannot do if they systematically confuse their sense of what is ethically right with self-interest, personal desires, or social taboos. Ethically motivated persons must learn the art of self- and social-critique, of ethical self-examination. They must recognize the pervasive everyday pitfalls of ethical judgment: moral intolerance, self-deception, and uncritical conformity. (Dr. Paul and Dr. Elder, 2007)

Potential