Since the letter demands that the waitresses are required to wear the new attire, it would be vital to implement the tank tops but not the bikinis to avoid firing the women whose bodies would be considered inappropriate for the new attire. This option is essential for ensuring that the company policy is observed and that the manager is likely to avoid possible harassment suits from the fired employees. The reason for choosing this response is base on the theory of utilitarianism. The fundamental tenet of utilitarian ethics is the recognition of pain as well as pleasure in the life of an individual (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2014). From this basis, utilitarianism focuses on the approval or disapproval of a particular action based on the consequences that the move is likely to bring forth. For this reason, the response selected is likely to be the most appropriate since it not only accounts for the interests of the company but the benefits of the waitresses as well.
According to Stanwick and Stanwick (2014), utilitarian ethics focus on maximizing suitable outcomes of an action, consequently minimizing unsuitable or unpleasant consequences. As indicated before, the other options might attract discriminatory of harassment suits from the employees, which could be an undesirable outcome for the actor, in this case, the company. For instance, when choosing to fire some of the employees whose physical appearance would not be suitable for the outfit, the manager will also be going against the rights of the employees, which is also another bat outcome that might be derived from the decision to fire them. In addition to using utilitarian ethics to select this response, the other ethical principle that could be used for justifying the selection is rights-based ethics.
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The rights-based approach is the foundation of the employment system adopted in the United States. In this regard, all the employees are protected against discrimination (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2014). The Human Rights Act considers it illegal to discriminate against individuals on a considerable number of grounds (Kolb, 2008). In this light, the waitresses are protected by this Act, which means that choosing to lay off the waitresses whose body might not be suitable for the new attire, particularly the bikini, will be discriminatory. The response chosen relates to rights-based ethics based on the idea that the waitresses have the right to work in the establishment, and this right protects them from being treated unfairly based on their physical appearance.
The issues of due process that the manager needs to consider when choosing to terminate the employment for any of the employees should be based on legal guidelines that direct employment termination. To avoid lawsuits, the manager should call for a termination meeting, which should be set up after the involvement of the company's HR management (Bohlander & Snell, 2007). During the termination meeting, the manager should summarize the documentation as well as the job-related reasons for the termination. Regardless of the response from the employees, the meeting will ensure that the employees have little dispute since it also allows the termination victims to give the panel their side of the story. By having a witness present, suitably from the HR department, the manager is likely to prevent subsequent lawsuits. Even though the selected response is essential for avoiding discriminatory or harassment lawsuits, the costs of the choice could affect business since the manager might terminate an employee that was considered as the best regarding service delivery. The termination might affect the overall performance of the company.
References
Bohlander, G. W., & Snell, S. (2007). Managing human resources . Mason, Ohio: Thomson.
Kolb, R. W. (2008). Encyclopedia of business ethics and society . Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Stanwick, P. A., & Stanwick, S. D. (2014). Understanding business ethics . Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
