Lesson 4: The Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas

A. Individual 

This refers to personal dilemmas. It is an individual's damn-if you-do-and-damn-if-you-don't situation. The case of Heinz as given in the Activity phase of the lesson is one of the best-known individual dilemma's of Kohlberg's (1958). Kohlberg's dilemma questions were as follows: "Should Heinz have stolen the drug." (Mackinnon, B., et al 2015) If he did not steal the drug that would mean his wife's death. He was torn between stealing the drug and saving his wife. The dilemma is faced by an individual who is torn between 2 obligations to save the wife or obey the law. So this an example of an individual dilemma. 

B. Organizational 

An organizational dilemma is a puzzle posed by the dual necessities of a social organization and members' self-interest. It may exist between personal interests and organizational welfare or between group interests and organizational well-being... (Wagner, J. 2019) 

The example of the Catholic school in the Activity phase of the lesson shows the dilemma between the goal of the school to give quality education for the poor and so must charge the lowest tuition fee possible and yet to keep quality faculty the school must raise their salary and consequently, must raise tuition. 

Organizational dilemmas may likewise occur in business, medical, and public sector.

The following hypothetical case highlights the story of Mr. Brown, a 74-year old man who is seriously ill of metastatic lung cancer. Mr. Brown completed a full course of radiation therapy as well as chemotherapy for treatment of his cancer, and he is now hospitalized with severe shortness of breath and pneumonia. His physician has managed the symptoms associated with the lung disease, including chest pain, fever, infection, and respiratory distress, but believes that there are no other options available to aggressively treat the underlying cancer.... Both Mr. Brown and his wife clearly state that they 'want everything done. .. The dilemma here lies in the conflicting concerns: a) the financial problems of Mr. Brown and his wife, b) the hospital concern of focusing its attention on this hopeless patient when there are other cases which have still possible remedies, c) the other hospital patient's concern, particularly their need of the medicine used by Mr. Brown, c) the concern of the medical staff, et al. 

Organizational dilemmas arise due to different opposing concerns between various groupings in an organization. 

C. Structural 

The case of the principal whether to be participatory or non-participatory in school affairs but due to her not so favorable experience of attempting to be participatory ended up to one-woman rule is an example of a structural dilemma. 

Below are more examples of structural dilemma. 

Differentiation Versus Integration in Structural Dilemma 

Different divisions have their own different culture and so coordination between divisions or bringing them together for becomes more difficult. 

With decentralization, local governments have become more empowered to direct their affairs just as schools have become empowered to address their problems or are given the opportunity to localize the given curriculum. 

In effect, local governments and schools have likewise become more differentiated and so it becomes more difficult to integrate them for a unified structure. Local governance and schools curricula have become more complex. There is need for more costly coordination strategies.

Any attempt to introduce reform in society or government creates structural dilemma. For instance, promoting or introducing universal health care, which is tantamount to socialized health care, gives rise to a structural dilemma that is, a conflict of perspective of sectors, groups and institutions that may be affected by the decision. Why would those who contribute less to the social fund enjoy the same benefits as_ those who contributed big amounts of premium? In a study on the prices of medicines in the Philippines, it was established that "patients are buying medicines from the private sector at many times their international reference price" (Ateneo de Manila University 2019). If the government intervenes by introducing price control, the drug stores may lose so much that they may close shop. If the government does not do anything at all, the patients will continue to suffer because they may not be able to afford the high prices of medicines. 

A structural dilemma is a conflict of perspective of sectors, groups and institutions that maybe affected by the decisions.

Gap Versus Overlap 

There may be gaps and overlaps in roles and responsibilities. If key responsibilities are not clearly assigned, there may be gaps or overlaps in important tasks. If there are gaps, organizations end up with no one doing the responsibility. If there are overlaps, things become unclear and may lead to more confusion and even conflict and worse wasted effort and perhaps even resources because of the unintended overlap. 

Here is an example. A patient in a teaching hospital called her husband to report how disturbed she is and how sleepless she was during the night. At night, she couldn't sleep because hospital staff kept waking her up, often to repeat what someone else had already done. This is an overlap of nurse duty. Conversely, when she wanted something, her call button rarely produced any response. This is a gap. There is a gap as to who according to rule is supposed to respond to the buzzer. (www.humancapitalrevjew.org/content/default.asp? Article 1D528# 

To illustrate further the consequence of gap and overlap, here is a story to show what happens when there is a gap or overlap. A boy wanted his pants shorter. So he went to his mother to ask him to shorten it. His mother was busy computing grades and told her son to ask his sister to do it. His sister was busy reviewing for the final exams and asked her brother to ask their elder brother to do it. But his older brother was also busy with his school project and so could not also attend to it. The boy highly frustrated went to sleep. His pants were beside him. After finishing her grades, Mother peeped into her son's room, saw the pants and remembered her son's request. So she took a pair of scissors and shortened them. Before she went to bed, the sister also remembered her brother '-s request. Full of remorse she went to her younger brother's room, saw the pants, got a pair of scissors and shortened them, too. The older brother finally completed his school project and suddenly remembered his brother's asking for help to shorten the pants. So he went to his younger brother's room, got a pair of scissors and cut them, too. When the younger brother woke up, he was surprised to see a pair of extremely short shorts. The pants which he wanted to make just a little bit shorter ended up too short to him! That is what happens when there are gaps or overlaps in an organization. The gaps leave an important thing in an organization undone. The overlap results in unnecessary and counterproductive, redundant procedures which ultimately lead to waste of resources. 

Lack of Clarity Versus Lack of Creativity. 

If employees are unclear about what they are supposed to do, they often tailor their roles around personal preferences instead of system-wide goals, frequently leading to trouble. Most McDonald's customers are not seeking novelty and surprise in their burgers and fries. But when responsibilities are over-defined, people conform to prescribed roles and protocols in "bureaucratic" ways. They rigidly follow job descriptions regardless of how much the service or product suffers and so end up uncreative. 

"You lost my bag!" an angry passenger shouted, confronting an airline manager. The manager's response was to inquire, "How was the flight?" "I asked about my bag," the passenger said. "That's not my job," the manager replied. "See someone in baggage claim." The passenger did not leave as a happy airline customer. ~ humancapitalreview.org/content/default.as;p? Article 10528#. The job of the manager was over-defined and made the manager uncreative and inefficient. Her job in relation to the airline system-wide goals was neither clear and so ended up giving the wrong answer that turned off the airline passenger. 

Flexibility versus Strict Adherence to Rules

You accommodate by bending rules to help someone or you stick strictly to rules no matter what and so unable to help someone who is thrown into a helpless situation. Or you may become being too accommodating that all rules are no more. Your jobs are defined so clearly that you will stick to them even if circumstances are such that by sticking to your job description the service or product that your organization provides suffers. 

Excessive Autonomy Versus Excessive Interdependence 

This refers to being too isolated versus too much coordination. 

To illustrate: 

When individuals or groups are too autonomous, people often feel isolated and disconnected. School teachers ,working in self-contained classrooms and rarely working with other teachers may feel lonely and unsupported. Yet efforts to create closer teamwork have repeatedly failed because of teachers' difficulties in working together. In contrast. If units and roles are too tightly linked, people are distracted from work and waste time on unnecessary or too much coordination. IBM lost an early lead in the personal computer business in part because new initiatives required so many approvals -from levels and divisions alike -that new products were over-designed and late to market. Hewlett -Packard's ability co-innovate in the late 1990s was hindered by the same problem. (www.humancapitalreview.org/content/default. asp? Article_ ID528#) 

Structural dilemma is the dilemma arising from conflicting concerns among various sectors of society. ln the first instance of differentiation versus integration, the dilemma is how to enforce a decision. policy, or rule intended for everybody among many different or unique groups or individuals. ln the second, the dilemma arises because of either gaps or overlaps in the procedure of implementation of certain projects or policies among involved agencies like the FBI and CIA in the U.S.A. or like the NBI and the INP in "the Philippines. GAPS creates serious consequences. Read about the unforgettable Mamasapano massacre in Mindanao, Philippines. 

Centralized versus Decentralized Decision Making

In decentralized decision making, organizations can respond to change more rapidly and effectively because the decision makers are the people closest to the situation. However, top managers may lose some control. This is the dilemma of tight over-centralization or diffusing authority which is loose. 

Structural Dilemma in a World Organization Like the UN 

Succinctly put, a structural dilemma in a world organization like the UN is the problem of the balance between world order and national sovereignty re-stated as the balance between the measure of international authority essential to the establishment of an organized common pence and the continued freedom of action of the separate members of the world community or the balance between interdependence and independence. (Jenks, l 97 l) d , 1/ 1 1 t cgl?article-2/86&contcxt=e,/lcl Source: dlgitalcommons.law.11i'(,eJ1,cg v ewcon en 

Some Structural Dilemmas of World Organization• C. Wilfred Jenks0 Georgia Journal of International & International & Comparative Law Volume 3 1973 Issue 

Resolving Moral Dilemmas 

The following offer some techniques in resolving moral dilemma: One way is to think of available alternative options revealing that the dilemma does not really exist. This happens where there are available alternative options. For instance one is experiencing a dilemma between stealing or not stealing otherwise his family will either die of hunger or survive. The creative moral agent will try to think of other alternatives, like "alternative means of income or support such as social safety net, charity, etc." 

Another way is "choosing the greater good and lesser evil" or ... ," Or one may apply the situation ethics approach, following the rule, one must do only what he can where he is. Do not resort to extraordinary or supernatural means.

Joseph Fletcher offers some principles in resolving moral dilemmas. He uses Kant's "ought implies I can" rule. If I ought to do something, then I can do it. By contraposition, if I cannot do something, then I cannot be obliged to do it. Or by implication, either I cannot be obliged to do something or I can do it. In other words, one is only obliged to do something if and only if he can do it. So Fletcher says, "do what you can where you are." Or quoting St. Augustine's, "Dilige, et quod vis fac" (love and do what you will). The extent of one's obligation and responsibility is the extent of one's ability and the measure of the "extent" is one's capacity for love. 

Here is a situation: You are a father of seven children. On your support, seven children plus your wife depend. You work in the mines and receive only a minimum wage. After working like a "carabao" in the mines, you need to ease your pains with a bottle of gin before you lie to rest and sleep. You  also need to eat sufficient enough to replace energy. Hence, you spend for wine, food and cigarette. Minus these expenses, balance of your wage is just enough for the food of your children. Nothing is left for their education and other expenses. Question: Should you be faulted for not being able to sacrifice enough by giving up your needs, so that your dependents can have something left for their education? You love your family, but you have a need you cannot give up. Is your case what Fletcher wants to picture! Your obligation ends where your capacity for love ends. Love is supposed to be unconditional, no limits of sacrifice or boundaries. But your love is human, you are only human. "You can only do what you can where you are." Others can sacrifice more by giving up their gin and cigarette and eat less expensive food. Yet others can, but can one be faulted for not being like the others, not having the strength to overcome a vice? Can one not argue that the extent of his ability is the limit of his responsibility? On the other hand, can it not be said thot resorting to human frailty is just a convenient or comfortable way of justifying one's lack of moral will? That may be easier said than done, although it is possible for one who has virtue as his moral strength. But what can be said of one who has no moral virtue or strength to sacrifice with the discomfort of self-giving? Endless condemnation? That would be un-Christian.