An Ethical Dilemma

In the story, Bowen was a participant in a sabbatical program for Morgan Stanley, where he spent sixty days climbing the icy and dangerous Himalayas in Nepal. He set out for this journey with his friend Stephen, who was an Anthropologist, their porters and some Sherpas. During their hike, Bowen & Stephen encountered a New Zealander who had with him a barefoot, barely clothed, Indian man who happened to be a Sadhu, who at the moment was exhausted and hypothermic. The New Zealander was on a mission to complete his goal, and carrying the Sadhu with him made it almost impossible to trek any further. Stephen and Bowen tried their best to help the Sadhu by helping him stay warm. Surely enough, the Sadhu recovered, but he was still unable to walk. Soon Bowen also realized that the Sadhu was getting in the way of his trip to the summit. So, Bowen decided to leave the Sadhu with Stephen. Following Bowen’s departure, some men from Switzerland and Japan also helped the Sadhu during their trip. It is important to note that all the different cultures of climbers: the Sherpas, the Swiss, the New Zealanders, and the Japanese were able to provide the Sadhu with some sort of assistance that was vital to his survival. However, in the end, the Sadhu was left behind with some clothes, food and drinks to trek two days to the nearest village. Ultimately, all the climbing parties were determined enough to accomplish their goal to reach the summit. Unfortunately, no one knew whether the Sadhu was still alive or not. Even thought it is apparent that everybody contributed in reviving the Sadhu, nobody took complete responsibility for the Sadhu’s life. Seemingly, in the end, Stephen and Bowen assumed that the Sadhu might have not survived the hike to the n...

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...from one group of people to the other. In the corporate world, it is not ideal to pass up the conundrums and challenges to the next party because it is simply troublesome to someone at the time. Ethical persons must possess a robust and durable nous of direction.
Moreover, ethical responsibility is beyond that of an individual’s. Interestingly enough, in the story by Bowen, the trekkers did not appoint a leader that was able to articulate the issue at hand and devise a plan that would serve to be unanimous and ethically sound. The groups required leadership and governance, which ultimately resulted in in unsystematic and ambiguous decisions by individuals. Corporations like individuals, have managers who are accountable for formulating unanimous, ethical decisions on behalf of employees. Failure to construct a solid and lucid judgment can have serious consequences.