Are financial bailouts ethical?
Contributed by TS.
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A couple of years ago, I decided to create a small business in Africa. I knew that it would be challenging, since the continent has a reputation of corruption, but I have strong moral values and I didn’t think it would be an issue. In fact, I planned on leading by example and hoped to instigate a good sense of ethic around me.
However, a few months after the beginning of the business activities, my partner and I received a call to meet with a member of the government. Unfortunately, the meeting had only one purpose: we were asked for a bribe. In that country specifically, it seemed that there was no way around it. All companies, including the Fortune 500′s, were paying their “dues.”
What would you have done if you were in my place?
Contributed by MK.
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A couple of years ago, I was part of project team that traveled to a client’s facility in South Korea. It was our company’s first experience in Korea, and so our accounting department didn’t have a historic per diem value for that particular city. It ended up using the per diem value we used for major U.S. and Canadian cities. Some of my coworkers were already unhappy with the Korean assignment, due to the long absence from home, and they felt we deserved more compensation. So they pushed the accounting department to increase the per diem, claiming that the cost of living in that particular city is higher than at home.
To verify the cost, the accounting department sent out emails to everyone on the project team. It asked us to list the cost of food, drinks, and groceries–basically everything we have been paying out of our own pocket since we arrived. Although it was never verbally agreed upon, there was an unspoken understanding that we would overstate the expenses, to obtain what some of us believed we were entitled to.
Because this was an unusual assignment, I understand why some felt the need for greater recognition. However, I didn’t agree that manipulating the per diem and having a few extra drinks on the company every day is the right way to do it. I struggled with the dilemma for a couple of days and then decided what I should do. What do you think?
Contributed by RL.
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In reality, when making an ethical decision, do people really apply the generalization, utilitarian, and virtue tests to help them finalize their decision? We all know what’s right and what’s wrong; however, when making a choice, don’t people normally think of the benefits they will get first? I feel religion should play an important part in keeping the society in order. If people believe doing something bad/unethical will result bad karma, will they still do it or avoid it?
Contributed by ST.
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Dilemma: At my first firm, I was assigned to a client as the associate auditor for their four companies. As I was reviewing the records of one of the companies, I noticed several discrepancies that were not covered by my specific audit tests. No single discrepancy was large enough to warrant a change in the audit procedures, but the nature of the entries made me uncomfortable. I thought the controller (head internal accountant) was either incompetent or she was being intentionally oblique.
I brought this to the attention of my direct supervisor and she advised me to ignore it because the variances were not individually significant. I was stubborn. I presented the situation to the audit partner and convinced him to let me test more of the company’s records. As it turned out, the controller was incompetent. The discrepancies were the result of her carelessness and lack of comprehension. There was no change to the financials, but she was fired because of my findings.
I was directly responsible for her losing her job and my findings did not change the audit. Should I have let it go and allowed her to keep her job?
Contributed by RC.
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Is it ethical to steal office supplies for your personal use?
Contributed by MS.
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After college, I went to work at an IT consulting company as a technical consultant/software developer. We did custom development for large corporations, writing software based on the customer’s requirements. In addition, our company also sold proprietary portal software to these customers. I was working on a project where we made updates to the portal software that we already sold to a customer and installed in their environment. Also, I had access to their environment and could make updates whenever needed.
One day, while working on a new feature for the customer, I found a bug that had been there ever since the software was first installed. Even though the customer wasn’t aware of the bug, I knew that this was a serious bug that may cause a significant impact in the future. I thought about going into the customer’s environment and making changes myself without notifying the customer. In doing so, the credibility and reputation of our software would remain high. On the other hand, if I tell the customer about the bug and how it’s been in their system for past 2 years, they would lose confidence in our software and, furthermore, in our company. I didn’t know what to do. To make the situation more complex, the portal software was written by the management and they were very proud of it. If I tell them about the bug and how it’s been there ever since the software was written 7-8 years ago at the time, and that this bug is present in other customers’ portal as well, it would really embarrass the management in front of fresh consultants like myself. My dilemma was that I could just keep quiet and fix the bug without letting anyone know.
At the end, I decided to tell my manager and just follow what he would say. He was honest and told me to the fix the bug and notify the customer, and that’s what I did.
Contributed by SB.
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The number of elderly people has significantly increased in China, and as a result, more are injured or become ill on the street. In the past, people would usually offer assistance. Nowadays, chances are nobody will offer help. Even when people do, bystanders warn them to be careful and think twice before getting involved. The reason is that the elderly often accuse the helper for causing the injury in the first place, to get monetary compensation. Nobody wants to do good and then end up in court, so the only natural choice is to protect oneself and offer no help. Is this ethical?
Contributed by Xiaoer.
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How should companies and professionals treat people who have a past criminal history but who have paid their debts to society by serving out sentences? Is it fair to dismiss someone’s ability to be a good employee solely on the basis of a prior criminal background? How can these people ever have a chance to turn their lives around and become reintegrated back into society, if no employer will give them a chance?
As a professional vocalist and musical entertainer, a number of years ago I formed a partnership with the leader of a band who had an outstanding reputation playing large nightclubs, festivals and private events. This band leader was one of the most gifted musicians and entertainers I had ever worked with, and he and I built a very successful following during the two years we performed together. As a team we both enjoyed many professional opportunities that never would have happened if we had not worked together. Our partnership ended, however, when I was tipped off that he was a convicted felon.
On a personal level, the nature of the crime made it difficult for me to continue to interact with him in the same way. I also felt that he had violated my trust by not disclosing the information. Indeed, the reason he had not disclosed the information to me from the beginning was because he thought I never would have worked with him, and he would have been right. On a professional level, I was concerned that my reputation would be damaged if others found out about his past and I continued to closely associate with him. But I also had to consider that the crime was committed 12 years earlier and he had served his criminal sentence.
At the time this information came to me, we had existing contracts to play many upcoming large and prestigious events. Given the financial and professional opportunities those events presented, I considered whether I could just continue as if I had never learned about the crime. If I disclosed his background to the companies who had contracted us to play, or if these companies found out on their own, many of them may have tried to cancel our performances. Our ability to perform and entertain had nothing to do with his criminal past, but still, I understood why people would be uneasy having a convicted felon entertaining at their party or event. Ultimately I decided that I could not work closely with someone who had violated my trust and engaged in activities that were so contrary to my expectations about tolerable behavior. I made the painful decision to terminate the partnership, and I sacrificed opportunities and earnings, as well as personal friendships because of this decision. It became a significant setback for my music career.
This person may well have been rehabilitated from his past behavior, and he continues to be a superb entertainer for venues that are willing to hire him or that are unaware of his criminal background. Did I make the right decision to discontinue working with him? If everyone reacted the way I did, then no formerly convicted felons would ever be able to work again or become productive members of society. However, I found the nature of his crime so despicable that I don’t know how I could have continued sharing the stage and interacting with him.
Contributed by KS.
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As an engineer, I developed a good working relationship with subordinates (who were union members) by earning their respect and trust over time. I told them that I would always be upfront and honest with them… In one instance I was scoping out a capital project that was very attractive to management because it had a really nice ROI. While the capital costs were large, this project would save the company over $800,000 annually through staff elimination. At one point I was measuring the location layout when a few employees approached me and asked what I was doing. I explained that we were looking to replace several old manual machines with a new fully automated system. One worker asked me if this project would eliminate any positions (specifically his position). I had to lie and say that no, management was just looking to free up employees to do “more value-added tasks.” Although I was uncertain the project would be approved, it would undoubtedly eliminate 8 positions if implemented. However, there was simply no way I could release that information. This was 2008, when the economy was performing poorly, layoffs were prevalent, and unions were on edge. If I told the employees that the main goal of this project was to eliminate their jobs, not only would there have been some sort of mutiny, but I’m pretty certain management would have fired me for divulging that confidential information. Was it unethical for me to lie to protect my job and the company from a hostile situation?
Contributed by Adam
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Ethical Decisions 