Reasons why the Case is a Moral Dilemma
The selected dilemma talks about you having an 8-year-old daughter whom you are convinced to have been raped by the neighbor, become traumatized and turn dumb. The same neighbor’s wife is murdered and evidence points at him that he is guilty of the murder. But you saw him unhappy at the time of the murder in the restaurant. An ethical dilemma is whether you should keep quiet and let the neighbor be convicted and let the real murder escape or give him an alibi and let him go free, but you are not sure if he paid someone to do it.
The case is a moral dilemma because it is a situation in which two or more moral duties or values place demands on the maker of decisions, who only have the capacity to honor one of them, and hence will infringe at least one significant moral concern, irrespective of what she or he makes a decision to do. Besides, the rules which make this dilemma are not consistent. Meaning, they are not all obeyable. Moreover, the reasons for not doing one decision become the condition for doing the other.
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Answering the question: What would you do?
In this case, the action I will take is to give my neighbor an alibi that he is not the murderer and let him go free because I saw him in the restaurant at the time of the murder. Even though I am not sure that he may have paid someone to perform the murder because the police point out that the murder was made to appear like a burglary, but he deserves the benefit of doubt. It is up to the work of investigative police to perform their job of determining the real murder. If the investigations reveal that my neighbor is guilty, then it is right he gets convicted. As for me, it will be clear in my conscious that I have done the right thing by giving an alibi, even if the neighbor gets convicted later.
My Decision-making Process using Ethical Theory
My decision is based on the rule utilitarian theory, which states that a person should perform acts which will benefit most individuals but through the most just and fairest means possible (Pasternak, 2012). Thus, an ethically correct decision is one which yields the highest benefit to many people according to the utilitarian theory (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). The decision is based on the examination of the consequences of the actions that I take and I chose the action which will produce the greatest benefit for many people. Giving alibi will save the neighbor not to be wrongly convicted if he is not guilty and will as well let my conscious rest in peace while the right criminal gets convicted.
My Reflections and Reactions on the Relevance of Ethics to my Personal and Professional life
Ethics can help me to maintain my honest image both in private and professional life. For instance, good ethics can assist me in making ethical decisions when I find myself in a dilemma. These decisions will be viewed as the right ones because they are justified with ethical reasoning, and not just emotional or personal bias. As such, ethics can enable me to be fair to people. In professional life, it can help me maintain my honest image as it can enable me to refrain from activities which may discredit my profession. For instance, maintaining personal ethics like integrity, honesty, and respect among others. As such, I will be able to do the right thing without being supervised or observed.
References
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.
Pasternak, S. (2012). The role of ethical theories in ethical reasoning and behaviour within organisations. Unpublished Research Proposal Submitted to the Faculty of Management, Tel Aviv University. Retrieved September 18, 2018, from www. ti-isreal. org/.../dbs-Atachedfiles/sigalitPasternak. pdf.
