Ethical Issues

You are the second in command at a city law enforcement agency. Your agency is currently in the promotion cycle with several candidates interested in a Lieutenant’s position that has become available. The agency only has positions at this level come open about once every year. There are two candidates for the position that standout above the rest from the perspective of their service and performance records.

Both you and the head of the agency must approve all final promotion decisions. A couple of days before the final decision must be made regarding the promotion you receive a call from the Mayor’s assistance. The assistant tells you that the Mayor would consider it a huge favor if you selected a specific candidate for the Lieutenant’s position, however this individual is not one of the top two candidates being considered. Here is the scenario

I need you to respond to this discussion question 150 words

This week’s scenario leaves you with only two real options. Choosing to appease the Mayor by promoting who he had requested or by promoting the most qualified applicant. By selecting and promoting the most qualified applicant you would be making a choice that will benefit the agency as a whole as far as leadership. However, choosing the qualified applicant could result in a budget cut for going against the Mayor and his wishes. Strong leadership is an important part of any good department, by having leadership that is well versed it allows for those around them to learn and grow from working with them. If the selection is made to appease the Mayor and go with his suggestion the leadership of the agency could potentially suffer causing issues within the agency itself. However, going with the individual that the Mayor selected could help the Mayor vote in the favor of the agency when the budget meeting occurred. By going with the Mayors choice you could also potentially create issues for yourself. You could create doubt in the mind of your agency head that relied on you to make a recommendation as to who should be promoted. This could possibly cost you a promotion in the future or even your job.

In this student’s opinion it is in the best interest of the department to select that applicant that will help the agency in the future. While yes, the Mayor voting to up the budget of the agency could help them get vital supplies they need, having leadership that can help grow and shape the department for years to come seems more important in my opinion. Having a leader who is not experience or fit for the position could result in harm to your fellow officers. The new leader if not fit could make decisions that could affect not only the well being and safety of the individual officers, but also the well being and safety of the agency as a whole. As previously stated, picking the applicant that is most qualified for the position is the most ethical decision to make in my eyes.