lly created or chosen. Such a process of self-discovery is often aided when one must make difficult ethical decisions that will impact the shape of oneÆs existence. For example, in this decision I became more aware of the value and worth I place on spending quality time with and providing for my family. This made the decision less difficult to make as well as making me see the greater meaning promised by my eventual decision.
Case number two is a more detailed scenario. In this case a person in a management position is responsible for hiring new employees. An ethical dilemma arises when a friend of the manager applies for a job opening. The friend has been supportive and even helped pay for the training that got the manager his position. The friend is trustworthy and hardworking, and knowing her, the manager knows she will work even harder since she knows his reputation is at stake. Another candidate is a bit better qualified but the law and the company permit the manager to hire the candidate he believes is the best person for the job.
It took me a long time to contemplate any kind of decision with respect to this scenario. I value loyal and supportive friendship but I also value making professional decisions in a rational manner without basing them on emotions or personal bias. I feel this scenario creates a conflict between duty to friendship and duty to oneÆs organization, but I also think it involves a conflict between duty to self and duty to others. In the end, the values it most made me see in myself are loyalty, friendship, trust and fairness. I decided the friend should be hired for the fact that the other candidate was only slightly better qualified, and because I trusted her to work hard and be willing to develop any skills needed to perform well. I also felt I was being fair to both candidates because their qualifications were comparable, fair to the company because I chose a qualified employee, an...