Professional Delimma

Professional dilemma and value conflicts are challenges that can be apart of just about every professional job. There are sometimes many complicated and tough decisions that need to be made throughout the day that can be very exhausting and stressful. Each new challenge can be seen in one of two ways. They can be seen a barrier which blocks or deters them from a chosen end result or as learning tool that enables them to grow and move forward.

I had a professional dilemma which took place about a year ago when I felt that it was pretty apparent that I was holding much of the workload between myself and a co-worker. We were assigned to support the police department's network infrastructure. I was his senior only in knowledge. Our typical day involved fixing computer problems, backups, new installs, server maintenance, and all other administration tasks. Our workload was manageable and our end-users had an acceptable expectation of support and problem resolution.

Often, I found myself in a position of authority. However, I did not have the power to get anything done as I would like them to be. Many times, I would just do it myself because it was easier that way and I knew that it would be done correctly. The problem with this concept is that more work and projects were given to me. Also, everyone wanted my opinion before proceeding on any technical task. My opinion had to be given even if my co-worker had already given his. The need for my opinion angered my co-worker and made him even less productive. One day, I decided to think about each of our personality traits and compare them. The most obvious differences were that I was very aggressive in taking on new challenges and he was less aggressive. The more ...

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...mous beings and should be treated as an end and not just a mere means. Kant might say that we were both in the wrong because my coworker was not following the ought principle and because I was treating my coworker as a mere means. My coworker was not doing what he ought to do because he felt that voice was not being heard and that he was being disrespected. I was treating my coworker as a mere means in that I didn't take the time needed early on to identify his needs. I was only concerned with getting our work done. I initially felt that I was not his manager and because of that, it was not my responsibility to fix the problem. However, after further investigation into Kant's principles, he also believed in universal laws that apply to everyone in all circumstances. By following this law, I would have sought a resolution to our problem sooner (Dante, 2002).