I'm not sure how to go about doing this. I feel like it's an easy question but im thinking to far into it. I want to say that Davis would be the first person to be let off & Carter would be the last person to be let off. I'm not sure what order the rest would be in though. I need some opinions. The problem is stated below.
Ethics Exercise #1 - The 5 Employees Problem
Assume that you are the manager of a division of a dot com. You have five employees who work for you. All of them do the same kind of work. Because of possible downgrades in the market, you must rank the employees in terms of the order in which they should be discharged from the organization if discharges become necessary. Each of the five exceeds the minimum standards of competency for the job in question and they all are about equally competent at their work except as mentioned below. None of the five has a contract of employment. All of them would find it somewhat difficult to find work that pays comparably because of the currently tight labor market. For the purposes of this exercise, please do not consider the any legal issues that you may think relevant.
ANDREWS is 45 years old and has been with the organization since its inception. He is married and has one child who is in the Navy. His options are vested and if he is discharged, he will receive a large sum of money that will allow him to get along financially for a year or two. Because of his age, however, it would be especially difficult for Andrews to find a new job that pays comparably.
BROWN, age 22 and single, has been with the company for six months. When she first joined your company, she told you that she had a job opportunity with another organization that she was considering because she was concerned about possible future budget cutbacks within your organization. At that time you told Brown not to worry, and promised to keep her as an employee for at least two years. The job that Brown passed up is no longer available to her.
CARTER, who is 28 years old, has been with the organization for two years. Because of illness in his family, he is in a very difficult financial position, and it is expected his financial difficulties will continue for some time into the future. He is currently working a second job in order to make ends meet.
DAVIS, age 28, has worked for your organization for one year. She is demonstrably the most competent and productive of the five employees. Thus, she would have the easiest time finding comparable employment. She is married, has no children, and her husband is a physician.
EDWARDS is a black female, age 28, and single. She has worked for the organization for two years. She was raised in poverty in the rural south and has dedicated her life to developing a successful career for herself. She contributes half of her take home pay to the support of her parents, who are elderly and poor. If discharged from her job, she will have difficulty making ends meet until she finds new work.
Question 1 – I what order would you lay off the employees?
Question 2 – Explain which ethical theory best overlaps the decision-making process you’ve incorporated.
Question 3 – How could you establish a corporate policy that would reduce the subjectivity of this decision-making process?
Since all of these employees are doing their jobs well, I think the only fair way to rank their layoffs is by seniority. Thus, Brown should be the first to be laid off and Andrews the last.
If both Edwards and Carter started on the same date, you have to use your judgment about who goes first.