Moral Literacy Discussion
In order to respond to this question, it is necessary to define moral literacy. Experts at Rock Ethics Institute (2008) suggest that moral literacy is “the ability to contend with complex moral problems” (p. 1). This ability primarily involves recognizing a problem as a moral one (Rock Ethics Institute, 2008). Tuana (2007) notes that recognizing the problem as a moral one is a skill that needs crafting and honing, and this process should be ongoing. In the light of these suggestions, it can be concluded that moral illiteracy is a problem at my place of work, and I find several evidences for this idea. Firstly, there are no clear indicators of moral behavior. While knowing that stealing is immoral, some employees do not see anything wrong with using stationery or office equipment for personal purposes. Secondly, there is no staff training aimed at moral literacy of staff. When facing a moral problem, employees feel confused because they are not trained to respond to it; for example, it is not clear whether the company should hire college graduates or what should be done when their performance hinder the work of the whole team.
The discussion of moral literacy confirms the fact that moral muteness is moral suicide. An individual cannot address a moral problem when he or she is unable to identify it. This assumption is for example confirmed by the 2008 Siemens bribery scandal, where the company’s managers did not see the problem in bribing business partners to get lucrative contracts (Loscher, 2012). The case of Siemens also demonstrates that there is a relationship between ethics and business sustainability (D’Amato, 2015). Companies that neglect ethics are doomed to collapse. It is thus very important that businesses consider employees’ moral literacy.Staff training is evidently the best way to hone moral literacy. Companies are though offered to depart from the usual drills and consider role-playing. I suggest that role-playing as a way to boost moral literacy has several indisputable advantages when compared to other forms of staff training. Firstly, role-playing ensures a hands-on approach to moral literacy; for example two employees are offered to play a situation where one of them was seen using office equipment for personal purposes. Secondly, role-playing facilitates cooperating between employees and encourages them to create an ethical code that is understood and accepted by a majority.
The discussion of using office equipment for personal purposes allows identifying what employees consider moral and adjust their understanding if required. The Smyth case involves facing with an ethical dilemma, a situation where an agent has to choose between two actions. While having moral reasons to do each of two actions, the agent cannot do both (McConnell, 2014). Henry Smith can either inform his family about the occurrence of Huntington’s in his family tree or to conceal this information. The decision depends on an ethical prism through which he approaches the situation. If Henry Smith adheres to Kantian ethics, he is obliged to inform his family about the occurrence …
