Need final paper for PHI445 Personal & Organizational Ethics details below and week 3 assignment attached

Personal and Organizational Ethics

Michael McGowan

Keisha Thomas

PHI445

November 4, 2019 Introduction

This paper aims to address the specific situation where an accountant in the finance department is able to enhance the reported operational costs of the company by coming up with an arrangement of sale-leaseback where assets of the company will be on sale, there will be a recording of gains, all the appropriate pronouncements of accounting are adhered to, and the company will still use its assets. The main intention for the transaction was not to do away with the unwanted assets of the company. This was to circumvent the regulatory requirements or to avoid breaches in the agreement of debt covenant.The main ethical issue is whether the above action violates the user’s rights of statements in finances to fair representation of information about their finances or if it maximizes the stakeholder’s welfare. Virtue ethics will be used to determine whether the action is ethical. The main characteristics of this theory include justice, fidelity, self-care and prudence (Wang, Cheney & Roper, 2016). There are various laws that affect the operations of the business. Virtue ethics are able to overcome this schizophrenia moral. In the case presented, maximization of the company profits does not fall in the accountant’s docket. For this reason, the accountant is under no obligation to act in a way that she maximizes the company’s profits.

It is morally wrong for accountants to hold the power ofmaximizing company profits.

Body

Ethical Theory

The ethical theory that supports my moral position is virtue ethics. This theory is based on the person carrying out an action rather than the ethical responsibilities. Virtue ethics is more focused on the wrongness or rightness of a person’s actions as well as providing direction for behaviors and trait a moral person will seek to adopt. For this reason, this theory is concerned with an individual’s entire life rather than few episodes. This theory is very useful as people are more concerned on the traits of someone else rather than the legality of an action. It theory suggest that we can only come up with a virtuous society by assisting its members to be good rather than using legislations or punishments to or laws to discourage actions that are considered to be bad (Wang, Cheney & Roper, 2016).

The theory suggests minimum set of characteristics that an individual needs to have in order to be considered virtuous. The cardinal virtues include temperance, fortitude, justice and prudence. However, modern theologians suggest that we need to poses prudence, self-care, fidelity, and justice for us to be considered virtuous. It requires people to offer fair and equal treatment to all human beings and treat those people who are close to them with special care. Self-care requires us to take care of ourselves, mentally, affectively, spiritually, and physically. A person who is prudent needs to consider fidelity, justice, and self-care. Virtue ethics focuses on the life of an individual rather than some sections.

This theory is very applicable in the present situation. The accountant doctored the financial statements so that the company could make more profits while circumventing the regulatory requirements. The accountant was basically trying to become good in the face of the society by not violating the agreement. Her main focus was to remain compliant with the set rules. However, if she had been helped to develop the moral characteristics defined by the virtue theory then she could have avoided doctoring the statements. She would have done what the society would have considered right. She would not be afraid of any punishments. Her main focus would be to fulfill the moral obligations of her office.

Two Premises

An individual with moral virtues will behave ethically as compared to another individual who follows rules. People with moral virtues do what is good for the society as a whole. Rules do not necessarily represent what is right. For this reason it is very possible that a person acting under rules will be unethical. In the situation presented in this paper, the accountant is following rules. She is interested in making the firm more profitable while doing all she can to avoid being punished. If there was no punishment then she could not have doctored the statement (Wang, Cheney & Roper, 2016).

The main ethical question is based on the character of an individual. The outcome of an action is good or bad is the action taken by the individual is right (Wang, Cheney & Roper, 2016). For a person to choose the right actions they must uphold moral values. In the case of the accountant, her inability to control her character to uphold moral values led her to doctoring the financial statement (Wang, Cheney & Roper, 2016). Since she was hiding the bad things that she was doing then the law did not catch up with her. Therefore the law encourages people to become unethical. Upholding moral values on the other hand encourages people to do what is right at all times.

Comparative analysis

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that focuses o the outcome. If the outcome is good then one is considered virtuous. The theory holds that the most ethical action is the one that yields the greatest good for the most people (Balasubramanian, 2015). It does not care the means used for achieving the greatest good. In the present case by using the utilitarianism theory the account would have considered virtuous. This is because she helped her organization to avoid legal actions taken against them for violating an agreement. She also made the firm make significant profits by editing the financial statements (Balasubramanian, 2015).

Virtue ethics is very important as it allow people to maintain good interpersonal relationship in life (West, 2018). It also motivates us to work in a moral way. For this reason, one will always focus on what they are doing rather than the outcome unlike utilitarianism that focuses on the outcome. It basically maps out the moral reasoning. People are bound to choose actions that are in tandem with the cardinal virtues. Doing anything else against that is considered being immoral. In that case, people will always strive to do things that are moral thus creating strong bonds with other people around them.

Virtue ethics also acknowledges that it is good to be partial. Human beings are naturally inclined to make biased decisions. The virtue ethics accommodates the biasness that arises when people are making choices in life. It does not depend on a particular theory but on continuous self improvement. It focuses on building one’s moral values and becoming a better person in the society unlike other theories that focus on the immediate effect of an action. This theory helps one to become a better person in the future in the way they interact and make informed choices.

References

Wang, Y., Cheney, G., & Roper, J. (2016). Virtue Ethics and the Practice–Institution Schema: An Ethical Case of Excellent Business Practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 138(1), 67-77.

West, A. (2018). Multinational tax avoidance: Virtue ethics and the role of accountants. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(4), 1143-1156.

Balasubramanian, A. (2015). On weighted utilitarianism and an application. Social Choice and Welfare, 44(4), 745-763.