The Housing Allowance - Business Ethics
THE HOUSING ALLOWANCE
Wilson Mutambara grew up in the slums of Rambia and through hard work and talent he was given the opportunity to study and receive his MBA in the united states. After three years of working at a cellular telephone service company, NewComm, he received the opportunity to go back to Rambia when NewComm decided to expand. All the employees at the NewComm offices in Rambia were set to receive $2,000 monthly for housing needs to insure that its employees live in a safe and convenient area and that their living arrangements are complimentary to the company image. One of the employees, Dale Garman, found out that Wilson was falsifying his monthly housing expenses and was in fact living in his old neighborhood, which couldn't possibly cost more than $300. The house that Wilson was living in was not up to the company standards and it looked as if he was sharing it with quite a few people. Dale notified Wilson's supervisor Barbara Weston of his living situation and Barbara confronted Wilson. Wilson admitted to the falsified invoices and pleaded to Barbara that there is quite a bit expected of him as a Rambian from the slums. He provides for his family and pays for his nieces' and nephews' educational expenses from that money. He also felt that if he lived in an expensive area like his colleagues, his family would judge his actions and think of him as selfish. Although Wilson had good intentions in falsifying his claims, he did not use the allowance as NewComm intended for him to do and more importantly falsified his invoices. Now Barbara faces a tough decision of deciding how to appropriately handle this situation in an ethical way. At the personal level of analysis, Wilson is the primary stakeholder. He looked at the situation at the beginning and assumed that it was fair for him to receive equal compensation for housing even though he chose to live below his means. He was helping his relatives and was unable to see that the fraud he
Wilson Mutambara grew up in the slums of Rambia and through hard work and talent he was given the opportunity to study and receive his MBA in the united states. After three years of working at a cellular telephone service company, NewComm, he received the opportunity to go back to Rambia when NewComm decided to expand. All the employees at the NewComm offices in Rambia were set to receive $2,000 monthly for housing needs to insure that its employees live in a safe and convenient area and that their living arrangements are complimentary to the company image. One of the employees, Dale Garman, found out that Wilson was falsifying his monthly housing expenses and was in fact living in his old neighborhood, which couldn't possibly cost more than $300. The house that Wilson was living in was not up to the company standards and it looked as if he was sharing it with quite a few people. Dale notified Wilson's supervisor Barbara Weston of his living situation and Barbara confronted Wilson. Wilson admitted to the falsified invoices and pleaded to Barbara that there is quite a bit expected of him as a Rambian from the slums. He provides for his family and pays for his nieces' and nephews' educational expenses from that money. He also felt that if he lived in an expensive area like his colleagues, his family would judge his actions and think of him as selfish. Although Wilson had good intentions in falsifying his claims, he did not use the allowance as NewComm intended for him to do and more importantly falsified his invoices. Now Barbara faces a tough decision of deciding how to appropriately handle this situation in an ethical way. At the personal level of analysis, Wilson is the primary stakeholder. He looked at the situation at the beginning and assumed that it was fair for him to receive equal compensation for housing even though he chose to live below his means. He was helping his relatives and was unable to see that the fraud he