Workplace Discrimination: The Ethical Insights

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Various aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability (CSR) have been addressed in this module, and I can state that my knowledge of the subject has become much more profound now. In particular, I have learned about business commitments involved in defining the concept of corporate social responsibility, as well as the specifics of the implementation of CSR. As a part of this module, I also studied the specifics of implementing CSR practices in relation to the company’s image, reputation, profitability, and welfare of all stakeholders and consumers. Discussion forums have also helped me greatly to memorise information better and reach deep learning, as I was able to communicate with my peers and enhance my understanding of the topics studied in the course. This report will present a reflection on and evaluation of my learning experience, identifying several areas for improvement.

One example that can be used to analyse my learning process is a report posted on the topic of Moral VS the Business case of CSR. In this report, I have demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Carroll’s CSR pyramid, which consists of four interconnected elements: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic duties. I then applied these aspects of the pyramid to my analysis of two major pharmaceutical industry companies, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The knowledge acquired in this module has allowed me to view the companies’ activities from the perspective of sustainability and social responsibility efforts. I was able to evaluate the organisations’ CSR integration and conclude that specific and consistent goals play a significant role in the company’s ability to perform its operations according to CSR and sustainability standards.

Another factor that greatly contributed to my learning process was an engagement in the forum. As my classmates and I discussed ethical issues that can occur in the organisational context, I learned more about the ways to identify factors that can cause ethical and moral problems. In addition, I have learned about the importance of a consistent moral attitude in organisations and the relation between business ethics and equal rights, respect, and honesty among workers. Comments from my fellow students have also helped me to view the subject from different perspectives. For example, I was able to identify different benefits of maintaining ethical practices at the workplace, such as improved collaboration, increased employee retention and professional value, increased job satisfaction, and more effective leadership (Carroll, Brown and Buchholtz, 2017). I have also gained perspective on the topics of ethical issues currently covered in the media. These include impartiality, objectivity, privacy, bias, and public interest.

In conclusion, I can state that I am satisfied with my learning outcomes in this module. I would like to continue building on my competency in relation to business ethics and moral and ethical issues in organisations. I plan to maintain my personal and professional learning in order to ensure that I will be able to face professional challenges and handle them successfully. In addition, I have identified several areas for improvement; first, I would like to improve my skills in terms of self-directed learning and decision-making. Finally, I would like to improve my time-management skills to increase the efficiency of my studying sessions. To do that, I will plan ahead by creating to-do lists, establishing time routines, and using set breaks to avoid random distractions.

Introduction

Despite the fact that anti-discrimination laws have been introduced in many countries across the globe, discrimination in the workplace still remains one of the ethical issues, and the healthcare delivery system is not an exception. In the organisational context, discrimination can be manifested in a variety of ways and forms, such as dismissal, payment and benefits, recruitment, promotion, training, transfer opportunities, and work conditions. A large body of literature has discussed various causes and effects of discrimination in the workplace. Thus, studies have shown that more than 35% of adults in the UK state that they have been subject to workplace discrimination or continue experiencing it (Woodhead et al., 2021). In this paper, a case study will be developed that will describe and analyse a specific ethical situation related to workplace discrimination, and the ethical decision-making model will be used to address the given issue.

Ethical Issue in the Context

Workplace discrimination in the organisational setting is related to several aspects of a company’s performance, such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainability, and business ethics. Some forms of discrimination include those based on the existing bias related to race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Workplace discrimination cases constitute a CSR problem because addressing and eliminating them requires corporate governance and reputation management (Pak, Furunes and De Lange, 2022). By implementing effective corporate responsibility practices and programs, organisations can increase employee morale and engagement, developing their sense of belonging and maintaining a favourable business environment.

Discrimination is also related to sustainability, as companies’ ability to achieve their sustainable development goals is defined by the role they assign to human rights and the working conditions they create. To ensure that all development efforts are timely and effective, companies have to consider the needs of all people, regardless of their race, gender, or age. In turn, sustainable development policies introduced in the organisations can allow tackling discrimination issues, such as inequality, implicit stereotyping, harassment, and victimisation.

As a business ethics issue, discrimination affects all areas of organisational development. In addition to creating ill feelings among workers and reducing job satisfaction, it has a highly negative impact on the companies’ productivity levels. There are laws and regulations that govern business ethics and dictate standards of ethical conduct. Regulatory constructs that exist in the UK focus on prioritising diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as well as performing all business operations in a fair and transparent manner (‌Woodhead et al., 2021). Business ethics are an integral part of the corporate social responsibility framework, which defines the ways in which organisations work to support and help achieve broader societal goals.

Despite the regulations that currently exist, many employees still experience discrimination at their place of work. Studies have reported that age discrimination is the most frequent type, “with more than 1 in 10 adults in the UK suggesting their age has been a factor in not getting jobs they’ve applied for” (CIPHR, 2021, para. 4). Gender inequality in the UK is manifested in the fact that there is still a “lack of senior roles for women” in many industries (‌Woodhead et al., 2021, p. 9). Eliminating these issues in all spheres of modern life is a task of significant importance. It is particularly crucial to address all existing and potential discrimination cases in healthcare to build and sustain the medical workforce of the future.

Description of the Ethical Issue

An ethical issue that occurred at my place of work and is going to be discussed in the present case study was caused by implicit gender bias. The subject of the discriminatory attitudes is my colleague and friend, a 39-year-old female doctor who shares her office and administrative authority with a male doctor. Both the female and male colleagues work in the position of the vice of the head doctor, but my friend claims she and her male colleague often experience different treatment. For example, when members of hospital personnel come into their office to discuss procedures and treatment plans or to sign documents, they tend to talk to the male doctor, in spite of the fact that it is much easier to contact my friend, as her desk is closer to the entrance. In addition, she said that the male doctor himself often treated her in a derogatory manner, asking and ordering her to do tasks that were not part of her job. Although I was not directly involved in the situation, I played a certain role in its resolution. My main contribution was helping my friend address the hospital management and take steps to raise awareness about the issue.

Stakeholders’ Analysis

It can be suggested that the main stakeholders in the given case are my friend, her male colleague, medical personnel, and the management of the hospital. My friend is affected as a representative of the segment of hospital employees who experience gender-related and other types of discrimination. The male doctor working with her represents individuals who demonstrate discriminatory behaviours at the workplace. He is also affected by this case because approaching him to discuss the issue was among the steps designed to solve it. Medical personnel working in the hospital is another group of stakeholders involved, and similar to the male doctor, they are mainly affected because they represent the population of people that either consciously or unconsciously tend to show bias. Finally, hospital management acts as a stakeholder as well, as it is in charge of policies and measures that address and minimise ethical issues. Therefore, hospital managers can use their position to increase the general understanding of ethical behaviours among medical staff. The rules and standards they adopt can allow for regulating ethical conduct and ensure that all professionals are treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, age, or religion.

Employing Moral Imagination to Understand Alternatives

Two moral philosophies and ethical theories were implemented to address the issue from the present case study. The first philosophy considered was the utilitarian view on ethical issues, which suggests that all actions should be guided by the goal of achieving the greatest good for the largest number of people. As one of the forms of consequentialism, utilitarianism places a significant emphasis on the outcomes of human activities and behaviours. The importance of the utilitarian theory used in this case is defined by the fact that it promotes equality by equal consideration of the interests of all the stakeholders involved. Within the frameworks developed in the context of utilitarianism, identical benefits are promoted by rejecting the existence of any arbitrary distinctions between beneficiaries. In the given case, the female doctor deserved the same treatment and attention as the male doctor. In turn, the main favourable outcome was defined as the hospital management’s and personnel’s willingness to recognise that all professionals need to be treated in the same respectful manner. Another anticipated outcome was the change in medical personnel’s view of professionalism; all employees were expected to realise that female professional are no less qualified than male professionals.

Another ethical theory and philosophy used to address the issue in this case study are the ethics of care, sometimes also referred to as Care Ethics. This theory was developed from the early works on feminism, a movement that promotes equal rights between men and women. At the core of the ethics of care theory is the idea that marginalised members of society have to be treated with care and empathy. While views differ on whether women can be considered a marginalised segment of the population in the modern world, there are cases in many communities around the world that prove that they still experience discrimination. This case study and other works done on the topic demonstrate that gender-based discrimination remains to be an issue in many professional settings, even in developed countries. Therefore, the importance of the Care Ethics theory for this case is due to its ability to provide a wide range of resources on gender and sexuality. In addition, it allows gaining a more profound insight into the issue of gender-based discrimination at the workplace by connecting it to previous works and knowledge of feminist theories.

Factors Influencing the Ethical Decision Making

Several factors have had an impact on the ethical decision-making process involved in this case. First, the stakeholders were considered, and their stake was analysed to evaluate the scope of the problem by understanding the number of people it affects. The stakeholder analysis has allowed the conclusion that the side most affected in this situation was the female doctor, as she was the object of discriminatory treatment. Some staff members may not have even realised that their choice to contact the male doctor affected their female colleague. However, this unconscious bias and discriminatory attitude can have a serious negative effect on an individual experiencing it. Their self-esteem decreases, leading to constant self-doubt, low motivation, and job dissatisfaction.

Another factor considered in the ethical decision-making process was connected to the wider population represented by the object of discrimination. It can be argued that the female doctor involved in this case study is not a rare example of female professionals currently facing challenges related to gender-based bias. This fact was taken into consideration and determined the choice of ethical and moral theories in this case study. Both the utilitarian and care ethics theory help to address a particular issue or situation in a broader context, considering the possibilities to ensure the greater good for the largest majority of discriminated professionals.

The third important factor considered in relation to the given case was the question of whether there were any other possible reasons for the female doctor to be discriminated against, such as a lack of qualifications. To ensure that the medical personnel’s discriminatory attitudes were caused by implicit bias, it had to be confirmed that there were no other causes for them to behave in that manner. Therefore, the female doctor’s skills were evaluated, showing a high level of professionalism and well-developed personal qualities, such as considerate attention to detail, willingness to help her colleagues and subordinates, friendliness, and empathy.

Outcome

The decision made to address the case issue involved approaching hospital management with a request to implement policies that aim to prevent gender-based bias in the workplace. My colleague and I have contacted hospital managers, suggesting a number of strategies to eliminate discriminatory attitudes in the organisational setting. It was decided that regular discussions would be held among the members of medical personnel that would focus on the issues of discrimination and bias. The importance of inclusion and diversity in healthcare would also be regularly discussed in these sessions and events. I have supported this decision as it can be an effective way to raise personnel’s awareness about implicit bias and discrimination.

Reflection on Personal Experience

This case study exercise has provided me with several important insights related to the situation discussed. First, I have realised that such serious issues as discrimination and bias can often remain unnoticed or underestimated for a long time before they are addressed by the organisation’s management. This can arguably be due to the fact that individuals who become subjects of discrimination may often feel powerless and doubtful and are, therefore, unable to voice their concerns or discuss the challenges they face. It is, therefore, essential to establish an organisational culture that emphasises inclusion and equality among the employees.

Based on the analysis presented above, I will handle similar situations in the future in a timely and consistent manner. I believe that it is crucial to address these issues as early as possible to ensure that they will not lead to other complications and affect more people within the organisation or outside it. I will also encourage individuals who experience discrimination in the workplace not to be silent about their challenges and seek help from their colleagues and hospital management.

In case I was involved in a similar situation again, I would behave in the same manner, trying to be even more engaged in the development of the new anti-discrimination policies. Contrary to this case, however, I would probably insist on making certain policies and practices mandatory. These could include, for instance, informing hospital management about unethical and unprofessional discriminatory practices and situations, even if the image of the person reporting them is somehow jeopardised by that. I would also make an effort to promote the strategy that focuses on raising awareness not only among health professionals but also their patients, who regularly have to interact with the medical personnel of the hospital.

Recommendations

Several recommendations can be suggested in relation to the case study discussed and similar situations that can potentially occur again in the future. First, to allow for the anti-discriminatory policies introduced by the government to work efficiently, it is necessary to educate senior leadership about inclusion challenges that can arise in organisations (Hebl, Madera and Morgan, 2019). Hospital managers and senior leadership have to be aware of the legal issues and regulations related to gender discrimination (Roberson, King and Hebl, 2020). Training should be provided that emphasises the importance of gender equality, diversity of ideas, and inclusion. Moreover, it has to include clear and consistent guidelines on various ways in which employees can comment on or report unethical behaviours they have experienced or witnessed.

In addition, it can be recommended that hospitals and other organisations should conduct critical evaluations of the work assignment process to ensure that work is distributed among employees in a fair and equitable manner. As the case presented here has demonstrated, workers without sufficient professional interpersonal and ethical training can sometimes use their authority to assign tasks incorrectly or inefficiently. To prevent these problems from happening in the future, senior managers have to use time and resources to educate healthcare workers about the importance of fair work assignment distribution.

Performing daily operations and practices in a transparent and honest way is another recommendation that can be suggested in terms of gender-related and other types of discrimination in the workplace. If an organisation aims to be transparent and open to its customers and clients, it will place more focus on developing a strong system of ethical regulations and standards for its employees (Roberson, King and Hebl, 2020). Moreover, communicating openly with the workers themselves will help to establish a favourable work environment where all employees feel that their voices and opinions matter.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that, despite the progress made in fighting discrimination and bias, these issues still exist in many workplaces. This case study has analysed a particular situation from my personal experience, based on gender-based discrimination in the healthcare organisation. It has been identified that the situation involved unconscious bias, and the main stakeholders involved were two doctors, medical personnel, and senior management of the hospital. The extent to which the stakeholders were affected varied; however, the individual affected most was the subject of discrimination. The decision-making process has been based on two moral philosophy theories: utilitarianism and care ethics. The implementation of the strategy that used these theories has resulted in the introduction of special discussion sessions held for the hospital employees and senior management designed to address the topics related to discrimination. Several recommendations have also been made to prevent similar issues from occurring again in the future. These include educating senior management and medical personnel about the importance of ethical behaviours, evaluating work assignment distribution, and being transparent to the organisation’s clients and employees.

Reference List

Carroll, A.B., Brown, J.A. and Buchholtz, A.K. (2017). Business & society: ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. 10th ed. Boston, Ma: Cengage Learning.

CIPHR (2021). Workplace Discrimination in 2021 – UK Statistics and Figures. [online] CIPHR. Web.

Hebl, M., Madera, J. and Morgan, W. (2019). Special Issue on Reducing Discrimination in the Workplace: An Introduction. Personnel Assessment and Decisions, 5(2).

Pak, K., Furunes, T. and De Lange, A.H. (2022). Age Discrimination and Employability in Healthcare Work: A Double-Edged Sword for Older Workers? Sustainability, [online] 14(9), p.5385.

Roberson, Q., King, E. and Hebl, M. (2020). Designing more effective practices for reducing workplace inequality. Behavioral Science & Policy, [online] 6(1), pp.39–49.

‌Woodhead, C., Onwumere, J., Rhead, R., Bora-White, M., Chui, Z., Clifford, N., Connor, L., Gunasinghe, C., Harwood, H., Meriez, P., Mir, G., Jones Nielsen, J., Rafferty, A.M., Stanley, N., Peprah, D. and Hatch, S.L. (2021). Race, ethnicity and COVID-19 vaccination: a qualitative study of UK healthcare staff. Ethnicity & Health, [online] pp.1–20.

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