The world comprises of a diverse society courtesy of culture, belief, ethnicity, colour and religion. It is thus imperative that a society learns to coexist and correlate with all these differences. The ethical issue in contention is that of discrimination. Aalia, a Muslim woman applies for a job as a jewellery seller and gets the job. However, being a Muslim, it is expected and demanded of her that she dresses in hijabs (Yufenu, 2009). The jewellery store on the other hand does not allow head covering while one is serving clients. The two parties failed to communicate to each other from the first day on matters pertaining to work outfit and religious demands.
According to professional reports, the most suitable solutions to the ethical dilemma include; firing Aalia, allowing Aalia to work in her hijab and Aalia making a compromise to work in the bookstores. Despite being a simple workplace scenario, the issue of Aalia reflects on a large problem being faced in the society today. Certain religions feel dominant over others and thus insist that members of other religions conform to their beliefs and relent that of their own (Yufenu, 2009). In fact, religion is a major factor of discrimination and stereotyping of the society primarily because of the differences it comes with.
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Applied Ethical Principles and Standards
The American Psychology Association provides a set of principles that act as a guideline to all ethical issues arising in the society. Among the principles, are those that help in resolving ethical conflicts and dealing with different individuals but perhaps the most important principle in this context is that of respect for people’s rights and dignity. The principle insists that professionals must and should respect the worth and dignity of all persons as well as their rights to confidentiality, privacy and self-determination (American Pyschology Association, 2018). It is extremely crucial that the cultural, role and individual differences of individuals are respected because this helps dismiss any forms of biases and discriminatory acts. When put into context, the principle demands that the jewel store accepts that there is diversity in religious and cultural aspects from the pool of labour from which they hire. Therefore, it is advisable that the store restructures its work policy to accommodate all kinds of people unless it decides to only hire from a certain type of people. Respect for the rights and dignity of people serves a great deal for the business because it ensures a safe working environment free of suits and complaints.
Alternative Solutions
The first and most suitable solution is for the store to allow Aalia to work in her Islamic attire and wear the hijab. Not only is it ethical to respect her religious differences but it is also legal considering the 14 th amendment and various civil rights laws bar private actors from discriminating against Muslim women wearing hijabs (ACLU, 2018). The store thus acts contrary to the dictates of the law when it asks Aalia to take off her hijab during working hours. It is an act of discrimination because the store does not provide a solid reason or logic behind the demand.
The second solution is to fire Aalia on grounds that her culture does not conform to the company policy. The company policy does not particularly target Muslim women because it does not ban the wearing or hijabs but rather head covers. Therefore, any individual, whether male or female is not allowed to put on head gear. Therefore, the firm does not in perspective discriminate against religion or certain individuals but rather disallows certain dress codes during worktime and more so when engaging with clientele. In this regard, it serves best to fire Aalia on grounds of violating company policy.
The third solution is for Aalia to move to the storekeeper section. Moving to the storekeeper section does not give Aalia satisfaction because it takes away her desired position. However, it lets her continue working at a jewellery store of her choice and maintain her dignity as well as fulfil her duty as a Muslim woman. In this new position, Aalia could demand to receive the same salary or remuneration she would be receiving working as a seller in order to dispel any form of demotion. According to Barnett (2015), making compromises is a crucial tact in dealing with stalemate situations and does well to at least give every person something rather than take away all from one.
Action Plan
Objectives
To resolve the ethical stalemate between Aalia and the Jewellery store
To ensure such an ethical issue never reoccurs
Strategies
Mediation
Mediation will be held between the Jewell store owners and Aalia. Both parties will be allowed to have their lawyers on board if they choose to although the mediation is purposed to leave out as many parties as possible (Barnett, 2015). Mediation will be conducted to determine the best way forward between the two parties currently at logger heads. It will entail negotiations that will speak of compensation, compromise and accommodation as a way of putting an end to the stalemate.
Policy changes
The management of the jewel store will convene a meeting to restructure its hiring policies. The policy changes made will ensure to incorporate a policy that demands the management communicates company rules before hiring a person. Secondly, the changes will include the removal of certain restrictions to accommodate different people. Therefore, the restrictions can assume a more specific manner and state the type of head gears not wanted at the workplace instead of making a general claim.
Measurement
After three months, the company will review the performance of the newly instituted policies by assessing the number of complaints raised on grounds of discrimination. The company will look at the number of employees who have made complaints and determine the effectiveness of the new changes.
Conclusion
Ethical issues are bound to arise in workplaces. Such issues come about because of cultural, religious and ethnic differences among many other parameters. It is imperative that a firm institute policies that are all-inclusive and accommodative to avoid ethical issues. The case of Aalia is one that reflects on the general society and calls for immediate attention to solve.
References
ACLU. (2018). Discrimination against Muslim Women - Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/other/discrimination-against-muslim-women-fact-sheet
American Psychology Association. (2018). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/
Barnett, J. E., & Johnson, W. B. (2015). Resolving Ethical Issues. Ethics Desk Reference for Counselors: Second Edition, 153-160.
Yufenu, S. (2009). The challenges faced by working Muslim women. Retrieved from http://islamweb.net/en/article/148886/
