How to Do Well in Discussions
· Respond to the specific questions posed in the discussion.
· Be sure to base your initial post and responses on course materials, and use 7th ed. APA citations in every post.
· Post your responses over three days and respond to four or more students to receive full credit for frequency of participation.
· Write clearly and proofread; errors can lose you points.
· Quality of posts, citations, frequency, and timeliness of posts all factor into your discussion grade. See the Participation Grading Rubric for details.
ALICIANA’S POST:
What do you think is the ethical thing to do in this situation and what would you choose to do regardless?
Personally, I think the most ethical thing to do in this situation is to take affirmative action which will aid in removing any barriers in the workplace, (Gilbert, pg. 109, 2016). In the given scenario, there is a communication barrier between myself and Rob Spears. Rob Spears does not understand the importance as to why they should get vaccinated, especially when they are working in an environment where getting the virus is highly susceptible. Which means I have not communicated effectively to the staff members about the vitality of the vaccination with regards to their understanding. This is why affirmative action needs to take place to remove these barriers and set common ground and understandings. A way to implement affirmative action is to have a one on one or even a group session on the importance of vaccinations, highlighting the need for it as well as the reason. Moreover, I could inform Rob Spears of the new information I’ve became aware of and ask if these accusations are true and verify his vaccination card. I would also like to explain the importance of utilitarian analysis of making decisions for the good of a majority of individuals to the staff so that they are aware that taking the COVID-19 vaccination is not just to protect themselves but for those around them as well, (Gilbert, pg. 113, 2016). If taking affirmative action does not work, then consulting a supervisor would become necessary. Regardless of ethical decisions, I would still make the same choices to talk to Rob Spears in private about the situation I became aware of. I would advise him to be honest and lay out the consequences if he were to lie. Furthermore, I would have to let him know that if these acquisitions are true, I would need to make my own supervisors aware of the situation and have him get vaccinated before he can work again. Before I do that though, I would inform him on the importance of getting vaccinated, especially in this field of work and ensure that he understands why he needs to get vaccinated as well. If he still refuses to get vaccinated, I would end the discussion and just consult my supervisor and inform them on the measures that I have taken.
Gilbert, J. (2016). Ethics for Managers. eds-p-ebscohost. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://eds.p.ebscohost.com/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzY5MTRfX0FO0?vid=0&format=EB&rid=1
ANDREA’S POST:
In this situation, I would not stay silent about Rob Spears being unvaccinated. The purpose of the vaccination is for the health and safety of not only yourself but also the others around you. In this specific work environment, dialysis patients are particularly susceptible to Covid and an unvaccinated med tech is working so closely with them (Rob) could put the patients health in harms way. Chapter 10 talks about how employees do not tell the truth at all times (Gilbert, p.g. 182) but in this case it goes against rules and policies for everyones health and the risk of it as well. The ethical thing to do would be to make Rob aware of what you know. I am not sure if as a manager you would still want to keep someone like Rob working in the facility due to the risks he has put not only other employees but the patients he works with as well.
Joseph Gilbert. (2016). Ethics for Managers : Philosophical Foundations and Business Realities: Vol. Second edition. Routledge.
ANGELA’S POST:
Good evening class,
As the Facility Administrator it would be my responsibility to report the incident. I feel as though, by my reporting that the patients would appreciate the decision, as they are more susceptible to sicknesses and diseases than the average person. I applied the rights and duties with this discussion.
The reason why I have applied this philosophical viewpoint is because although I may not have anything to do with patient care I still work for the organization and having an employee who lied about his vaccination status is blatantly irresponsible and deserves to be terminated as they know the harm they can cause to the patients which is an unethical practice on their end. The patients expect proper care from professionals in the field, they expect the providers, med techs, nurses to be truthful and honest with their care. The duty for the employees is to take that action and provide the best care.
Because the employee is an asset to the facility this will too affect patient care by elongating wait times, scheduling and the facility being short-staffed until the employee is replaced. But when applying the rights and duties viewpoint Gilbert states, “an individual’s actions will be moral if they recognize the rights of others, and observe the duties imposed on him by those rights” (Gilbert, p 75). This statement ensures that the decision that I have made was just and ethical.
Reference
Joseph Gilbert. (2016). Ethics for Managers : Philosophical Foundations and Business Realities: Vol. Second edition. Routledge.
ANTONIO’S POST:
Managers are not only responsible for personnel safety risks but also to customers or the public at large (Gilbert, Chapter 10, 2016). Not being vaccinated against Covid and providing close service for ours can potentially cause safety issues amongst dialysis patients. It can be difficult to confront employees without proper evidence. The only one comes from a previous employee and was heard at a party, where more than likely there were alcoholic beverages. Previous employee cannot longer attest about this conversation at the company.
I would gather more information before confronting Rob. Since evidence cannot be corroborated, don’t want to confront one of the best techs without evidence. This can result in the employee to become infuriated and leave the company or maybe into legal issues. To gather more evidence, maybe send an email to the med techs and copy the Medical Center Director. Something in the lines as “It has brought to my attention that some of the personnel is providing fake vaccination cards. Company is currently under investigation about this incident. There will be no repercussions if personnel come forward about it and starts the vaccination process. Failure to do will result in immediate termination of employment.” Doing so will probably make the employee come forward about it.
References:
Gilbert, J. (2016). Ethics for Managers: Philosophical Foundations and Business Realities: Chapter 10: Privacy: Applicants and Employees. Retrieved from https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=8a682366-e756-4e44-ab12-20453c9a1311%40redis&ppid=pp_181&vid=0&format=EB
