Ethical and Legal Behavior in Business
Ethical and Legal Behavior In Business
Cory Vance
Business Law 2301
Mr. Mellon
September 16, 2012
With the first scenario, you need to review the Ethics Checklist. What are the alternatives? One alternative is to say that you had used drugs illegally in your past but for the last three years you have been clean and sober. Everyone has a past so most people can respect the fact that you have been clean and sober. Another thing you want to consider are the consequences of lying on a job application. Say you did lie on the job application and ended up landing the job. What if somewhere down the line the company finds out you lied on your job application, now you risk getting fired. Why risk everything when you can be honest from the beginning and still possibly get the job. You also want to think about your values as a person and if this would violate important values you have. With the second scenario your again going to want to refer to the Ethics Checklist. What are the critical issues? One of the critical issues is if you lie to the CEO about not doing the payroll then you could save your bosses job, but if you lie to the CEO and he finds out then you risk loosing your job also. Your boss shouldn 't be putting you in the position of loosing your job just because she isn 't doing hers correctly. Even though it isn 't illegal for you to be processing the payroll, the consequences for doing something against company policy will probably result in you losing your job. Again your going to want to take your values into consideration. Is it more important for you to be loyal to your boss or is it more important for you to do what 's ethically right? I know if I was a CEO of a company I would expect everyone to do the job they are supposed to be doing and I would expect everyone to follow company policy. The third scenario is a little more difficult because peoples lives are at stake. So going back to the Ethics
Cory Vance
Business Law 2301
Mr. Mellon
September 16, 2012
With the first scenario, you need to review the Ethics Checklist. What are the alternatives? One alternative is to say that you had used drugs illegally in your past but for the last three years you have been clean and sober. Everyone has a past so most people can respect the fact that you have been clean and sober. Another thing you want to consider are the consequences of lying on a job application. Say you did lie on the job application and ended up landing the job. What if somewhere down the line the company finds out you lied on your job application, now you risk getting fired. Why risk everything when you can be honest from the beginning and still possibly get the job. You also want to think about your values as a person and if this would violate important values you have. With the second scenario your again going to want to refer to the Ethics Checklist. What are the critical issues? One of the critical issues is if you lie to the CEO about not doing the payroll then you could save your bosses job, but if you lie to the CEO and he finds out then you risk loosing your job also. Your boss shouldn 't be putting you in the position of loosing your job just because she isn 't doing hers correctly. Even though it isn 't illegal for you to be processing the payroll, the consequences for doing something against company policy will probably result in you losing your job. Again your going to want to take your values into consideration. Is it more important for you to be loyal to your boss or is it more important for you to do what 's ethically right? I know if I was a CEO of a company I would expect everyone to do the job they are supposed to be doing and I would expect everyone to follow company policy. The third scenario is a little more difficult because peoples lives are at stake. So going back to the Ethics
References: Amar Bhide and Howard H. Stevenson, “Why Be Honest if Honesty Doesn 't Pay?” Harvard Business Review, Sept. -Oct. 1990, pp.121-129, at 127. John Milne, “N.H. Restaurant Goes Bankrupt in Wake of Wedding Refund Flap.” Boston Globe, Sept. 9, 1994, p.25. “Ethics: A Basic Framework,” Harvard Business School case 9-307-059