The difference between an ethical dilemma and an ethical lapse is that with the dilemma the issue is thought about and the ethical side comes into play when making a decision about the dilemma.
Ethical dilemma
With an ethical lapse, this is not just a thought or decision that has been thought through, this is something that has been done that you originally believed to be unethical and you have had a lapse. This does not mean that you have changed your mind about what you feel to be correct and ethical, it just means that you have dome something different that you would not usually consider ethical.
You may have an ethical lapse after thinking about the ethical dilemma and still go ahead and have a lapse. You may decide that this is the wrong thing to do and revert back to your old ways immediately.
Ethical lapse
You may have done this to see if the benefits of the activity outweigh the ethical issues and whether should change your stance on the issue. When you then come to thinking about where you stand, this becomes an ethical dilemma as you are thinking over the facts and not actually performing the activity in an ethical lapse.
Ethical topics
There are many things that people feel strong ethics about. Some of the main points revolve around food and drink. Some people believe that you should only eat food with few air miles as an ethical duty to the environment, others choose to only eat fair-trade and some people choose not to eat animal produce as an ethical duty to the animals that are killed for their food and other produce.
Ethical questions can be divided into two general categories. The first is the ethical dilemma, in which an issue has two conflicting but arguably valid sides. A classic ethical dilemma in business is whether or not tobacco companies should be allowed to advertise. Allowing them to do so encourages unhealthy behavior, but not allowing them to advertise would violate their freedom of speech and hamper their ability to do business. Here is a small sample of the ethical dilemmas that managers face: • Employees have a right to privacy, but employers also have a right to expect safe, competent behavior from employees. Should employers be allowed to administer drug tests to their employees? Whose right should take precedence? • Publicly held corporations have obligations to both shareholders and employees; if money is tight, should a corporation reduce dividends to shareholders or reduce wages to employees. • Companies can sell more effectively if they collect information about potential customers such as buying habits, income levels, and life-styles. People have a right to privacy, but companies also have a right to conduct business. Whose rights are more important? The common theme in all ethical dilemmas is conflict between the rights of two or more stakeholders. Managers are held accountable by many stakeholder groups, and the number of potential ethical dilemmas increases with the number of stakeholders. The second category of managerial ethics covers the ethical lapse, which occurs when managers make unethical decisions. It is important not to confuse ethical dilemmas (which are unresolved interpretations of ethical issues) with ethical lapses (which are cases of unethical behavior). For example, the desire of Anheuser-Busch's managers to advertise a product that can result in alcoholism is an ethical dilemma, but the decision by some managers at Salomon Brothers to secretly buy more U.S. Treasury notes than the government normally allows is an ethical lapse.
Ethical Dilemma and Ethical Lapse are two categories of Ethics. Ethical Dilemma occurs when an issue has two conflicting sides. These sides are valid and can be argued upon.
On the other hand, an Ethical Lapse occurs when people make unethical decisions. Thus, ethical dilemma is an unresolved interpretation of ethical issues and ethical lapse is a case of unethical behavior.
