To: [Recipient Name]
From: [Section Number, Group Number, Group Member Names]
[Current Date]
RE: THE PROPOSITION TO FIRE ONE PERMANENT STAFF MEMBER.
I am writing to notify you of my decision not to layoff one of ourfull time managers. My decision is primarily because doing so wouldbe unethical and unfair to both employees. The remaining manager willhave to work twice as much, which to me comes off as exploitation.According to Williams, the ethical principle of individual rightsstates that you should never take an action that infringes uponothers’ agreed upon rights (Williams, 2015). In this context,imposing more work on the lone manager who will remain after firingher counterpart would be a violation of the job description that wasstipulated in the recruiting contract. A business that exploits itsemployees in order to increase its profits is unethical in the least.
I understand the concerns of my fellow partners regarding thereducing profitability of the business. However, you need tounderstand that we are in the recovery stage of an economic downturn.The issue is affecting many businesses in this town and some have hadto shut down. During this recovery period, our profits will go backto their former state. All I need is more time and everything will beback to normal.
I cannot overlook the worries of the chamber of commerce. The rate atwhich businesses are laying off employees has raised the eyebrows ofthese officials. They have advised businesses to stop laying offemployees because an increased rate of unemployment in our town wouldbe bad for business. Your proposal to layoff one of our full timemanagers will contravene the directive by the chamber of commerce. Inaddition, by doing so, our business will have contributed to thestate of joblessness that is already an issue in this society. Theprinciple of distributive justice states you should never act in away that will harm the less fortunate in the society for your ownbenefit (Velasquez & Velasquez, 2002). In relation to thisprinciple, the less fortunate in this context would be the managerthat we will fire knowing very well how hard it will be for him tosecure another job in this economic downturn. Our actions will alsonegatively affect the disadvantaged full time manager who will nowhave to work more to compensate for the fired manager.
From the above explanations, it is clear that to layoff one full timemanager contravenes numerous principles of ethics and socialresponsibility. Other principles that we will violate by doing soinclude the principle of accommodative that requires businesses toaccept responsibility of the problems affecting the society andresolving to be part of the solution (Beauchamp 2004). The otherprinciple is that of personal virtue. The principle states that youshould never do anything that is not truthful, not honest and nottransparent. The act of dismissing one manager contravenes the latterprinciple because the restaurant is back to making profits and firingone manager is dishonest.
It is in this regard that I have decided to keep the two full timeemployees because firing one would not only be unethical, but willalso compromise on the quality of services offered at Midwest Tacos.In addition, such an action will contravene the same ethicalprinciples that our restaurant is built on.
Best Regards,
Your name
Works Cited
Beauchamp, T. L., Bowie, N. E., & Arnold, D. G. (Eds.). (2004).Ethical theory and business. New York: Pearson Education
Velasquez, M. G., & Velazquez, M. (2002). Business ethics:Concepts and cases (Vol. 111). Upper Saddle River, NJ: PrenticeHall.
Williams Chuck (2015). Management 8th.Mindlink Aplia Access.