BMO2004 Business Ethics - Essay Help

Critical Essay: Ethics

Summary of the Case

South Australia (SA) police retracted an email sent by a manager with a gift card prize for officers who issued more speeding and traffic fines. The gift comes after the department initiated an Operation Fatal Distraction targeting distracted drivers using mobile phones, social media, and other behaviours and practices that might cause inattention. Although the gift card targeted officers perceived to have made the "greatest contribution to road safety", the SA police described the incentive to be against the official policy and practice (ABC News, 2019). The department argued that such incentives would encourage unprofessional behaviour and portray the police as a revenue collection centre which would affect the relationship between the police and road users. The police reminded the officers of their duty to keep South Australia roads safer by stopping dangerous behaviours on the roads using the available channels such as issuing an expiation notice or a formal caution.

Ethical Issues and Frameworks

Business leaders need consistency in making ethical decisions since their actions affect all aspects of the organisation including its image and relationship with stakeholders. In the case of the retracted gift card price to police officers in South Australia, ethical decision-making frameworks are essential in explaining the ethicality of the judgment. In this case, a manager bought a gift card and sent it to police officers who had issued more speeding and traffic fines. However, the officers retracted the gift on the two bases: it sent the wrong message to the traffic officers and it will affect the relationship between the police and road users. On the first hand, rewarding officers that issue the highest speeding and traffic fines turn the police department into a competition and revenue collecting centre. According to virtue ethics, decisions should be made based on personal character and moral virtue (Ohio University, 2019). This involves asking questions on how stakeholders will perceive an organisation by the decisions they make. The SA police examined the impact of the gift on the moral virtue of the police officers and decided to retract the gift to tame and remind the officers on their duty to ensure road safety and not extort road users. The decision conforms to the virtue ethics framework that emphasizes personal virtue such as discipline, honesty, and trustworthiness. If the officers practice their duties with personal virtue, they will build long-term relationships with road users and influence the number of traffic offences committed on the Australian roads (ABC News, 2019).

The SA police decision to retract the gift and reinforce the duty and commitment of police officers in ensuring the safety of road users conforms to the consequentialist theory. This ethical framework explains an ethical course of action by considering the result. The framework provides decisive transparency by aligning the decision-making process to ethically reflective goals (Ohio University, 2019). The decision to retract the gift card was reached after a critical analysis on its impact based on the message it portrayed about the South Australian police department. The police insist that the traffic officers have no quota for issuing fines and incentives to officers who issue more fines imply that the police department is turning into a revenue collection centre.