Your company has been working extremely hard to earn a contr

Your company has been working extremely hard to earn a contract with a company in Brazil. The owner of the company in Brazil has hinted that his daughter would like an accounting position with your company. What 5 questions would you ask yourself to determine if this meets your ethical standards? How would you answer each question?

Solution

The 5 questions are:

a. Is this the right way to get the contract?

b. Is the decision conflicting with any of the core ethical values?

c. How will this decision affect other employees?

d. What would the repercussions be in case this information is leaked?

e. is there a rational basis to the decision?

The first and the second question detrmines the ethical issue behind hiring the owner\'s daughter. Clearly, this is a wrong approach and not ethical. There is a clear conflict with the core ethical issue of maintaining integrity in all dealings.

The third question is regarding the effect of this decision on other employees. I will answer this question as - there will be a clear negative effect on the morale of the employees as a person has been hired, not on the basis of merit, but against a favor.

The fourth question deals with the situation if the information is leaked. My answer - the image of my organization will get tarnished and the goodwill value will fall down if this information is leaked.

The last question talks about rationality. My answer - yes there is a rational basis. The contract with the Brazilian company is extremely important for future growth. Hiring an accounting professional to get this contract is a small nominal step that is being taken. It is rational as the benefit of getting the contract far outweighs the probable cost of hiring the owner\'s daughter.