Question

Ethics Decision Making:

You are an entry-level accountant at city hall. You work for the accounting department, but have been loaned out to the department responsible for building and maintaining roads while the managers develop their annual budget. The director of the department is in the middle of a divorce. He asks you to work on a Saturday to finish up details of the budget. When you arrive, he asks you to work on a schedule for his personal financial information for the upcoming divorce court case. When you finish the statements, he tells you to record your hours as overtime and bill them to the city.

REQUIRED:

1. What is the ethical issue here?
2. What are your alternatives?
3. If you do as the director asks and your boss finds out, what might happen? What risks are involved?
4. What information is relevant to your decision?
5. Is this an open-ended problem? Why or why not?
6. Explore this problem from different perspectives:
   1. Your own.
   2. The department director
   3.   Your boss
   4.   The taxpayers
7. How important is it for you to behave ethically?

Answer 1

Ethical Issue:

There are two issues here -

• Coming to office on a Saturday on pretext of official work but working personal for the Director
• Billing and claiming the time as official

Alternatives:

Communicate to the Director in writing diagreeing to perform his personal work in office with a copy of communication marked to boss.

Ramification of obeying Director:

If Director is obeyed and hours are billed as official it would tantamount to breach of duty and fraudulent bahaviour.The boss can terminate the services for this act.There can be,in addition, pecuniary penalties imposed too.

Besides above there is the inevitable risk of carrying a bad job credential which will lead to issues in future new job assignments when background verification takes place.

Information relevant to decision:

There is no additional information required.The very fact that work given is entirely personal and is being asked to be claimed as official in itself is sufficient and complete information for taking the right decision.

Open ended or close Ended:

Open ended issues are those which can have multiple solutions or no sultion at all.In this case there is a clear cut solution and only one solution and that is disagreeing to obey in writing along with reason.There is no other right action alternative.Hence it is a case of close ended problem.

Problem from different perspective:

Perspective of Self:

If obeyed the instruction then there is a risk of getting caught and facing consequences.If disobeyed then high chances of getting terminated on pretext of disobedience by Director or facing his ire in form of harassment which could take many forms.

Perspective of Director:

Disobidience of a junior to fall in line.

Perspective of Boss:

Resource loaned for official work performing personal work and claiming as official.Fraudulent and breach of trust.

Taxpayers:

Ultimately the funds for salary/overtime are from taxpayers money.In this case personal work are being performed at cost of honest taxpayers.