M7D1: Dealing with Dilemmas
Describe a decision about divulging confidential information about a company’s future.
Justify the decision to divulge, or not divulge, confidential information about a company’s future. Relate the justification to ethics.
Dealing with Dilemmas
As a manager, one has the responsibility to safeguard and protect confidential information by all means from public knowledge. This is to maintain the continuation of the company’s strategic plans successfully without any short-changing due to divulging information to other personnel. As the manager, I would restrain from disclosing the company’s confidential information as it is a necessary entity in fulfilling the roles and responsibilities to the organization. It is critical to follow the deontological ethics that represents the sense of duty and responsibility as a manager. It is clearly unethical to release confidential information to save an employee. In turn, this would culminate into a betrayal of the company.
However, in facing the dilemma of choosing between the employees and the company, as the manager has a duty to both, it is hard to choose the right ethical choice. In neglecting to divulge the essential information to the employees culminates into misdirecting them which is unethical. On the contrary, any action that ends up revealing the company’s confidential information is unethical. Therefore, the tussle in the ethical dilemma requires a tough decision which can only be informed by duty ethics. At the foremost, the first duty comes to the organization that you hold the key managerial position, thus, access to the privileged information.
Therefore, safeguarding the company’s information is critical and follows all the ethical obligations to the organization. The employees require being issued with a hint of the direction the company is operating in, thus giving them an opportunity to prepare for their future and avoiding being caught red-handed.
References
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business Ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.
Manning, G. & Curtis, K. (2014). The Art of Leadership. 5th Ed. McGraw-Hill. ISBN#: 978-0077862459.