Junior Department Members Responsibility.

(1) Present the Problem

Rita recently moved offices down the hall and has become more aware of the disregard one senior faculty
member has towards his students and his work ethic. Rita is unsure how to resolve her responsibility to
her students with her awareness of this colleagues unprofessionalism.
(2) Collect the facts
Rita is a junior faculty member of a university. She has proven to be a valuable employee and mentor of
the students with a solid track record in academic service and scholarship at her school. Rita feels that
none of the faculty members would have a job, if it werent for the students coming to that university. The
senior faculty member has been insensitive to his students time as he cancels appointments and classes
when he sees fit, comes into work late and has lied about his whereabouts on more than one occasion. He
also never seems to be remorseful about his actions and Rita feels that he will not receive any scrutiny for
his unprofessional behavior.
(3) List the relevant values
The main relevant value in this case is responsibility. Rita has a responsibility to her students and to the
school to not only be accountable for her work ethic but also to report any foul conduct by any students or
other faculty members. Rita does reflect respect for persons as she is looking after the wellbeing of the
students and wants them to receive as much attention as they deserve from that faculty member as she
would provide them. Nonmaleficence is applicable as Rita does not want to hurt the senior faculty
member with the possibility of him losing his job if she were to report his behavior. Another important
value to consider is beneficence because the students would benefit from the senior faculty member
becoming self-aware of his actions and correcting them if Rita were to report his current bad behavior.
(4) Explore the options
Consequentialism
Course of Action 1: Rita would report the senior faculty members conduct.
Affected parties: Rita, Ritas family, senior faculty member, his students, his family and the university.
Positive consequences: Rita would feel relieved as her obligations to inform the faculty board of the
senior faculty members actions would be satisfied. The senior faculty members students would get the
attention they deserve from their professor as he would make changes in his work behavior. In changing
his behavior, the senior faculty member would avoid a negative outcome such as losing his job. The
university would benefit from Rita reporting his actions to reduce any complaint letters or negative
feedback from students, parents or media as they could advise the senior faculty member of the
consequences if he does not change his work ethic.
Negative consequences: Rita could end up losing her job if the faculty board felt that she had no place to
tattle on the senior member. This would also affect Ritas family as she would not be able to provide for
them if she lost her job. The senior faculty member could lose his job if they did not give him the
opportunity to correct his negative actions. This in turn would affect his family as he would also not be
able to provide for them if he lost his job. If the senior member was fired then the university would have
to replace him quickly so the students enrolled in his classes could still get credit. Having to fill the
position quickly, the university may not choose the best person due to the lack of candidates for the job.

The students could be negatively impacted if they got a new professor half way through the course if the
senior member got fired. The new professor could teach in an entirely different manner than the other one
and some students may not adjust well and their grades would suffer from it.
Course of Action 2: Rita would not report the senior faculty members conduct.
Affected parties: Rita, senior faculty member, his students and their families, his family and the
university.
Positive consequences: The senior member would still have a job and the university would not have to
worry about hiring someone to take his place. His family would still be taken care of if his job was not in
jeopardy.
Negative consequences: Rita would feel guilty for not saying anything to the faculty board about the lies
shes overhead from the senior member and the poor work ethic he is exhibiting. The students would be
the main group hurt if the senior member did not change. If he continued to ditch his classes and his
appointments with his students, there would probably be a lot of students that would not make a good
grade, or even a passing grade for that matter, which in turn could also affect their scholarship if they had
one. Having their scholarships affected would obviously put a strain on their parents if they do not have
the ability to pay for their childs school out of pocket. The senior member and university would be
affected as there would be negative feedback about him from students, their parents and social media,
which could also make him lose his job in the end anyway.
Outcome:
The 1st course of action maximizes utility because the wellbeing of the students outweighs all other
considerations. If we were to follow the 2nd course of action there would be a lot of students affected by
this professor over the course of his employment which adds up to a lot of negative utility. Although there
is a possibility of the one professor losing his job, there would be less negative effects on the thousands of
students that would be enrolled in his classroom that would not get the attention they deserve. The
positive consequences are also in favor of the 1 st course of action as all involved would be positively
affected.
Duty theory
We all have a duty to be truthful at work but the wider duty is to preserve ones integrity both on the job
and off. Even though Rita is not the one who is acting unprofessional and making bad decisions, she has
the duty to be truthful and let the faculty board know of the misconduct that is being performed by the
senior member. Although it does not affect Rita directly, it does affect the students that she cares for.
The duty to be responsible is most important here and in this case Rita has the responsibility to be the
voice of the students. Since many students may not feel comfortable going over their professors head to
complain, Rita needs to discuss the situation with the faculty board in order to get these issues resolved.
Also, the faculty board may feel inclined to handle this more quickly if the concerns were coming from
another professor instead of a student.
Virtue theory
As a professional, most people seek to do good, to be benevolent. This is especially true in Ritas case
as with being a professor she does what she can to benefit her students. The wider picture here is Ritas
actions should also benefit herself, the other faculty members and her friends and family. Rita, just like

everyone, should always take into consideration how her actions will affect everyone around her. To be
benevolent, she must think about the positive and negative consequences that come out of all her actions.
The most important virtue here is respect for persons. Even though the senior faculty member is lacking
this virtue by cancelling his classes and appointments with his students and lying about where he is, Rita
would display respect for persons by speaking up on the students behalf. The wider virtue is to not only
respect people while you are at work or in a work environment but in your day-to-day life. Also,
respecting everyone around you, not just those that have a higher title than you at the company you work
for. To earn respect, you have to show respect. Rita would display this important virtue if she informed
the faculty board about the senior member as she is respecting the students by being empathic towards
their concerns with their professor.
(5) Assess the rightness or wrongness of various outcomes- SKIPPED PER REQUEST
(6) Decide- I believe Rita should go to the faculty board and make them aware of the senior faculty
members unethical work behavior.
(7) Defend
Even though the other faculty member has seniority over Rita, and probably a lot of other faculty
members, it does not give him the ability to do has he pleases and have no regard to his students. Rita has
the obligation to report his behavior even though she may feel repercussions from that particular
individual as he may be upset with her and never talk to her again. The way I look at it is you do not go to
work to make friends, although its not unheard of for coworkers to be really close, but you go to do your
job and to do it well. Because Rita has witnessed the way that the senior faculty member has treated his
students and ditched his priorities as being a teacher, she definitely needs to speak up so future students
arent affected the same way and get their moneys worth of paying for the class in which that teacher is
assigned to.
(8) REFLECT
There are probably a lot of people out there that think its an obvious choice for Rita to keep her opinions
to herself and not say anything to the faculty board about the behavior of the senior faculty member as it
could cause a lot of hardship for that senior member and for Rita. The senior member could get into a lot
of trouble or even lose his job but if he didnt lose his job he would have hurt feelings toward Rita since
she was the one that tattled on him. On the other hand, Rita would have to live with the fact that she
didnt step forward and speak up which does not help those students that are seeking guidance from that
teacher. Its also not fair to the other faculty that this senior member gets away with lying and cancelling
classes and appointments without any repercussions. I feel that choosing the option to inform the faculty
board of the senior members actions has a better outcome than if Rita were to keep quiet.