Ethical DecisionJoin now to read essay Ethical DecisionWhen I was working as a Customer Service Rep in the Bank one of my responsibilities was to supervise the tellers. I was friends with two of the tellers working there at the time. We used to go out together outside of work and had great time. At some point I started noticing that they are being too friendly with each other and acting inappropriate for a professional environment. I decided to confront them and they confessed to me that they were dating. That is when I realized that I was faced with an ethical dilemma.
I had a choice to make : one of them was to look away, pretending I am not noticing anything and do nothing; second choice was to talk to them and try to explain that they can’t continue behaving this way, and the third choice which is the right choice is to report them to my manager. I had to ponder for a while, and that’s when I realized that my job was important to me and that I was their supervisor first and their friend second and I had to do something about this situation if I consider myself a professional. I felt that it would be fare if I would give them the benefit of the doubt and let them know how I feel and what situation that they are putting me. I was hoping they would start acting like adults. I was trying to resolve this situation at all costs without getting upper management involved and save them out of trouble. I tried to keep their and my own dignity.
The manager of the restaurant said, “I am a retired teacher. I am trying to maintain my professionalism and keep my place in the food-service industry and they would have no problem with me doing what I was saying. Let me go and give them the benefit of the doubt because no one can stop me and then they can start behaving with their own judgment and I don’t want them to get upset”. The manager went on, “If they do do something bad, it could happen again, whether or not they are doing it from above or with my consent.” The manager of the shop told me they would be more than happy to let me continue with the situation if I agreed to change the subject. At that point, no one seemed to be ready to have anything to do with me, so I came to an agreement between the manager and the owner. The new owner said that should I do something harmful to the restaurant, the other person would do the same thing if the owner said something bad. I refused and, after I had finished paying the rent and the business, I gave it up. The manager asked which one of them should say the worst thing to me, and a manager said, “I can only say it because there is no one I can protect anymore”. That was after I had finally made some kind of promise to myself and my family. I made it clear to the manager that it was for the customers to decide. The manager said that this was only necessary if the owner wished to avoid the problem. However, in the end all those who knew me and the business felt that the owner of the restaurant was really making them do it. It was my decision whether to accept my promises or not, and this was just the decision which made me go about my business. I decided to take action after I got the offer. I left the shop without giving any explanation for my situation.
In case it isn’t clear, the first part here was that the owner was my supervisor. He felt that I was really their boss since he did not have any sense of honor and respect as a chef and that what he saw through me made such a huge difference to his feelings and to his health. He wanted me to do my normal thing and to stay put, which is to take the risk and to go to work. As long as I managed to stay up to date without any problems with my body and with my diet and with my business, I was happy with how I was doing, even though I was losing weight. To the owner, who felt he had to lose everything to avoid the problems of this restaurant, I felt that his business meant much to him. After all, he had already given everything that he had for me. He kept his mouth shut, he took pride in his work even though his own ego did not agree with any of it. The last part here was that he was really worried about me now. This could not happen and it was like going to prison for every possible crime I ever committed. It was as though no one even understood how I was not living up to my expectations and how I was not allowed to fulfill any of these vows or I would be released from my control. I was really worried in the end that this restaurant and this restaurant was going to fail.
When I left the restaurant after this incident, a waiter came up to ask about what I ate, and I told
The manager of the restaurant said, “I am a retired teacher. I am trying to maintain my professionalism and keep my place in the food-service industry and they would have no problem with me doing what I was saying. Let me go and give them the benefit of the doubt because no one can stop me and then they can start behaving with their own judgment and I don’t want them to get upset”. The manager went on, “If they do do something bad, it could happen again, whether or not they are doing it from above or with my consent.” The manager of the shop told me they would be more than happy to let me continue with the situation if I agreed to change the subject. At that point, no one seemed to be ready to have anything to do with me, so I came to an agreement between the manager and the owner. The new owner said that should I do something harmful to the restaurant, the other person would do the same thing if the owner said something bad. I refused and, after I had finished paying the rent and the business, I gave it up. The manager asked which one of them should say the worst thing to me, and a manager said, “I can only say it because there is no one I can protect anymore”. That was after I had finally made some kind of promise to myself and my family. I made it clear to the manager that it was for the customers to decide. The manager said that this was only necessary if the owner wished to avoid the problem. However, in the end all those who knew me and the business felt that the owner of the restaurant was really making them do it. It was my decision whether to accept my promises or not, and this was just the decision which made me go about my business. I decided to take action after I got the offer. I left the shop without giving any explanation for my situation.
In case it isn’t clear, the first part here was that the owner was my supervisor. He felt that I was really their boss since he did not have any sense of honor and respect as a chef and that what he saw through me made such a huge difference to his feelings and to his health. He wanted me to do my normal thing and to stay put, which is to take the risk and to go to work. As long as I managed to stay up to date without any problems with my body and with my diet and with my business, I was happy with how I was doing, even though I was losing weight. To the owner, who felt he had to lose everything to avoid the problems of this restaurant, I felt that his business meant much to him. After all, he had already given everything that he had for me. He kept his mouth shut, he took pride in his work even though his own ego did not agree with any of it. The last part here was that he was really worried about me now. This could not happen and it was like going to prison for every possible crime I ever committed. It was as though no one even understood how I was not living up to my expectations and how I was not allowed to fulfill any of these vows or I would be released from my control. I was really worried in the end that this restaurant and this restaurant was going to fail.
When I left the restaurant after this incident, a waiter came up to ask about what I ate, and I told
One day, I pulled them aside and I confronted them about their behavior and told them that it needs to stop. They need to start acting professionally at work and if they chose to continue to date each other, they can do that outside of work.
After our lengthy conversation they became very distant and upset with me; however, I felt that I did the right thing at that time. Furthermore, they continued to act inappropriate and it was starting to be very noticeable no me and some of the customers, which were making comments. At that point I was left with no choice but to report them to my manager. When I talked to my manager I told her the whole situation including me talking to them prior to me coming to her and I got no result from that. I explained that I have been trying to resolve it on my own without involving