Professional workplace dilemma paper essay

Over the course of the past 2 to 3 years while attending University of Phoenix, I have been faced with a variety of dilemma and values conflicts. Some of these conflicts occurred in the workplace and some in the school environment. This paper will focus on a specific scenario that occurred while employed at a small privately owned vocational business school in Burbank, California.

While working for this school I filled many roles, but in this particular scenario my role was Director of Education. This school primarily served students going through the Vocational Rehabilitation process under the Workers Compensation system. Although the types and personality of students widely varied, the environment for the most part was harmonious. In this instance, we had a student, Bob, who was unhappy with his teachers. During his course at the school, Bob had told us many stories about his history.

One story was that he was a CIA agent and the government would not even admit he existed. Another was that he was some sort of military expert in the Vietnam War. The stories just went on and on. Obviously we were aware that we were dealing with someone who wasn’t completely with it, but so far we had no problems with him and he was doing anything wrong so we just continued to teach him how to use the computer and listen to his stories. One morning Bob approached me and asked if we could meet to discuss his problems with the instructors.

I immediately scheduled a time to meet with him so we could sit down and talk. During the meeting Bob express dissatisfaction with the instructors rules. As we talked I realized that the rules he had an issue with were, in reality, the school’s policies and procedures with respect to attendance and grading. His contention was that the instructors were discriminating against him because he was a Veteran. After much discussion with Bob, his Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Marty and his instructors it was determined that he was being held to the same standards and rules as every other student. Ethical Issue Bob was dissatisfied with my resolution to his concerns and quickly became angry. The next day one of the students came to me and expressed concern for my safety because the previous day she witnessed Bob stating that he knew how to take care of the problem here and pointed at my back as in shooting a gun and clicked.

He was also heard telling some students that he was going to ‘ get’ the teachers in question. I immediately brought these issues to the attention of the school owner and Director, Susan. Susan and I had a difference of opinion on how to handle this situation. Susan felt that we should wait it out and see how he acts the next day. She did not feel there was any need for worry as of yet. I, on the other hand, having a closer relationship with the students and knowing the Bob’s personality definitely felt that he was serious and a real viable threat to the safety of all concerned.

Ethical Dilemma So the dilemma we were faced with was do we drop Bob from the school and inform him that he cannot return, notify the police and/or close the school for a few days until Bob is no longer angry. Susan, as the owner of the school, had the final say in the situation. The ethics in question involved the responsibility of the school to ensure the safety of its employees and students. The personal values in conflict, in my opinion, were money and relationships.

As an instructor and the primary liaison for the students, I had built personal relationships with many of the students and genuinely cared for each of them and their safety. Susan was in this business to make money and closing the school for a few days or dropping Bob from the program would indeed make her lose some money. We understood that the outcome of this situation could be one of two. Bob could be just talking and not mean anything he was saying or he could be serious and planning to attack and/or harm some of the staff members.

In either case the atmosphere at the school was stresses and emotions were running pretty high. Susan decided that there was no real potential threat and to allow Bob to continue at the school. Although I disagreed with this decision and new the possible consequences for all concerned could be costly, she was in control so I had to defer to her decision. Outcome Two days later Bob again expressed his anger at the faculty and school rules and informed me that he could make this place a big ‘ hole in the ground’ if he chose. I again brought this to Susan’s attention and this time she took the threat seriously, contacted the police, and dropped Bob from the school. For several weeks we kept the school doors locked at all times, hired an armed security guard to ensure Bob did not come around and filed a restraining order against him. Based on what I have learned at the University of Phoenix over the last several years I am not sure that I would have changed how I handled the situation, however, I do now have a better understanding of employee’s rights.

The Department of Labor is a government entity that functions as an advocate for the welfare of the employees and retirees of the United States. One of the goals of this department is to improve the working conditions for employees. The Department administers the Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.

(Bennett-Alexander, 2004) In this scenario, Susan did not make her decisions based on the safety of her employees and therefore, in my opinion, violated our rights to a safe work environment. Another thing that I have learned during my time at the University of Phoenix is the critical thinking process. ReferencesBennett-Alexander, D. D. and Hartman, L. P. (2004) Employment Law for Business (4th ed.

) New York, NY. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Colander, D. C. (2004). Economics, Chapters 1, 3, 4 & 5.

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