Ethics Writing Assignment: The Scaffold Plank Incident Essay Samples

Introduction

The objective of the paper is to answer the four questions pertaining to “The Scaffold Plank Incident” case.
Question 1: What Ethical Issues or Dilemma was Bob Hopkins Facing?
In this case, Bob Hopkins is facing an ethical dilemma on whether to be honest in the dealing and do all possible to ensure wellbeing of the final user or sell the product and make money for his company. On one hand, Bob is aware that the lumber is going to be used for scaffolding purpose. He also knows that the lumber is not suitable for this purpose. If he sells the lumber, it might be risking someone’s life at the construction site. On the other hand, Bob knows that the specified lumber is not available in the market and if he does not sell, someone else will. If he sells, then he will earn money for his company that is facing survival issues in the recessionary phase. But, in the long run, Bob might lose the customer forever for supplying inferior quality of product.

Question 2: Who Were the Stakeholders and What Were Their Conflicting Values in Bob’s Decision?

The key stakeholders in this case are Bob Hopkins, John White, co-workers in White Lumber, Stan Parrish, Mike Fayer-weather, the Foreman at the end purchaser’s firm and the construction workers using the scaffolding planks. Bob Hopkins, Mike Fayer-weather and John White will all gain from this deal by improving their top line in a recessionary situation where they have been struggling to breakeven. They could also save their co-workers who ran the risk of unemployment. Stan Parrish will also gain by selling the lumber by increasing turnover for this company and meeting his targets. The foreman believed he was helping his firm by reducing its procurement cost and creating value for the firm.
While all above mentioned stakeholders would benefit from the selling of inferior quality lumber, the workers had conflicting interests in the product. The workers might risk their lives if the plank could not hold their weight. Thus, quality of the product was of prime value to them.

Question 3: What Alternatives did Bob Have? Analyse the Consequence of Each Alternative.

Bob had two main alternatives in this case. First, he could sell the lumber and earn profits for his company. He could safeguarded his company’s interests by declaring a written warning on invoice that the product in suitable for scaffolding activities. Second, he could follow his conscience and inform the end purchaser that the lumber they were buying was of substandard quality. He could have also highlighted that the quality that the purchaser wanted was unavailable in the market and could not be delivered in time by any seller. This would have helped gain customer confidence.

Question 4: What Should Bob Do? Provide Your Evidence and Rationale to Support Your Answer.

Bob should have a detailed discussion with the senior management on his ethical dilemma. He should highlight the related risks associated with this deal. By virtue of their experience, he should get some clarity on his actionable. If they convince him, he would go ahead and sell the lumber. However, if the ethical calling was still very strong and he is not convinced with the senior management’s advice, he should dissociate himself from the act by resigning. This will help him safeguard his conscience and integrity.