MGT 422 SEU Social Responsibility & Ethics in Business Paper

‫المملكة العربية السعودية‬‫وزارة التعليم‬
‫الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية‬
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Saudi Electronic University
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
Assignment 1
Business Ethics and Organization Social Responsibility
(MGT 422)
Due Date: 12/03/2022 @ 23:59
Course Name: Business Ethics
Student’s Name:
Course Code: MGT 422
Student’s ID Number:
Semester: Second
CRN: 23050
Academic Year:2021-22-2nd
For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name: Dr. Zahra Ghali
Students’ Grade:
Marks Obtained/Out of 10
Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low
General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
• The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated
folder.
• Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
• Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may be reduced
for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page.
• Students must mention question number clearly in their answer.
• Late submission will NOT be accepted.
• Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or other
resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.
• All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No
pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).
• Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.
Learning Outcomes:
Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
CLO-4
Illustrate the role of social responsibility in the functional areas and strategic processes of business
and a comprehensive framework for analyzing and resolving ethical issues and dilemmas in an
organization.
CLO-6
Write coherent project about a case study or actual research about ethics
Read the case given and answer the questions:
Case Study
An Ethical Dilemma
Carla knew something was wrong when Jack got back to his desk. He had been with
Aker & Aker Accounting (A&A) for 17 years, starting there right after graduation and
progressing through the ranks. Jack was a strong supporter of the company, and that was
why Carla had been assigned to him. Carla had been with A&A for two years. She had
graduated in the top 10 percent of her class and passed the CPA exam on the first try. She
had chosen A&A over one of the “Big Four” firms because A&A was the biggest and
best fi rm in Smallville, Ohio, where her husband, Frank, managed a locally owned
machine tools company. She and Frank had just purchased a new home when things
started to turn strange with Jack, her boss.
“What’s the matter, Jack?” Carla asked.
“Well, you’ll hear about it sooner or later. I’ve been denied a partner’s position. Can you
imagine that? I have been working 60- and 70-hour weeks for the last 10 years, and all
that management can say to me is ‘not at this time,’” complained Jack.
Carla asked, “So what else did they say?”
Jack turned red and blurted out, “They said maybe in a few more years. I’ve done all that
they’ve asked me to do. I’ve sacrificed a lot, and now they say a few more years. It’s not
fair.”
“What are you going to do?” Carla asked.
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “I just don’t know.”
Six months later, Carla noticed that Jack was behaving oddly. He came in late and left
early. One Sunday Carla went into the office for some fi les and found Jack copying
some of the software that A&A used in auditing and consulting. A couple of weeks later,
at a dinner party, Carla overheard a conversation about Jack doing consulting work for
some small fi rms. Monday morning, she asked him if what she had heard was true.
Jack responded, “Yes, Carla, it’s true. I have a few clients that I do work for on
occasion.”
“Don’t you think there’s a conflict of interest between you and A&A?” asked Carla.
“No,” said Jack. “You see, these clients are not technically within the market area of
A&A. Besides, I was counting on that promotion to help pay some extra bills. My oldest
son decided to go to a private university, which is an extra $25,000 each year. Plus our
medical plan at A&A doesn’t cover some of my medical problems. And you don’t want
to know the cost. The only way I can afford to pay for these things is to do some extra
work on the side.”
“But what if A&A finds out?” Carla asked. “Won’t they terminate you?”
“I don’t want to think about that. Besides, if they don’t find out for another six months, I
may be able to start my own company.”
“How?” asked Carla.
“Don’t be naive, Carla. You came in that Sunday. You know.”
Carla realized that Jack had been using A&A software for his own gain. “That’s
stealing!” she said.
“Stealing?” Jack’s voice grew calm. “Like when you use the office phones for personal
long-distance calls? Like when you decided to volunteer to help out your church and
copied all those things for them on the company machine? If I’m stealing, you’re a thief
as well. But let’s not get into this discussion. I’m not hurting A&A and, who knows,
maybe within the next year I’ll become a partner and can quit my night job.”
Carla backed off from the discussion and said nothing more. She couldn’t afford to
antagonize her boss and risk bad performance ratings. She and Frank had bills, too. She
also knew that she wouldn’t be able to get another job at the same pay if she quit. Moving
to another town was not an option because of Frank’s business. She had no physical
evidence to take to the partners, which meant that it would be her word against Jack’s,
and he had 17 years of experience with the company.
Question(s):
1. Identify the ethical issues in this case. (600 words)- 5 Marks
2. Assume you are Carla. Discuss your options and what the consequences of each option
might be. (Minimum 2 options & 2 consequences, 400 words)- 3 Marks
3. Assume you are Jack. Discuss your options. (At least 2 options, 300 words)-2 Marks
Answers