Ethical Dilemma - 1st Draft

 Fabrice Tshiyoyi Banyingela

Professor Shelby Scoffield - BYU Idaho

ENG 301 Advanced Writing & Research

9 October 2021

Ethical Dilemma

Rules are made to guide our actions toward desired results. When applied correctly, they ensure everyone’s rights and protect us from abuses; disobedience on the other side may lead to punishment. The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said that “society corrupts the pure individual.” His thought clearly argues that men are limited and corrupted by social arrangements.

 In some situations, people’s decision goes against the rules for some personal gain. As long as we live, we will often find ourselves in situations to make decisions – that might be easy or hard to make leading to positive and negative implications. The pressure from the world around me increases daily, putting me to test often – but I intend to avoid by all means making decisions that might compromise my morals, my feelings, my ethics, my beliefs, and the country’s laws. Some decisions are easy to make such as spending on my children’s education while dealing with the reality of providing for the family needs parents to make ethical decisions all the time.

 We are faced with many opportunities for dishonesty like in our business or with our fellowmen. We live during hard times with calamities and tribulations that are affecting many families in the world. Some years ago, during a bad financial period at my workplace, my moral character was tested to the core as my decision was probably going to affect the entire organization. We were offered an emergency tender that falls under the “discretionary grant” to provide learnership and internship for almost 50 participants but needed to submit all the mandatory documents. We had the submission file ready except for one document which expired – The Tax Clearance. Our tax status needed to be renewed upon resolving some outstanding payments and penalties. Since the procurement company team was checking companies’ documents manually, my boss suggested that we forge the Tax-clearance for the purpose of submission awaiting to fix the issue with the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Though I disapproved of this idea that left me confused, I did not participate neither in tempering the document nor stopping them from proceeding with the plan. Several reasons refrained me from accepting his idea. First, I couldn’t believe such an idea coming from someone I looked with high esteem, second, I could have been in bad books if I opposed his decision, and last, this was his business and he calls the shots.

I felt like I made a selfish decision. I was more concerned with my own safety. The submission brought the company to a huge discredit when the sponsor requested the company to submit the Tax-clearance PIN (a new method introduced by SARS to verify the originality of the document submitted). I knew very well that the business owner needed that contract to fix the company’s financial status. I know he was a goal-getter and his intentions were correct but the method wasn’t.

I have learned that some work situations will put strong pressure on staff to behave unethically and in having the interest of the company above staff’s beliefs. I have no regrets about the decision that I took and under identical circumstances, I would not hesitate to make an identical decision.