OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

OUMM 3203

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Name:

JETOL B.DANGIN
Matric No.

650127125607001
NRIC No.

650127-12-5607
Telephone No.

019-8044584
Email Address:

jetoldangin@gmail.com

Tutor:
EN.WAN ZAINUDDIN HJ.AWANG
PPT LIKAS I

MAY 2008 SEMESTER

 QUESTION 1

Identify FIVE ethical issues in this case.

The ethical issues facing managers and other employees have grown in significance in recent

years, fueled by public concern about the effects of the internal decisions on group outside the

organization. In addition to absolute standards of right or wrong, economic rivalry has also

pushed businesses to address issues of social and moral conduct.

In this case five ethical issues that can be identify such as:

a. Issues relating ethical behavior

b. cheating and other dishonesties

c. Misusing expense accounts (inflating numbers).

d. Fabricating sales records

e. Cheating on a sales

QUESTION 2

Identify and discuss TWO consequences from each of the following perspectives:

Ethical dilemmas present leaders with two questions: "What ought I do?" and "Why ought I do

it?" It is likely that different leaders will select different resolutions to the ethical dilemma

presenting itself depending upon the situation, intentions, and the circumstances. Because of

this characteristic, some ethicists (Kant, 1971; Mill, 1979; Ross, 1930, 1939) have argued that

ethical theory should not allow for the possibility of a dilemma.

In this case, Maimunah having an ethical dilemma where she in a situation when all alternatives

choices or behaviors have been deemed undesirable because of potentially negative ethical

consequences, making it difficult to distinguish right from wrong decisions.

I) Maimunah and the company accurately reported her expenses ;

a) The company will be likely to investigate the discrepancies and all the sales

representatives could lose their jobs.

b) Maimunah will be hate by all the co-workers who involved in this issue especially the

sales representatives cause of her report to the company.

ii) Maimunah inflated her expenses accounts as Mary had urged her to do so.

a) Lying and cheating for immediate self interest just causes the workers to lie and

cheat in return.

b) All the sales representatives who involved in this case will be safe from losing their

jobs.

QUESTION 3

Based on the ethical dilemma faced by Maimunah, discuss the ethical theory relevant to

the case and suggest the course of actions Maimunah should take.

Each of the approaches helps us determine what standards of behavior can be considered

ethical. There are still problems to be solved, however. The first problem is that we may not

agree on the content of some of these specific approaches. We may not all agree to the same
set of human and civil rights. We may not agree on what constitutes the common good. We may

not even agree on what is a good and what is a harm.

The second problem is that the different approaches may not all answer the question "What is

ethical?" in the same way. Nonetheless, each approach gives us important information with

which to determine what is ethical in a particular circumstance. And much more often than not,

the different approaches do lead to similar answers.

Maimunah should discuss with Mary about this matter and try to persuade her not to keep doing

the dishonest activities because it can effects the company for long term because if the

company caught them for being dishonest, all the sales person also will have same situation

which maybe it can be ended with losing their jobs and jailed.

QUESTION 4

Discuss THREE ethical safeguards ( or initiatives ) that can be adopted by the company

to prevent future inflation of expenses by employees of the organization.

1. ETHICS COMMITTEE

A group of executives assigned to oversee the organization’s ethics by ruling on

questionable issues and disciplining violators. The ethics committee assumes

responsibility for disciplining wrongdoers, which is essential if the organization is to

directly influence employee behavior.

2. ETHICS OMBUDSMAN

Ethics ombudsman is an official given the responsibility of corporate conscience who

hears and investigates ethical complaints and points out potential ethics failures to top

management such as by doing training seminars and a conduct guide on ethics for

employees. Think of an ombudsman as an informal telephone mediator for when the

lines of communication have broken down. The ombudsman calls the person, listens to

the complaint, ascertains the person’s desired outcome, and explains the possible

avenues to reach that outcome.

3. WHISTLE-BLOWING

Whistle blowing means calling attention to wrongdoing that is occurring within an

organization. The Government Accountability Project lists four ways to blow the whistle:

• reporting wrongdoing or a violation of the law to the proper authorities.

• such as a supervisor, a hotline or an Inspector General

• refusing to participate in workplace wrongdoing

• testifying in a legal proceeding

• leaking evidence of wrongdoing to the media

Whistle blowing has to do with ethics because it represents a person’s understanding, at

a deep level, that an action his or her organization is taking is harmful—that it interferes

with people’s rights or is unfair or detracts from the common good.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ross, W. D. (1939). The foundations of ethics. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Sartre, J. P. (1957/1946). Existentialism is a humanism. In W. Kaufmann, (Ed.),

Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre (P. Mairet, Trans., pp. 287-311).

Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (1988). Moral dilemmas. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.

Styron, W. (1980). Sophie's choice. New York: Bantam Books.

Williams, B. (1965). Ethical consistency. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society,

39(supp.), 103-124.