Summary
The fourth chapter of the book by Rae holds essential information regarding the principal techniques to ensure a person makes carefully weighted and ethically right decisions. The author looks at three different life scenarios which pose various moral dilemmas and offers analyses of the situations and possible actions. In the first case, he gives an example of a work versus friend situation where two colleagues’ families became close friends (Rae, 2018). One friend, Todd, begs his friend to disclose the information about the decision of the company where they work together. Since Todd’s colleague has access to such type of data due to his position, he might help his friend to decide whether to stay at the same workplace by giving him the list of the people who are planned to be discharged ahead of the time (Rae, 2018). This is a difficult choice to make as the worker has to keep the confidential information a secret. Furthermore, if Todd leaves the current project early because of his friend’s notice, the company might suffer from the consequences of the unfinished project.
The next scenario concerns a medical area where a doctor needs to decide whether to disclose a piece of information to his or her patient. The patient is an old woman of Hispanic origin who does not speak English. She has a second stage of lymphoma and needs to go chemotherapy. However, her son, who also acts as her translator, is against informing his mother about her diagnosis. He insists on giving her minimal information to avoid her anxiety and any negative thoughts regarding continuing her treatment. The cultural background of the family infers that a man in a family should make all the important decisions.
The last situation is about a sales director who plans to expand his company’s influence in the provincial area. The problem is that local officials require him to pay them to win the competition for the construction project. Bribery is quite common in that area, while it is prohibited by U.S. laws. Rae suggests doing seven steps in order to make ethical choices in these cases (Rae, 2018). The steps include gathering all the facts, identifying the issue and the main principles, and considering the alternatives and the consequences.
Reflection
The reading is very interactive since the author offers several realistic scenarios which I might face in my profession and personal life. I like that each case is different and has its own complications, which make the readers question the morality of any possible choice. I was startled at the difficulty of the situations and placed myself in the positions of the provided characters. Thus, Rae does a great job in making her reading engaging and close to a real-life situation. I also appreciate he wrote the guidelines of the problem resolution in a precisely enlisted style, which makes the structure clear and understandable. He applies the same steps to all three situations, which shows the effectiveness of his suggested instructions. Moreover, this strategy helps the readers to memorize the presented tactics of mastering ethical issues.
As I have mentioned, I believe this chapter is highly applicable in real-life cases. I have also been in a similar situation as a character from the first scenario. I was also put in a position where I had to choose between my personal relationships with my sister and my duties at work. I did not know how to act since I did not want to let down my relative but at the same time to make use of my position. As a result, I tried to explain to my sister the significance of professionalism in my life, and she refused to talk to me for over a month. Therefore, I find the tips from the textbook useful in any individual’s life to make ethical decisions which would consider all the sides of the situation and the consequences of the choice.
Reference
Rae, S. B. (2018). Moral choices: An introduction to ethics (4th ed.). Zondervan.