The Potter Box: Moral Analysis

Introduction The journey through an ethical dilemma often exudes the reflection of one’s moral makeup. It is an expression of conscience, a demonstration of character and a declaration of the moral ground on which you stand. With every dilemma encountered, there is the chance to learn and grow from the experience. Therefore, I chose a dilemma from my past, one that I will dissect and analyze with tools recently gained. My objective is to gain additional clarity of the situation and see new perspectives revealed.
Dilemma
Several years ago, I worked as a Human Resources Representative for a manufacturing organization. In this role, I served as the backup for the accounting manager. As such, one of my responsibilities was to process payroll in her absence. It was
To further explore the predicament and enhance my standpoint, I will utilize the Potter Box method and Rest’s Four Component Model to examine my dilemma presented above.
Potter Box
“The Potter Box introduces four dimensions of moral analysis to aid us in locating those places where most misunderstandings occur. Along these lines, we can construct action guides” (Christians, 2013, p. 3).The four dimensions of this model are: Definition, Values, Principles, and Loyalties.
Definition. The first step is to define the facts of the situation. Thus, in this case, Karen wants to claim coworker Doug’s expense as her own in an attempt to share her reimbursement benefit with him. Both Karen and Doug are longtime employees. They each have participated in ethics training and possess a company policy handbook. Company policy stipulates that expenses submitted for reimbursement must belong to the employee whose name is on the expense report. Furthermore, reimbursement benefits are nontransferable and, if not used, expire at the end of the year. Lastly, the company has an ethics policy stating that employees must operate with