Personal Ethical Dilemma Essay

An international food party was conducted, during my sojourn in Japan as an exchange student. Since, I was the chairperson of the Korean language club; I ventured to prepare cheyookbogeum or Korean food for this party. I endeavored to do so only after consulting with the other members of the club and eliciting their opinion. Due to close collaboration between the club members, the venture depicted remarkable progress. During the course of preparing the food, I was constrained to decide whether to add MSG to the food. I had to undergo quite a bit of consternation regarding this decision, the party as such, was not all that big and this made me opt for the easy way out. However, I was not spared from having to scrutinize the situation precisely. The primary issue that I had to take into consideration was that addition of MSG to the food would improve its flavor and this would result in a larger number of people buying it. This would bring about a natural increase in profits, which would enable me to donate more money and provide incentives to the members who were making preparations for the party. Unfortunately, MSG does not promote good health and its prolonged use consumption could prove deleterious. In addition, if consumers came to know about having consumed MSG at a later date, they might develop a dislike for the food, which could even lead to their abstention from such food. Thus, by avoiding the addition of MSG, I would be behaving in an ethical manner, as I would have exhibited greater concern for the health of the consumer. Nevertheless, I could refrain from adding the MSG and promote the food as being prepared from solely fresh ingredients. Since, the flavor would not be all that appealing to the consumers; it would be difficult to realize profits. All the same, this food could be promoted as health food and then there might be a chance of making greater profits. All said and done, this issue was not of sufficient significance to affect the community. However, it provided me with an opportunity to adopt not only the perspective of a consumer but also that of a representative of the company. Moreover, I learned that one should take into account, long term perspectives, while taking decisions.