07.12.2002
While moving from company to company, and sometimes industry to industry, keeps consultants? work lives interesting, it can lead to ethical dilemmas. Take for example, the experience of ?Midge,? a software development manager at a custom software consulting company in Minneapolis, who was asked to work for an Internet client that provided pornography. Find out how she navigated between her high moral ground and keeping her job without any negative repercussions.
http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00720021113bla01.htm&fromtm=e108-1
Midge is an "unusual" case. i do not mean that in any derogatory or demeaning manner. What i do like to point out is that her case is different. Most of us have faced situations in our job-scenarios that have forced us to come to terms with moral, ethical, religious and/or personal beliefs. And in India, most of the cases have been resolved by means of a compromise. The employer *makes* the employee see reason and thus things go on. Once or twice things do come to such a pass that an outburst and a final decision is required, however the case under purview is elegant for the manner in which the crisis is resolved. Much of it is based on the underlying fallacy that management, more importantly the immediate hierarchy is understanding and even sympathetic towards personal and strongly held beliefs. As Midge herself points out ?We should not be scared or ashamed of our personal values, but we also shouldn't attack those that have different values.? - that is a tough call for most managers. Learning experiences that involve de-learning of deep seated prejudices and existing work-force instruction flows are a combative, exhaustive and often futile effort. The case shows that given trust, belief in judgement and support it can be turned into a win-win scenario for all concerned. And in that there is a lesson for the dilemmas that are looming in the future.