Taking a Stand

Regardless of the best interests in the workplace, leaders experience ethical dilemmas that require them to take a stand. The moral reality is evident in all organizations irrespective of their size or sector in which they operate. Leaders face the challenge of acting as moral agents in solving problems to prevent issues from escalating (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016). Furthermore, they make decisions that affect employees working under their influence. The responsibility emerges from the claim that leadership is a moral activity due to the relationships between the head and the followers. Although leadership is critical in organizational contexts, some experiences have greater demands than others (Johnson, 2017). As an artisan, I would be expected to take a friend’s request to supply medical materials to our hospital at the expense of a more suitable supplier concerning quality and cost. Although friendship is important to achieve my objectives, my obligation as a professional is to choose the most ethical stand to procure services from qualified suppliers.

Leadership Style

My leadership style according to Keirsey Temperament Sorter is an artisan. Artisans experience major ethical challenges as they tend to choose pleasurable arts than science (Keirsey, Milner, & Wood, 2004). They take pride in completing artistic projects. As a result, my friends believe that I can always join their artistic projects and support their completion.  However, I desire to see completed projects and favorable outcomes.  As a result, I easily lead others to achieve success in various projects without facing significant resistance. One of the challenges I face is the need to get the best results and achieve my goals faster. Through my leadership style, I faced an ethical dilemma to choose between a friend’s request and the quality of services at the hospital. While my friend expected us to work together, the ethical values demanded the acquisition of quality materials.

Ethical Dilemma

The hospital has been acquiring supplies using an unethical process. For instance, the previous leaders used friends or family members to get medical materials. As the new leader in the healthcare organization, I realize the flawed nature of the procurement process. My friend expects to get the tender from the hospital taking advantage of my leadership position. However, the flawed nature of procurement affects the quality of care in the hospital. I have identified other suppliers with more quality medical materials at competitive prices than my friend’s offer. Besides, my friend is taking advantage to inflate the cost due to the nature of our relationship. It is an ethical dilemma since if I give my friend the tender, the quality of care might continue to decline. On the other hand, failing to award him the bid will potentially end our friendship and I might also affect other common friends.

Ethical, Moral, or Legal Skills, Dispositions, and Strategies

The ethical situation requires the most moral decision. As a moral agent, I should discern the right from wrong using relevant ethical principles. I will apply moral reasoning to decide on the medical supplier. Moral reasoning is the ability to critically consider the situation and decide on the most ethical option from alternatives (Johnson, 2017). I will apply the moral code based on personal beliefs that decision-making based on personal connections is wrong. While it might make my friend happy, awarding him the tender will violate my ethical conviction and the moral code that governs my society. Furthermore, my decision will also be based on legal guidelines on procurement. Notably, procurement in the United States is regulated by federal laws, including the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1995. Thus, awarding the tender to my friend will be a legal violation.

The Differences between Ethical, Moral, and Legal Leadership

The decision-making could be moral, ethical, or legal based on the standards that one applies. Ethical leadership relates to the personal discernment of the right and wrong, depending on some ethical principles. Moral leadership borrows from an external code of practice such as one dictated by religion (Johnson, 2017). For example, religious beliefs suggest that lying is wrong. Thus, individuals adhering to the religious tradition will avoid lying. Legal leadership depends on compliance with the laws and regulations of a state or a country. Hence, organizations are obligated to follow some rules relating to procurement. Therefore, leaders should make decisions that adhere to the laws. While violation of moral and ethical duty might not have serious legal implications, breaking the law could lead to imprisonment or fines depending on the magnitude of the crime.

The Values and Principles that Guide the Nursing Profession

As a nursing professional, I must guarantee the quality of care provided to patients. I should provide safety to all patients as they access health services from the organization. The decision will be guided by professional values, which include the importance of ethical decision-making (Wong, Cummings, & Ducharme, 2013). Nurses operate according to the code of ethics that comprises the need for honesty (Storch, Makaroff, Pauly, & Newton, 2013). Besides, as part of the organization, I support its mission and vision as well as offer the commitment to serve patients and provide care in a safe environment. Finally, I am guided by personal and organizational values. I joined the profession with the goal of helping patients and providing adequate care. Therefore, proceeding with a decision that might harm the patients through low-quality care is unethical. Hence, I should always make a decision based on the best interests of the clients.

The Motivation behind the Decision

In the ethical dilemma, I choose to use the most qualified suppliers at the expense of my friendships. I realize that the quality of care at the hospital has been declining over the years and the chance to reverse the situation motivates me. I desire to be part of a solution instead of worsening the problem. By using my friend’s services, I would compromise the quality of care that I swore to protect. The decision is difficult, but as a professional, I choose to utilize the most effective way to achieve the objective. I decide to improve the hospital for the sake of the current and future patients (Makaroff, Storch, Pauly, & Newton, 2014).  I consider leadership a huge responsibility to my clients and employees. Thus, ensuring that quality is maintained encourages me to act more ethically.

Conclusion

As a leader, I face ethical situations that require selecting a course of action among two or more alternatives. Such dilemmas are frequent and involve critical decision-making guided by moral, ethical, and legal standards. In the procurement case where I should choose between my friend and the quality of the hospital, I select the latter and risk losing the friendship. According to my code of conduct guidelines, the quality of care is important than friendship since my obligation as a professional lie on the welfare of both the patients and employees.