Reference no: EM131743739
Please respond to the following discussion with a (120 words)
Discuss your thoughts on the following ethical dilemma: You work in HR at a major consulting firm and one of the consultants comes to you and says that he cannot in good faith take an assignment at the Philip Morris company because they make products that kill people. How would you handle the situation?
And with a short paragraph respond to the following discussion:
A. n this case, every employee has a right to their beliefs . I would first try to accommodate the employee and try to see if I can replace the consultant with a different consultant. If I can't replace the consultant, I would sit with him/her and try to understand what they refer to making products that kill people, and on the positive side go over the good things that the organization does. When meeting with the consultant I would also let them know that there may be jobs that we aren't comfortable with in the future and Phillip Morris will not be the last. Although, I see things differently, it may be best to be transparent with them and let them know if they aren't comfortable with taking certain assignments that they seek employment that will not interfere with their culture.
On a side note, I had scheduled an interview for a potential candidate who ended up calling to cancel his interview because he realized that my company manufactured the Playboy fragrance and it was against their beliefs, and he didn't want to be associated with such organization. My only response was "totally understandable." For this I wouldn't want to interfere with anyone's morals, beliefs and ethical behaviors.
B. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employees are protected against what in this case could be described as religious discrimination. Employers must tread with great caution when conflicts of ethics and job assignments are concerned. According to EEOC (2017) Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that it is a federal violation to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In his scenario, the employees moral belief preferences could fall into this category. As a manger, I would definitely seek counsel from a HR specialist in terms or whether this is a form of insubordination and/or seek some best practices for handling situations such as this. I would not want to break any laws or show any bias towards the employee based on their core values. I would hope that the organization has some policies and compliance's in place to ensure we can make reasonable accommodations for such circumstances. I would also make sure that this employee is not treated unfairly based on his/her principals but instead is documented and accessed based on performance.