Reference no: EM133463046

Sally is a clerk for Avco Environmental Services, a small toxic-waste disposal company. The company has a contract to dispose of medical waste from a local hospital. Sally comes across documents suggesting that Avco is disposing of some medical waste in a local municipal landfill. She is shocked because she knows this practice is illegal. Any amount of waste disposed in the local landfill is a threat to public health.

Sally gathers the appropriate documents and takes them to her immediate superior, Dave.

Dave says, "Look, I don't think that sort of thing is your concern, or mine. We're in charge of record-keeping; not making decisions about waste disposal. I suggest you drop it."

The next day, Sally approaches the company's Operations Manager, Angela. Angela barks, "This isn't your concern. Dumping a small amount of waste is a cost-cutting strategy for our small company. It's not dangerous. Besides, the regulations in this area are overly cautious."

Sally considers her situation and does not want to jeopardize her job. She has faith in the company's management because they seem like honest, trustworthy people. However, she is troubled by their disregard for public safety and wonders whether Angela was right about the danger being minimal.

Sally looks up the phone number of an old friend who worked for the local newspaper.

If you could advise Sally about how to manage ethics in this situation, what would you say? Explain.