Ethical Dilemma Example

Many times in our professional life, we are caught in two unpleasant situations. The worst part is we have to choose one amongst them. It becomes more difficult when we have to compromise on our moral or ethical principles. In such situations, going for one thing offends the other and in either, the loss is ours. The situation is nothing but ethical dilemma. No one likes to betray the ethics and principles of his or her profession but sometimes, circumstances compel people to do so. It is quite a complex process, where a person is unable to determine what is right or wrong. Given below is an ethical dilemma example from different professions that will help you understand the concept better.

Instance in Nursing
In the nursing profession, a person is supposed to serve the patient and abide by all the ethical issues in health care. An ethical dilemma can occur when the patient refuses to take or accept any care or treatment. In this case, if the nurse won't coerce the patient to take the treatments then she is violating one of the ethics of her profession, that is serving and seeking well-being of the diseased. On the other hand, the coercion will violate autonomy of the patient, which is another ethical obligation of nursing profession. Letting the patient die without treatments is also wrong and forcing the patient is also wrong. In such situations, the nurse has to resort to one and that is quite difficult as both her moral and ethical principles are at stake.

Specimen in Psychology
Psychologists go through various ethical problems in their professional life. The ethical principle of their profession says that they must maintain the anonymity of the patient as disclosing the names of their patients and their psychological condition is not good for their well-being. Suppose, if the patient has a severe mental problem, say paranoia, where he is most likely to get violent that can be threatening to other people. In such a situations, it is the duty of the psychologist to inform the other people of the probable danger but to do this she has to violate the anonymity norm. Disclosing the name of the patient is also an ethical wrong and putting other people's lives in danger is also wrong. Here choosing either of the options seems wrong for her.

Ethical Dilemma Pattern in Business
Here is an ethical dilemma business example. Many entrepreneurs have to deal with various ethical issues in business. Suppose, a new technology is launched that is really good for the growth of the company and the clients. But, adopting the technology would mean reducing the man power of the company. In this case, an entrepreneur is caught in an ethical dilemma. He has to think about the betterment of the clients and cater them with the best of services but on the other hand, he also has to think about the employees who have contributed in the growth of the company. Here, if he thinks about employees and rejects the technology then he is not doing justice with his clients. And if he prefers clients then he is betraying the employees. This entrepreneur is juggling between business ethics and is caught in an unpleasant situation.

From the above ethical dilemma examples, it is clear how chaotic and stressful such dilemmas are. Workplace ethics can give a real hard time to people and leave them in a confused state. But, with good decision-making power and sound analytical ability, it is possible to resolve the ethical issues in the workplace effectively.