Business Ethics

BMGT 110 6384

Short Paper 1-Buisness Ethics

Carina Broadnax

Companies with employee manuals all over the world take the time to insert one or more clauses about the importance of being an ethical employee. These manuals outline such things as the importance of honesty, integrity, confidentiality, fiduciary responsibility, and keeping the best interest of the company and it’s stakeholders in the forefront of your mind as you go about executing the duties of your position. There are obvious red flags when it comes to business ethics: don’t steal from the company, keep employee records and interests confidential, and be honest when reporting investments to avoid instances of fraud or misrepresentation. Some issues are not so black and white. There are times when business ethics and personal morality may intersect.

Jan’s Ethical Dilemma

The case of Jan and her neighbor Evelyn is an example of an ethical issue that is not so cut and dry. In this instance Jan has helped steer Evelyn’s nephew, Steve, into an accounting position at the same company as her, JLT Cincinnati. Not knowing at the time that the company would decide to save money in the future by moving the accounting operation to JLT Wichita which is the corporate headquarters. Jan who works in Human Resources has recently been made aware of this move and is also aware that the company is not announcing the move for a few more weeks. Even worse, based on the company’s history of seniority being a major factor in downsizing activities, the newest employees will not be offered a comparable position within the company or transferred with the accounting operation to Wichita, but instead they will most likely be let go.

The ethical dilemma Jan faces is whether to say nothing to Evelyn about coporate leadership’s decision to move the accounting operation or to tell her about it and let her know that her nephew should look for a new job. This issue is not so cut and dry because the nice thing to do...