Let's Talk Ethics...

Discussing ethics is a very touchy topic in today's society, especially after the fall of corporate America giants such as WorldCom and Enron. When there are ethical lapses in business or government, the people participating in the ethical lapse are not the only ones affected by it. The effects of ethical lapses are felt by common citizens, such as those who held stock, purchased their products, were employed with the company, etc. After all the publicity surrounding recent ethical lapse events and what we discussed in class, I have taken on a whole new perspective of corporate America.

After actually seeing several excerpts from memos that were a part of ethical lapses, I have come to a conclusion that you (being in the management position) have to be careful about how you interpret memos. If you were to overlook the sudden termonology used in some of these memos, agreeing with what the memo seems to say on the surface, you could be help responsible in a ethical lapse case because to a jury, it could appear as if you knew about the crime. So, when you receive a memo from someone, take a few extra minutes and make sure you fully understand what they are saying. Furthermore, make sure you read into any phrases or sentences that might not make sense to you initially.

As I graduate and head into the work force or graduate school, I will need to have my ethical principles established. I believe a good way to set your standards is to ask, "If I were to do this, would I be ok with someone else doing this exact same thing?" If the answer is yes, then you are most likely ok to do whatever you were going to do. If you answer no, the subject would require closer examination. If what you choose to do will have a negative impact on anyone, you should probably think long and hard before you act on this. Also to mention is that what you are doing may seem like it won't harm anyone, but as the scheme escalates, it could cause greater harm. It is important also to not get caught up in schemes if one were to develop; you need to learn how to cut your ties with the scheme and move on, releiving or at least limiting yourself to any obligations for the outcome. These are just things I would keep in mind when deciding whether an issue was ethical or not. Specific ethical issues I would never get caught up in is stealing (in any form, including accounting fraud), lying to further my company or I, killing someone because of known information that was not suppose to be disclosed, and I am sure there are many, many, more that I would be able to handle if the time were to arrise. I think the two biggest ethical issues in companies are fraud and lying to further one's company or themself.