An ethical dilemma is a complex situation that often involves an

apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to

obey one would result in transgressing another. Sometimes called
ethical paradoxes in moral philosophy, ethical dilemmas are often
invoked in an attempt to refute an ethical system or moral code,
or to improve it so as to resolve the paradox.
dilemmas are situations or problems where a person has to make
a difficult choice; an ethical dilemma is a problem where a person
has to choose between a moral and an immoral act. Employees
must deal with pressures to perform and help the company
succeed as well as personal temptations to take the easy way
out. In the end, workers will likely face many dilemmas in their
careers; companies should provide training and information to
assist them in making the right decision.
There are three conditions that must be present for a
situation to be considered an ethical dilemma. The first
condition occurs in situations when an individual, called
the agent, must make a decision about which course of
action is best. Situations that are uncomfortable but that
dont require a choice, are not ethical dilemmas. For
example, students in their internships are required to be
under the supervision of an appropriately credentialed
social work field instructor. Therefore, because there is no
choice in the matter, there is no ethical violation or
breach of confidentiality when a student discusses a case
with the supervisor. The second condition for ethical
dilemma is that there must be different courses of action
to choose from. Third, in an ethical dilemma, no matter
what course of action is taken, some ethical principle is

compromised. In other words, there is no perfect

solution.
In determining what constitutes an ethical dilemma, it
is necessary to make a distinction between ethics, values,
morals, and laws and policies. Ethics are prepositional
statements (standards) that are used by members of a
profession or group to determine what the right course of
action in a situation is. Ethics rely on logical and rational
criteria to reach a decision, an essentially cognitive
process (Congress, 1999; Dolgoff, Loewenberg, &
Harrington, 2009; Reamer, 1995; Robison & Reeser,
2002). Values, on the other hand, describe ideas that we
value or prize. To value something means that we hold it
dear and feel it has worth to us. As such, there is often a
feeling or affective component associated with values
(Allen & Friedman, 2010). Often, values are ideas that we
aspire to achieve, like equality and social justice. Morals
describe a behavioral code of conduct to which an
individual ascribes. They are used to negotiate, support,
and strengthen our relationships with others (Dolgoff,
Loewenberg, & Harrington, 2009).
Finally, laws and agency policies are often involved in
complex cases, and social workers are often legally
obligated to take a particular course of action. Standard
1.07j of the Code of Ethics (NASW, 1996) recognizes that
legal obligations may require social workers to share
confidential information (such as in cases of reporting
child abuse) but requires that we protect confidentiality
to the extent permitted by law. Although our profession
ultimately recognizes the rule of law, we are also
obligated to work to change unfair and discriminatory

laws. There is considerably less recognition of the

supremacy of agency policy in the Code, and Ethical
Standard 3.09d states that we must not allow agency
policies to interfere with our ethical practice of social
work.
It is also essential that the distinction be made
between personal and professional ethics and values
(Congress, 1999; Wilshere, 1997). Conflicts between
personal and professional values should not be
considered ethical dilemmas for a number of reasons.
Because values involve feelings and are personal, the
rational process used for resolving ethical dilemmas
cannot be applied to values conflicts. Further, when an
individual elects to become a member of a profession, he
or she is agreeing to comply with the standards of the
profession, including its Code of Ethics and values.
Recent court cases have supported a professions right to
expect its members to adhere to professional values and
ethics. (See, for example, the Jennifer Keeton case at
Augusta State University and the Julea Ward case at
Eastern Michigan University.) The Council on Social Work
Education states that students should recognize and
manage personal values in a way that allows professional
values to guide practice (EPAS 1.1). Therefore, although
they can be difficult and uncomfortable, conflicts
involving personal values should not be considered
ethical dilemmas.
Two Types of Dilemmas
An absolute or pure ethical dilemma only occurs
when two (or more) ethical standards apply to a situation
but are in conflict with each other. For example, a social

worker in a rural community with limited mental health

care services is consulted on a client with agoraphobia,
an anxiety disorder involving a fear of open and public
spaces. Although this problem is outside of the clinicians
general competence, the limited options for treatment,
coupled with the client`s discomfort in being too far from
home, would likely mean the client might not receive any
services if the clinician declined on the basis of a lack of
competence (Ethical Standard 1.04). Denying to see the
patient then would be potentially in conflict with our
commitment to promote the well-being of clients (Ethical
Standard 1.01). This is a pure ethical dilemma because
two ethical standards conflict. It can be resolved by
looking at Ethical Standard 4.01, which states that social
workers should only accept employment (or in this case,
a client) on the basis of existing competence or with the
intention to acquire the necessary competence. The
social worker can accept the case, discussing the present
limits of her expertise with the client and following
through on her obligation to seek training or supervision
in this area.
However, there are some complicated situations that
require a decision but may also involve conflicts between
values, laws, and policies. Although these are not
absolute ethical dilemmas, we can think of them as
approximate dilemmas. For example, an approximate
dilemma occurs when a social worker is legally obligated
to make a report of child or domestic abuse and has
concerns about the releasing of information. The social
worker may experience tension between the legal
requirement to report and the desire to respect
confidentiality. However, because the NASW Code of

Ethics acknowledges our obligation to follow legal

requirements and to intervene to protect the vulnerable,
technically, there is no absolute ethical dilemma present.
However, the social worker experiences this as a dilemma
of some kind and needs to reach some kind of resolution.
Breaking the situation down and identifying the ethics,
morals, values, legal issues, and policies involved as well
as distinguishing between personal and professional
dimensions can help with the decision-making process in
approximate dilemmas. Table 1 (at beginning of this
article) is an illustration of how these factors might be
considered.
Reasons

Pressure can drive people to do things they wouldnt

normally do. Pressure to succeed, pressure to get ahead,
pressure to meet deadlines and expectations, pressure from
co-workers, bosses, customers, or vendors to engage in
unethical activities or at least look the other way.

Some people make unethical choices because they are not

sure about what really is the right thing to do. Often, ethical
problems are complicated, and the proper choice may be far
from obvious.

Of course, some people do not just do something wrong in

a weak moment or because they are not sure about what is
the right thing to do. Some people know exactly what they
are doing and why. Self-interest, personal gain, ambition,
and downright greed are at the bottom of a lot of unethical
activity in business.

Misguided loyalty is another reason for unethical conduct

on the job. People sometimes lie because they think in doing

so they are being loyal to the organization or to their bosses.

Examples of this type of behavior are not hard to find. For
example, managers at automobile companies who hide or
falsify information about defects that later cause accidents
and kill people or managers at pharmaceutical companies
who hide information about dangerous side effects of their
drugs. No doubt these managers believed they were
protecting their employers. They may well have seen
themselves as good, loyal employees.

Then there are those who simply never learned or do not

care about ethical values. Since they have no personal
ethical values, they do not have any basis for understanding
or applying ethical standards in business. These people do
not think about right and wrong. They only think, "Whats in it
for me?" and "Can I get away with it?"
Pressure from Management
Each company's culture is different, but some
companies stress profits and results above all else. In
these environments, management may turn a blind
eye to ethical breaches if a worker produces results,
given the firm's mentality of "the end justifies the
means." Whistle-blowers may be reluctant to come
forward for fear of being regarded as untrustworthy
and not a team player. Therefore, ethical dilemmas
can arise when people feel pressured to do immoral
things to please their bosses or when they feel that
they can't point out their coworkers' or superiors' bad
behaviors.
Ambition and Discrimination
Individual workers may be under financial pressure or
simply hunger for recognition. If they can't get the
rewards they seek through accepted channels, they

may be desperate enough to do something unethical,

such as falsifying numbers or taking credit for
another person's work to get ahead.
Though diversity is an important part of business,
some people may not be comfortable with people
from different backgrounds and possibly be reluctant
to treat them fairly. This kind of discrimination is not
only unethical but illegal and still remains common.
Related Reading: How to Address Differences in
Ethical Standards and International Businesses
Negotiation Tactics
While these factors can cause ethical dilemmas for
workers within their own companies, doing business
with other firms can also present opportunities for
breaches. Pressure to get the very best deal or price
from another business can cause some workers to
negotiate in bad faith or lie to get a concession.
Negotiators may also try to bribe their way to a good
deal. While this is illegal in the U.S., it still sometimes
happens; in other nations, it is more common, and
sometimes even expected, which can put negotiators
in a difficult position.
Solutions
These ethical dilemmas can be difficult for workers to
grapple with, especially if they don't know what the
company's official guidelines are. Therefore, it is in
an organization's best interest to provide ethical
training to its employees, to help them identify
unethical behavior and give them tools with which to
comply. Every company should have an ethical policy
that spells out its penalties for infractions. Moreover,
management must lead by example, showing that
the company takes ethics seriously and that violators
will be punished according to the organization's

policies, including possible suspension or

termination.
Factors that Promote Unethical Behavior

The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim, [1]

ethical code or morality [2] that essentially states either
of the following (source: Wikipedia):

One should treat others as one would like others to

treat oneself.

One should not treat others in ways that one would not
like to be treated.

Factors that lead to breaking the Golden Rule in business

include (Source: Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to
Know):

Pressure corporate culture pressure resulting from the

inability to live up to commitments, financial forecasts or
expectations. Often leads to desperate actions.
Pleasure when a person focuses on getting something
for oneself; leads to greed and giving in to temptations.
Power many scandals have occurred because
executives have abused their power and lost sight of
reality.
Pride results from a competitive nature and often an
overinflated view of ones self worth or not wanting to be
uncomfortable.
Priorities not knowing and understanding priorities leads
to trouble, poor decisions and often to unethical behavior.
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