Ethical Decision in the Context

¶ … ethical decision in the context of the proposed firing of the CEO of on-Time Airlines centers on the moral issue of whether one individual should be held accountable for the poor performance of the entire airline. The snowstorm event which delayed, stranded, and kept "dozens of passengers as virtual hostages on planes for several hours" (Case Study. N.D.) called for rational and forward thinking by airline staff and the executive management team. The overwhelming evidence to the contrary leaves the airline in a deleterious state with their only option to begin the process of rebuilding customer trust one flyer at a time. The recommended action to ameliorate the airline's reputation and image, and restore customer goodwill and confidence is to dismiss the CEO immediately.

Salient Moral Issues and Ethical Options

As CEO the number one priority is to protect shareholder value through intelligent business strategy and an unrelenting focus on providing customers with a premier product or service. On- Time Airlines CEO who founded the company, now stands poised to lose his position, because the rhetoric of excellence in customer service portrayed in corporate advertisements did not equate with the actual experience of passengers during the exigent event. CEO's are paid millions of dollars to be the figurehead of the organization and deliver results to customers, shareholders, and the Board of Directors. The CEO's failure to handle the passenger crisis, in particular the "virtual hostage" situation was an unacceptable lapse of leadership. The Board has no alternative but to terminate the CEO for cause. Executives are showered with praise when they move the company forward profitably; in the same vein the CEO must be held accountable for actions which detract from corporate value.

External and Internal Stakeholders

Stakeholders in this event are external, represented by aggrieved customers and all airline passengers who would benefit from a passenger bill of rights, and shareholders. Internal stakeholders are represented by the employees, executive management, and the Board of Directors. The Board in considering this ethical quandary to dismiss or not, can find an extremely effective decision making tool in utilizing the Utilitarian Ethical Construct.

"Utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. The Classical Utilitarians, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, identified the good with pleasure" (Stanford University. March 27, 2009), and it is Bentham himself who articulates this position with his statement; "it is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong" (Thinkexist.com. N.D.).

In choosing to dismiss the CEO the Board can create a significantly better situation for stakeholders than if they retained his services. Aggrieved customers can experience a feeling of closure over the event, and will be satisfied that the company is taking action by letting go the CEO. Flyers in general will recognize the move as the first step in cleaning house, and a wake-up call to the airline industry in general to proactively guard against the recurrence of a similar event. Flyers will also benefit from the passage of a passenger bill of rights which will have the backing of legislators if they can see the CEO's dismissal as an intelligent first step. Perhaps the greatest good will come to shareholders, as the company moves to arrest the fall in the stock price through rededicating itself to customer service and restoring trust. The internal shareholders: employees and executive management will benefit from a new CEO who enters the organization with a fresh perspective, and an immediate eye on solving the logistical issues which aggravated the snowstorm incident. All stakeholders benefit considerably from the move to replace the CEO, with one exception, the CEO himself; however, from a Utilitarian perspective this is an acceptable loss.