Assume that you are a cashier and your manager requires that you immediately enter each sale when it occurs. Recently, lunch hour traffic has increased and the assistant manager asks you to avoid delays by taking customers cash and making change without entering sales. The assistant manager says she will add up cash and enter sales after lunch. She says that, in this way, customers will be happy and the register record will always match the cash amount when the manager arrives at three oclock. The advantage of the process proposed by the assistant manager includes improved customer service, fewer delays, and less work for you. The disadvantage is that the assistant manager could steal cash by simply recording less sales than the cash received and then pocketing the excess cash. You decide to reject her suggestion without the managers approval and confront her on the ethics of her suggestion.
Required:
1. Propose and evaluate two other courses of action you might consider, and explain why?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
In the situation presented, it is crucial to maintain ethical practices in the workplace while ensuring customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Here are two alternative courses of action that could be considered:
Course of Action 1: Implement a Temporary Sales Tracking System
Proposal:
Instead of bypassing the cash register, propose a temporary sales tracking system during peak hours. This system could involve using a separate notepad or digital device to record each sale as it happens. In doing so, you can continue to process transactions without delays while ensuring accurate sales records are maintained.
Evaluation:
– Advantages:- This method preserves the integrity of the cash register by ensuring that each sale is recorded.
– It allows for quick transactions, minimizing delays for customers during busy lunch hours.
– The records can be easily reconciled with cash taken at the end of each shift, providing transparency.
– Disadvantages:- This method requires additional effort from the cashier, which may not be practical during extremely busy periods.
– There could be potential confusion if the written records are not managed properly, leading to discrepancies.
Course of Action 2: Communicate with Management for Staffing Solutions
Proposal:
Communicate your concerns about the increased lunch hour traffic to your manager and suggest hiring additional staff or temporarily adjusting schedules to ensure adequate coverage during peak hours. This would allow for proper cash handling and sales entry without compromising customer service.
Evaluation:
– Advantages:- Increasing staffing levels could alleviate pressure on existing cashiers, leading to faster service and improved customer experience.
– Proper cash handling procedures would be maintained, reducing the risk of theft or errors.
– It fosters a culture of ethical practices and accountability within the team.
– Disadvantages:- Hiring additional staff may incur extra costs for the company, which management may be reluctant to approve.
– If management does not act on this suggestion, it may lead to continued frustration among cashiers and customers alike.
Conclusion
Both proposed actions focus on maintaining ethical practices while improving service. Implementing a temporary sales tracking system allows for immediate action without compromising cash handling integrity, while communicating with management for staffing solutions addresses the root cause of service delays. Ultimately, fostering an environment of transparency and accountability is essential in any workplace, particularly in roles that handle cash transactions.
