ETHICAL DILEMMA 2
Ethical Dilemma Case Study
Case Summary
Device Product Unlimited (DPU) is a manufacturing company that produces a variety of
electronic devices. The company CEO and co-founder, Martin Thomas, realized their
outsourcing firm in the Third World country is violating labor rights by forcing their employees
to work seven days a week for minimum wages. According to Martin, this is against their
policies and also unethical, and in an ideal situation, he is supposed to terminate the contract with
the organization. However, ending the contract may result in the closure of that organization
because it relies heavily on DPU. Since it is the only largest organization in that area, its closure
may render many people who entirely depend on it homeless and anguish in poverty; a worse
case is that their families will also suffer.
Consequently, issue two in the case study is an ethical dilemma for Thomas since he is
faced with decision-making whereby both sides have moral imperatives, i.e., neither is the
acceptable or best option. On the one hand, failure to terminate the contract raises ethical
implications on his manufacturing firm through supporting the mistreatment of workers. On the
other hand, terminating the contract goes against humanitarian principles, whereby many people
will be rendered jobless, and their families may end up being homeless and anguish in poverty.
Recommendations
The situation facing Thomas is challenging since neither side of the decisions will yield a
superior outcome. According to Ferrell (2015), an ethical dilemma is being confronted by two
options that require decision-making; neither is preferable due to ethical implications. The above
case is, therefore, an ethical dilemma. However, several steps can remedy the case in the most
reasonable and fair manner. The first approach to solving the issue is Thomas engaging the
organization into dialogue, discussing the issue of labor rights violation. During the talks,
