Assess Appropriate Responses to a

Variety of Ethical Issues and

Dilemmas that can Arise Across the
Supply Chain

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Submitted by: Sajan Adhikari
Student ID.: A00133991

Submitted to: Khalid Khan

Date: 2021/11/14
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What is Ethics?

 Ethics is a discipline of philosophy concerned with human

conduct, especially the behaviour of individuals in society.
 It is derived from the Greek word "ethos," which meaning "way
of living."
 Ethics analyses what is morally right or wrong, just or unjust,
and investigates the intellectual explanation for our moral
judgements.
(Government of Canada, n.d.)
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Ethics in Supply Chain Management

 An ethical supply chain emphasizes the importance of corporate

social responsibility, striving to create products and services that
are ethically produced and maintained.
 According to the Association for Supply Chain Management
(ASCM), 83 percent of supply chain professionals believe ethics
are extremely or very essential for their company.
(Beamon, 2005)
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 An ethical supply chain operates in a way that provides the

greatest levels of ethical and sustainable business.
 Focuses on:
 Eliminating child and slave labour
 Safe and hygienic working conditions
 Fair pay and working hours
 Anti-bribery and corruption
 Ethical sourcing and procurement
 Environmental awareness and sustainability (Beamon, 2005)
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Common Ethical Issues/Dilemmas in the
Workplace

1.Unethical Leadership:
 Abuse of leadership power is an unfortunate reality, since
studies show that managers are responsible for 60% of
workplace malpractice.
 This can be explicit, such as manipulating data in a report or
spending corporate funds on unnecessary activities.
 It can also be subtle, such as bullying, accepting unethical gifts from
suppliers, or being asked to bypass a standard procedure just once.
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2.Toxic Workplace Culture:

 Organizations led by unethical executives are much more likely to
have a hostile work environment.
 Continually repopulating the organization with like-minded persons
and destructive mentalities can worsen a toxic culture.
3. Discrimination and Harassment:
  Unequal employment opportunity
 Discrimination and harassment of employees based on race,
ethnicity, gender, disability or age.
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4. Unrealistic and Conflicting Goals:

 Unrealistic goals can lead to executives applying undue pressure on their
employees, who may contemplate cutting shortcuts or breaking ethical or
legal guidelines to achieve them.
5. Questionable Use of Company Technology:
 The improper use of the internet and company technology is a big expense
for business in lost time, worker productivity and corporate cash.
 According to  research, around 64% of employees visit non-work related
websites throughout the workday.
(Michigan State University, 2019)
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How to Make Ethical Decision?

 Critical thinking is at the heart of the successful use of the

ethical decision making framework. .
 As a result, it aids in the framing of issues, the clarification of
goals, the examination of assumptions and possibilities, the
identification of hidden values, the evaluation of evidence, and
the assessment of conclusions. (Michigan State University,
2020)
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Steps in Ethical Decision-Making
Framework

(O’Brochta et al, 2012)

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1. Assessment:
This is a first step of ethical decision making. We must make sure we
have all the facts about the ethical dilemma.
 This first step includes a question that applies to much of the dilemma:
“Does it align with our ethical values and those of the surrounding
culture?”
 Seek legal advice if it does not follow the law. Proceed to the next
stage if the answers to the preceding questions give sufficient
evidence to support our argument. If we are not sure, acquire more
information or seek counsel from a reliable source.
(O’Brochta et al, 2012)
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2. Alternatives:

 This steps is all about considering our choices.

 We should ask following questions to ourselves:
 Have we made a list of feasible alternatives?
 Have we weighed the advantages and disadvantages of each option?

 If we have a reasonable option based on the answers to the above

questions, move on to the next phase of analyzing our candidate
decision.
 If not, we will probably need to acquire more information and
finish our investigation. (O’Brochta et al, 2012)
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3. Analysis:
Third stage is an identification of our candidate decision and test its
validity.
 Will our candidate decision have a positive impact or prevent
harm to managers, staff or volunteers, clients, your employer’s
organization, other stakeholders, the environment, or future
generations?
 Does our candidate decision take cultural differences into
account?
 Are we free from external influence to make this decision?
 Are we in a calm and unstressed state of mind?
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 If the potential consequences are acceptable, move to the next

stage and assess our decision against ethical standards. If not,
consider testing another candidate's decision, reviewing our
options, and/or reviewing our case.
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4. Application:

In this step we apply ethical principles to our candidate decision.

 Would your choice result in the greatest good?
 Would your choice treat others as you would like to be treated?
 Would your choice be fair and beneficial to all concerned?
 If these or other conventional philosophical problems cause us to
have second thoughts or appear to create a new dilemma,
we should reconsider our choice and analyze the facts, options,
and consequences.
 If "Yes" and our candidate decision appears to be in line with
other ethical standards, proceed to the following stage to make a
decision and take action. (O’Brochta et al, 2012)
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5. Action:

This is a final stage of making a decision

 We must ask these questions prior to our decision:
 Am I willing to accept responsibility for my decision?
 Could I make my decision public and feel good about it?
 ​Am I ready to act?
 If we are comfortable with our decision, take action. If not,
retrace thesesteps to discover a better solution.
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References:

 Michigan State University. (2019). 5 Common Ethical Issues in the Workplace.

Retrieved from
https://www.michiganstateuniversityonline.com/resources/leadership/common-et
hical-issues-in-the-workplace
/
 Government of Canada. (n.d.). What is Ethics? Retrieved from https://
www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/values-ethics/code/what-
is-ethics.html
 Michigan State University. (2020). How to Respond to an Ethical Dilemma.
https://www.michiganstateuniversityonline.com/resources/leadership/how-to-res
pond-to-an-ethical-dilemma
/
 O’Brochta, M., Meloni, G., Raghupathy, S., Pfeiffer, P., & Taylor, M. (2012). The
leader’s choice—five steps to ethical decision making. In PMI® Global
Congress.
 Beamon, B. M. (2005). Environmental and sustainability ethics in supply chain