AboutBrian Thompson Expertise My expertise extends to general management, financial management, corporate govenance and everyday managerial problem solving
Experience I have in excess of 30 years experience in the management of public and private organisations
Expert: Brian Thompson Date: 4/22/2008 Subject: ethical delimma
Question QUESTION: Please Mr Brian help out, i know its a homework question but i didn't understand it that is why i decided to ask you. Thank you sir i hope you will help me.
ANSWER: You will need to resubmit your question so I can review the detail again however in the meantime you will need to think through situational ethics, either you have a conviction about what is right or you do not.
In the environment I was brought up in we valued personal integrity and client confidentiality very highly and so anything which suggests you should pursue personal interest must be supressed however you have a duty of care.
If I recall your question and I may not, the answer might be that an oblique answer could be given such as "I tell you as a friend, I will be leaving this town soon, I can't answer you directly as to what the future holds, however change is inevitable and you can draw what inference you may wish from that but I would consider my position very carefully before I made any new investments, certainly I wouldn't over commit right now. Have you considered finding a job elsewhere?; you have heard a wink is as good as a nod to a blind horse"
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QUESTION: Chris, CPA is currently the assistant controller for the smithstown Division of Main Manufacturing,Inc.Chris is highly respected within the organization, and has been offered a position at the headquarters with an increase in pay.Chris has been working on a confidential project to analyze the profitability of the smithstownDivision.Although his report is not finished,based on the information that has been gathered, Chris' report is going to recommend the closing of the Smithstown Division.This decision would obviously cost the smithstown community jobs and severely affect the local economy which is heavily dependent on Main Manufacturing.
After work Chris entered the local tavern where he sees his friend Tim,who plays third base on the Smithstown Division's softball team with Chris.Chris is also godfather to Tim's 3 year old daughter.Tim is an assembly line worker who would certainly lose his job if the plant were closed. Before Chis was aware of the possible plant closing, he had
convinced Tim and his wife Tina that it was better for tax purposes to buy a house than to continue to rent. As a result,Tim and Tina have been house hunting.They are about to put in a contract on the house.However,they will only be able to make the mortgage payments if both Tim and Tina keep their jobs.At work,Tim has heard some rumors about the possibility of the plant being closed.Therefore he decides to ask his friends,Chris,who might have more information about the possible plant closing,as to whether he should proceed with buying the house.
The questions are:
1.Identify the ethical issue(s)
2.who are the stakeholders other than Chris,Tim and his family?
3.What are the possible alternatives available to Chris?
4.What are the ethics of each alternative?
5.What action(s) should be taken by Chris?"
Answer As I have already said integrity is important here
The ethical issues are
as adviser to his friends he may have unwittingly misled them and he should correct this
as an employee directly involved in the decision making progress he has a duty not to disclose confidential information
As I said previously he may be able to resolve his dilemma by answering obliquely
for example;
You know I am concerned about you guys, I think you might be over-committing to buy this house.
Have you considered what might happen if either of you lost your job? You have heard there might be changes at the plant, well there may be, it's obviously no secret that we arn't doing as well as we should. As far as I know no decisions have been made yet. As things stand I would wait a while until the future of the plant is clearer, the opportunity to improve your tax position will still be there in the future and it's not good business to allow tax to drive your decisions. You should always make decisions for other reasons because tax benefits change and might be short term. Have you considered get a job elsewhere where there are more opportunities?
