Often, businesses are confronted with situations that require them to balance competing interests. For example, a business may need to decide between increasing the compensation for its employees and investing in a new technology. To arrive at a decision that delivers benefit for all concerned stakeholders, businesses need to engage in critical thinking. Among other things, critical thinking allows one to consider various viewpoints, make connections between related ideas, and to subject their own thought processes to rigorous evaluation (Facione, 2015). The case of Cloud Solutions underscores the vital role that critical thinking plays in business decision making. To resolve the dilemma that it faces, the company should consider the impact of different alternative courses of action on stakeholders and be guided by such ethical standards as transparency and integrity.
Explanation of Issue
The issue that Cloud Solutions faces concerns honoring its obligation to its customers while protecting its financial interests. The company has learnt that a since departed employee misconfigured the system at Green Machine Marketing, one of its clients. As a result of the misconfiguration, Green Machine Marketing is encountering an error message that has caused concern. Green Machine Marketing contacts Cloud Solutions to have the problem resolved. Ben Smith, the engineering team manager warns that acknowledging that the company blundered could have disastrous consequences. Fixing the misconfiguration would render the services that Green Machine Marketing relies on unavailable for as long as 30 minutes. Cloud Solutions would be required to pay a penalty for the service disruption. Furthermore, Cloud Solutions may also need to refund Green Machine Marketing the entire amount that it has incurred as a result of the misconfiguration. As Tota and Shehu (2012), the dilemma that Cloud Solutions faces is not unique. According to Tota and Shehu (2012), it is quite common for businesses to opt for unethical courses of action to safeguard their financial interests. In summary, the situation at Cloud Solutions captures the clash between business financial considerations and the moral obligation to protect and serve the interests of customers.
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Analysis
An analysis of the problem at Cloud Solutions reveals that the company must make a decision and that inaction is not a tenable solution. To analyze this problem, one needs to adopt the systems analysis approach. Essentially, this approach advises individuals to develop clear objectives, adopt a rigorous criterion and consider external factors during the decision making process (“Systems Analysis”, n.d.). Furthermore, the system analysis approach recognizes the need to consider how different solutions to a difficult business question affect different actors. Applying this approach to the issue at Cloud Solutions shows that the main objective that the company should seek to accomplish is satisfying Green Machine Marketing by presenting an acceptable solution. At present, Cloud Solutions is being inundated with emails from Green Machine Marketing, demanding answers. Therefore, Cloud Solutions must recognize that the problem is serious and that it needs to move with speed to address it.
As noted above, the systems analysis also identifies the development of a criterion as being key to decision making in business. Basically, the criterion helps one to assess the various viewpoints and courses of action. Among the issues that Cloud Solutions should include in its criterion include the impact on stakeholders, alignment with ethical standards and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. For instance, the company needs to consider how the solution that it implements affects its financial health as well as the operations of Green Machine Marketing. Furthermore, it should understand that its decision could affect its reputation. For example, if it chooses to do nothing, it could lose the trust of customers who fear working with a company which sacrifices customer satisfaction to secure its financial interests. Additionally, Cloud Solutions should understand that it has a moral obligation to operate transparently and with integrity. Should it fail to reveal the cause of the errors that Green Machine Marketing is encountering, the company will be betraying its moral mandate.
Alternative Viewpoints
The application of the systems analysis approach yields a number of viewpoints that Cloud Solutions need to consider. One, the company could opt to keep quite. This solution will present numerus benefits. For instance, it could shield the company against paying the heavy penalty that it would otherwise incur if it were to admit that it misconfigured the system at Green Machine Marketing. Additionally, this course of action would eliminate the need for Cloud Solutions to compensate Green Machine Marketing for the over-charges that the latter has incurred due to the misconfigured system. While this option is advantageous, it also carries some risks and drawbacks. Among its main limitations is that it will see Cloud Solutions abandon its moral duty to act ethically. In particular, the company will have betrayed such values as integrity. In his tremendously insightful text, Hwang (2012) reminds businesses to recognize that even in the present age of excessive capitalism, ethics still occupies a central position in business operations. Essentially, Hwang would challenge Cloud Solutions to understand that it cannot dismiss ethical concerns when making important decisions.
The second option available to Cloud Solutions is admitting that one of its employees blundered and paying the penalty and compensation. This option is indeed unattractive given that it will hurt Cloud Solutions’ financial interests and health. However, the damage that the company incurs will be temporary and short-term. More importantly, if it pursues this solution, the firm will secure the trust and confidence of Green Machine Marketing. Moreover, this solution will place Cloud Solutions in a position of full compliance with relevant regulatory and ethical standards. According to Pherson (2013), when evaluating different alternative perspectives, individuals should always prioritize the needs of their customers. The second option would allow Cloud Solutions to ensure that the needs of Green Machine Marketing are met.
Conclusions and Recommendations
In closing, Cloud Solutions is in an unenviably difficult position. The ethical dilemma that confronts it forces it to choose between its customers and its own financial wellbeing. Two courses of action are available to the company. Each of these options has strengths and drawbacks. Applying the utilitarian approach, admitting its mistakes and compensating Green Machine Marketing emerges as the superior solution. It is hereby recommended that the company should implement this option. While it will incur some significant costs, it will be demonstrating its commitment to ethical principles. Furthermore, the stronger business ties that Cloud Solutions establishes with Green Machine Marketing will offset the costs that it initially incurs. From the dilemma at Cloud Solutions, it is evident that decision making in business can be arduous. To ease the decision making process, businesses need to develop stable ethical compasses and strive to fulfill the needs and interests of their customers.
References
Facione, P. A. (2015). Critical thinking: what it is and why it counts. Hermosa Beach, CA: Measured Reasons, LLC.
Hwang, V. W. (2012). Does morality matter in managing businesses? Forbes. Retrieved February 20, 2020 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorhwang/2012/10/23/does-morality-matter-in-managing-businesses/#46ae53a0117f
Pherson, R. H. (2013). The five habits of the master thinker. Journal of Strategic Security, 6 (3), 54-60.
Systems analysis. (n.d.).
Tota, I., & Shehu, H. (2012). The dilemma of business ethics. Procedia Economics and Finance, 3, 555-9.
