thical terms. It must be assumed that ethical values are important to the supervisors, and that they want to make decisions that compromise these values as little as reasonably possible. The process of evaluating and choosing among ethical values, personal goals and the likely consequences of actions is far from simple. To make a responsible decision, they should consider the choices available, the outcomes of each, and their likely impacts on people’s lives. Just which ethical values are upheld and which are violated by the alternatives are essential questions. Which of these values are important for their decision and which are unimportant must be carefully weighed. Whether their ethical values are more important than some of their personal goals may present a further challenge. Ethical principles are important because we often use them as reasons to think that a given decision is a good one or not so good. Ethical principles imply fairness and impartiality in ones dealings with other people. It requires that one’s own personal likes and dislikes not count as reasons to think something is right or wrong, or ought or ought not to be done. If I were Paul Cronan’s supervisor, this situation would be difficult for me to handle. One, I would have a duty to inform the company of all employee matters, especially those that concern attendance; and to keep them on the job and productive. I would have a duty to protect the privacy of Cronan. I would have a duty to provide information about the disease to other employees and to the dispel ors. None of these are easy tasks to accomplish without offending someone. “Management” carries with it much symbolic meaning. Typical definitions suggest that managers use all resources, including people, by directing and controlling them to accomplish an organizational objective. A manager is a person with an assigned responsibility who has been given the authority and power to a...
