Environment and whistle blowing

The Organization’s Disregard for Conservation Regulations

The organization for which Chantale operates, Avco Inc., disregards conservation regulations designed to protect the local climate. The organization appears to be depositing hazardous medical wastes in the nearby urban dump. Despite revealing the toxic waste materials confidentially with her peers and supervisors, Chantale receives no support for resolving the problem. In reality, the case jeopardizes her job security. She is left with one option, which is to contact her local friend journalist and open up on the issue.

Applicable Business Concepts

Applicable business concepts: Professional corporate business practices demand that the management protects not only shareholders but also the environment and the society in executing their decisions. Such demand is expressed in the need for doing sustainable business that does not come at the expense of social and environmental welfare. Whistleblowing is an example of how a worker can help keep the company in check on this requirement by invoking external pressure and influence on company decisions.

Answers to Questions

Chantelle has two remaining options. Firstly, she can decide to approach and consult the highest-level management, probably the CEO, which would be a risky gamble, as it might cost her the job if the supervisors view the actions as jumping the line of command and undermining their positions. Secondly, the employee has the option of blow whistling. She can assemble adequate and profound evidence, which she can leak out to the journalists. Following such path is the most ethical way of keeping the society informed on critical issues that affect their welfare. The move will shift the role of decision-making to the society. Also, the move will provide the affected community with the necessary information to make decisions that are crucial to their wellbeing and decision-making. Deciding to keep quiet on the matter will be unethical on the side of Chantale, as it goes against desirable morals as defined by the society. As Schilizi (2000) states, the company can be viewed as part of the entire community deriving resources from the municipality even as the society enjoys the products and services offered.

Limits on Loyalty to an Employer

The reasonable limits on loyalty to an employer entail not divulging crucial trade secrets that may empower competitors. Also, such limits involve performing one’s job duties to the best of one’s ability and treating manager and executives with the level of respect that conforms to their level of positions. Demanding anything beyond what is reasonable by the management amounts to demanding personal contributions. In this case, requiring that Chantale keep quiet on the matter, which is consequential to the social environment amounts to requiring that she shuns her commitment to her people. Therefore, Chantale is right to exercise her conscience without appearing to go against the reasonable duty she swore to her employer. In particular, divulging the information to the outside world will not contradict any of her obligations to Avco, especially since the information is not a crucial trading advantage that competitors might copy.

Avco’s Position and Role in Society

The decision would not change whether Chantale had a position of more authority or whether she had expertise in scientific matters. Such understanding is because of the position and role that Avco plays in the society. The society that runs Avco is a smaller community within a broader community and thus subject to the rules and regulations imposed by the broader community. The situation means the views expressed by the regulatory and legal structures supersede any decisions made by an individual in any rank within the business. Besides, research professionals are bound by professional codes of conduct that do not permit them to get involved in activities that are deemed immoral or unethical. There is simply no defense on the part of the Avco concerning the charges to be placed on it. Thus, it is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to address the matter.

Ethical and Legal Solutions for Avco

The best that Avco’s management can do is to make things ethical and legal by complying with the right procedures. The administration should cease disposing toxic waste material in the municipal landfill with immediate effect. Additionally, where possible, the management should attempt to rehabilitate the land to the extent that it has caused undesired damage. Finally, it would be in the best interest of the administration to integrate social responsibility programs within its strategic plans as a means of enhancing Avco’s integration and acceptance into the society. Taking such an approach will ultimately ensure that the company achieves adequate recognition despite its small size, which is a better approach to competing with larger companies. Failure to comply with the environmental rules and regulations can be detrimental as it can result in punitive penalties awarded by the community through legal structures or liquidation in the extreme.

Reference

Schilizi, S. G. (2000). The economics of ethical behavior and environmental management. 4th

Annual Conference of the AARES. Retrieved from https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/123729/2/Schilizzi.pdf