Ethics in business are vital as they limit the extent upon which administers and managers may go so as to earn more profits. It is paramount that any organization maintains an ethical code that all employees and stakeholders will follow and maintain.
The ethical dilemma in this scenario is whether to sell or not to sell. The salesman of the company has been offered a deal that will see him earn a commission of over $100,000. He will also earn the company huge sales. He can justify himself and argue that the sale of the drug is legalized by the government even when he is certain that the drug will cause cancer to those who take it. On the other hand, the salesman can choose to forfeit the deal and uphold ethics and not sell the drug as it causes cancer. He risks getting fired and huge losses on the commission.
My viewpoint about the ethical dilemma is that the salesman should not sell the drug. The sale will lead to more deaths resulting from cancer to the recipients of the drug. In addition, the actuality that the drug is legal does not make it ethical to be sold . Therefore, the salesman should do the ethical act of refraining from the sale.
The ethical dilemma in this case is whether to sell the drugs to a foreign country to children of a lower age or to maintain the current level of age and sales but still market it in the United States. The board of governors of the company wants to sell the cigarettes overseas to countries where the smoking age is lower so as to boost sales of the cigarette. On the other hand, selling the drug to underage children will lead to early deaths resulting from cancer. This question brings out an ethical issue.
The viewpoint is that the company should not sell cigarettes to underage children so as to increase its sales revenue. This will be unethical as children who are not of capacity will be exposed to smoking. Smoking has numerous after effects which include cancer . It would, therefore, be prudent for the board of governors to invent other ways and means increasing sales apart from selling the cigarettes in countries with a lower permitted age of smoking. This is the most ethical decision to make.
The ethical dilemma in this case lies with the accountant. The accountant has to decide whether to manipulate the balances of the end year to portray a different figure to the investors. This will involve a backdating of the revenues. On the other hand, the accountant may choose to disobey the request of the manager and report a true and fair view of the accounts. By so doing, he will jeopardize the profitability of the company.
The viewpoint is that the accountant should not manipulate the true state of the accounts of the company. The overstatement of the revenue will result to a false impression of the company to the investors who may invest in the company and incur huge losses. Lack of accounting ethics may result in court charges against all those who were involved in perpetrating the heinous acts . In addition, a manipulation will amount to a violation of the accounting standards which all accountants who are practicing must uphold. The accountant should, therefore, act with ethics and give a true representation of the company.
Works Cited
Boylan, Michael. Medical Ethics . Hoboken: Wiley, 2013.
Cullen, Praveen Parboteeah & John. Business Ethics. New York: Routledge, 2013.
Jeffrey, Cynthia. Research on proffesional responsibilty and ethics in Accounting. Bingley: Emarald, 2013.
