Ethical Standards in Business

Introduction

In a complex, multicultural business environment, business professionals must adhere to ethical standards throughout their daily activities. In order to assess your understanding of the material and your ability to apply the required concepts, you will be asked to evaluate three different common ethical dilemmas and analyze the consequences of the dilemmas. You will also be tasked with examining the dilemma in the context of different ethical theories and describing a resolution based on those theoretical perspectives.
Requirements

Ethical Dilemma: Conflict of Interest
A. A procurement manager must choose between several vendors, one of whom is a close friend. Accepting their bid might appear biased, even if it is legitimate. Using this ethical dilemma, do the following:

1. Discuss one workplace consequence of accepting the bid from the friend’s company.
2. Discuss one workplace consequence of rejecting the bid from the friend’s company.
3. Analyze the ethical dilemma from a utilitarian perspective by doing the following:
   a. Explain utilitarian ethics.
   b. Describe how a person using utilitarian ethics would resolve the ethical dilemma from part A.

Ethical Dilemma: Whistleblowing
B. An accountant finds evidence of financial fraud by their supervisor but fears retaliation or job loss if they report it. Using this ethical dilemma, do the following:

1. Discuss one workplace consequence of reporting the financial discrepancies.
2. Discuss one workplace consequence of not reporting the financial discrepancies.
3. Analyze the ethical dilemma from a virtue ethics perspective by doing the following:
   a. Explain virtue ethics.
   b. Describe how a person using virtue ethics would resolve the ethical dilemma from part B.

International Ethical Dilemma: Accepting Gifts or Favors
C. A U.S.-based company has a strict policy against accepting gifts or favors. A salesperson is sent to visit an important supplier in Spain, a country that presents gifts as a sign of respect and relationship building. The salesperson is offered tickets to a World Cup match by the supplier. Using this ethical dilemma, do the following:

1. Discuss one workplace consequence of accepting the tickets.
2. Discuss one workplace consequence of declining the tickets.
3. Analyze the ethical dilemma from a principle-based perspective by doing the following:
   a. Explain principle-based ethics.
   b. Describe how a person using principle-based ethics would resolve the ethical dilemma from part C.

D. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

E. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.