Question 1: You work as an accountant for a healthcare organization which has difficulty staying in the black. You discover an accounting error the government made that increases the funding for your company by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Keeping the money will ensure that severely injured people will receive some of the best care. Explain the ethical course of action that should be taken and why. Include in your answer a detailed explanation of the ethical theory used and the possible consequences of your actions.
Question 2: What is the overall relationship between laws and ethics. In regard to the field of human resources, are there times in which laws and ethics conflict? If so, when and how? Provide an example of such a conflict.
Question 3: Your employer asks whether you have completed an assignment that was due last week. Over the past three weeks, you have been completely inundated with new assignments and, as such, you have completely forgotten about this particular task. You know that if you admit to your supervisor that you forgot, you run the risk of being written up (again) and possibly losing your job. Describe how each of three ethical frameworks (deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics) would deal with this situation. Which ethical framework would you choose to follow?
Question 4: Is action that is in the interest of a business always in the public interest? When might they be in conflict? What are some examples of business interests that may not be in the public interest? What considerations must employees weigh in these situations? Discuss these considerations specifically in the context of situations related to multinational corporations.
Question 5: You work as a quality control specialist at a baby products manufacturing plant. One of the products that your company makes is a deluxe edition baby crib. The crib is surrounded by a thin netting. While doing routine testing, you notice that the netting easily tears and can cause a choking hazard. You notify your supervisor who is obviously reluctant to do anything because it would cost the company close to a million dollars to fix all of the cribs. What is whistleblowing? How does it relate to ethics? How does it relate to the law? What are some possible consequences of whistleblowing in this situation?