Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making

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Michelle Ohlson INTD670-1403B-06 Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making Dr. Lisa Smart Colorado Technical University 8/31/2014 Abstract The following paper discusses a scenario between Joe with UWear and Bill with Peninsula Hotel. It talks about what is Joe’s ethical responsibility about being invited on a trip with Bill during a contract negotiation between the two companies. Joe needs to decline the invitation politely and just explain to Bill that it might not look right to his management since they are negotiating the contract at the time. If he were to go with Bill on the yacht the management team might take the outing as a bribe from Bill to influence Joe to get a better contract. Joe could lose his job and even worse he could put the company in place for a lawsuit. The ethical theory that supports how I think Joe should respond to this invitation is the utilitarianism theory. This approach states that a decision that maximizes the ratio of good over evil for all those concerned is the ethical course, (McAdams, Neslund, & Neslund, 2007). The utilitarianism theory should be used because Joe should think which action he should take that would benefit the most involved. If he goes on the trip it is only good for Bill. If he declines the invitation then it is good for UWear, Joe, Paledenim, and in the end Joe’s family. Others with a different view than mine might say that Joe should use the Egoism theory. This theory suggests that we should act only in our self-interest and that failure to do so keeps us from reaching our potential, (Forman, 2008). Someone might suggest this theory because they believe that Joe should act in his best interest and if he does then he will not go on the trip. That his best interest is to the company he works for. I would refute this opposing perspective because Joe might not think that his best interest is

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