Art is a devoted employee who has performed admirably during his time at Youngstown Community College. He has made improvements to the faculty, including his participation in the development of the non-transfer professional accounting program. However, it is time for him to retire, and the faculty is in need of a replacement. David, a former Art student and current lab tutor, appears to be the ideal replacement among all department staff. He has brought the accounting lab to life, connects well with the students, is an exceptional instructor, and the faculty regards him as an important component of the department. David holds an associate’s degree from Youngstown and a bachelor’s from State University, and currently pursuing his MBA in accounting. According to the case study, David and Evan -the College of Business Dean- have become good friends. During the committee to find art replacement, Evan is pushing for David as the perfect replacement, despite failing to hold one of the qualifications – a master’s degree, an action Mary objects.
The Ethical Issue
The ethical issue here is that even though David is a great professional and a valuable member of the faculty, he is cannot justly be recruited to replace Art since the position requires a master’s degree; David holds a bachelor’s degree and not yet through with his master’s degree. Without a master’s degree, David is unqualified to teach in the professional/technical program. Even with this knowledge, Evan is pushing to have David selected as the replacement because he relates well with the student, knows everything about the college, well-liked by the faculty, but above all, David is Evan’s friend.
Evan’s Behavior
Even is in a position of leadership: He is the dean of the College of Business. However, it is unethical of him to manipulate Mary to hire David to replace Art. Even though Evan has all the social qualities and advantages to replace Art, he is not qualified. Being a member of the hiring committee, and the chairman, he is above the rest of the committee because he is the one that will eventually recommend a replacement for Art. Evan knows that the procedure of replacing faculty but he is seemingly bending the rules to ensure that his friend David gets the position.
Mary’s Possible Courses of Action
There are several frameworks for analyzing and finding solutions to ethical dilemmas. In this dimension, hiring David as Art’s replacement seems ethical yet illegal. Even though it is illegal to hire David since he is underqualified, it justifiable because he well-liked by all members, and has brought the accounting lab to life, relates well with the students, and is liked by every member of the faculty. Moreover, he is attaining his master’s degree in a year. The bottom line is, David is unqualified.
On the one hand, Mary can adopt the consequential theory, egoism, which promotes the morality of an action by its long-term interest (Arjoon, 2017). Mary may decide to give into Evan’s demands and hire David, not because he is his friend, but because of his achievements at the faculty, and the fact that in a year, he will have his master’s degree. The advantage of the decision is that Mary will maintain the existing harmony, and will not disrupt David’s contribution to the faculty. However, the problem with this decision is that it is against the institution’s law and breaking the code of conduct is unethical.
On the other hand, Mary can take the principle of Prima Facie Duties, and judge the morality of the decision as to whether or not it fulfills her duties as a member of the hiring committee (Schermerhorn, 2009). In this case, it does not: Mary is supposed to uphold the institution's moral code of conduct and promote the just process of hiring faculty. Mary could decide to report the matter to the institution’s board, who will most likely disapprove Evan’s decision to hire an unqualified faculty. However, the process could destroy the relationship she has with the faculty and the dean. Moreover, finding a replacement may not be as easy as hiring David.
References
Arjoon, S. (2017). Virtues, Compliance, and Integrity: A Corporate Governance Perspective. Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management, 995-1002.
Schermerhorn Jr, J. R. (2009). Exploring management (pg. 64-66). John Wiley & Sons.
