Module 10 Ethics Activity Discussion
Discussion Instructions
To complete this discussion, you must make an initial post responding to the ethical dilemma questions. Please address all the questions in full and cite your sources. Secondly, you must respond to another student's post in which you further the discussion. Start by reflecting on the original post. You may ask further questions, comment on the strength of their reply, address information that is missing, or provide examples that correspond with the topic. Agreement with the initial response is not required, but responses should reflect be supported with analogies, examples, research, or content from the text. All students should respectful of differences of opinions.Ethics Discussion
A recent spate of mine disasters that caused numerous fatalities refocused national attention on the question: is management doing enough to protect employees on the job? Recent serious Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations resulting in the deaths of two workers from falls due to the lack of harnesses or guardrails suggest there is still a long way to go.
Companies are responsible for providing a safe workplace for employees. So why do accidents like these continue to happen? In a word—money. It takes money to purchase harnesses, install guardrails, and otherwise ensure a safe and healthy work environment. And even more is needed to employ the staff necessary to enforce company safety policies. It is often less costly for a company to just pay the fines that are levied for violations.
As a supervisor at a company with frequent violations of OSHA regulations, you worry about your employees’ safety. But each time your company needs to implement a new safety feature, end-of-year employee bonuses get smaller. The money has to come from somewhere, management claims.
Using a web search tool, locate articles about this topic, and then write responses to the following questions. Be sure to support your arguments and cite your sources.
Ethical Dilemma: Do you report safety violations to management in the hope they will be corrected before someone gets hurt, or do you stage a total work stoppage to force management’s hand, knowing that either way you risk losing popularity at every level, and very possibly your job? Or, of course, you could say nothing and hope for the best. It is not a problem you created, and you’re just there to do a job, after all.
Related Chapter Outcomes and Course Goals
This group assignment addresses the following course goals:- Explain accounting and financial management including planning, budgeting, resource allocation, and sources of funding.
- Explain why production and operations management is important in both manufacturing and service firms.
- Explain how quality-management and lean-manufacturing techniques help firms improve production and operations management.
- Identify key trends affecting the way companies manage production and operations.
Grade Value and Rubric
- This discussion activity is worth 5 points.
- The course discussion rubric is applied to this discussion