Introduction
Morals and ethics are very important in an organizational context. Organizations are made of people and their collective values make the basis for the moral and code of ethics of the organization. The organization as a whole needs to perform certain duties to society. Similarly, the management and the workers also need to be ethical and follow the ethical codes of the organization. The code of ethics may be on the management worker relation or how the duty is performed or the dealing with outsiders etc. All actions and reactions have a moral side of it in the organization (Kotter and Cohen, 2007, P. 76).
Jasmine proposal
The proposed solution of preparing two sets of accounts by Jasmin Adams is unethical. This is because preparation for sets of accounts is ethical itself and the company should have good practices of ethics which should be followed. It is required in law that a company should have one set of accounts and there should be no secret profits (Hoffman, 2006). In this case, it appears there will be secret profits arising from the two sets of accounts proposed and the dealing with the outside world will not be genuine.
Ethical practices should be issues that should be highly acknowledged by all individuals and organizations in any field or scope of operation. Most unethical practices if cited will be blamed on the management in line with its planning strategies. Thus it becomes necessary for the management to have their planning properly done to uphold ethical practices. Ethical practices will not only safeguard a company’s reputation but also enable it to comfortably operate within the legal provisions and respect that opens up other opportunities like the ability to secure good and better orders (Garrison, Noreen, Brewer, Chesley, and Carroll, 2006, P.22).
It appears that Jasmine’s view is that their company should only focus on profit-making at all costs. He is very passive on the moral and social responsibility of business. Social responsibility demands ethics in operations. Social responsibility is the responsibility based on ethics in the dealings with the stakeholders, the environment, and society as a whole (Garrison, Noreen, Brewer, Chesley, and Carroll, 2006, P.22).
Ethics of Jasmine proposal
Veronica’s view can be supported by the standards as described in chapter one. The chapter argues that employees should do the right thing on moral grounds; complementing this ethical argument is evidence that it is also the necessary business strategy. Ethics should also be taken into account when looking at the business interests because if the companies start to handle the fraud cases like this then it would be a case of “sustaining at the cost of society”. Ethics at the workplace also involve the appreciation, acknowledgment, respect, and integrity of the employees (LRN, 2007).
Ignoring the employees like Veronica would make a culture of no job security in the internal environment of the company which will eventually be harmful to the company. No one will ever try to oppose the wrong things because of the fear of being destroyed by seniors. This environment can more or less be said as an environment of harassment (Kotter and Cohen, 2007, P. 78).
It should be noted that there is a relationship between the expected company’s code of ethics and how it conducts its practices. For some companies it’s a tradition or rather a culture to operate within or outside the code of ethics and the management can determine that in its plan. For the best achievement of the companies’ plans, the management should put an effort to uphold ethical practices. Research indicates that the best can be achieved only when the management fully supports ethics. For the entire company to uphold ethics, it’s been recommended that the expected ethical practices be outlined both in written and oral and frequently evaluated. The ethical practices outlined should be understood by all employees and are easy to be upheld. The management is obligated to strictly monitor the adherence to the laid-out ethics among its staff. This is best incorporated when there are laid out repercussions for noncompliance (Garrison, Noreen, Brewer, Chesley, and Carroll, 2006, P.22).
Therefore in this case veronica should uphold the ethical practice since it is supported by the requirement as described in Chapter one.
Alternatives for Veronica
Veronica has the following alternatives in case Jasmine insists of implement them. She may quit the job; she may complain to the senior person or ignores Jasmine and insists on the right thing, maintains the old System, and proposes a new method to senior officers of the organization. In these alternatives quitting the job is not the right choice. Things are likely to be the same in other companies also. The second alternative that is complaining to the senior is also may end up without any result. The third alternative that is not to mind Jasmine will not work out since she will lose her peace and Jasmine is senior (Garrison, Noreen, Brewer, Chesley and Carroll, 2006, P.22). If she takes the fourth choice she can continue using the old method and propose a new method to the seniors highlighting the importance of consistency in the application of one system. She can continue her job without disturbing her moral values. There is a possibility of changing the attitude Jasmine with time. If she could achieve this she will get more job satisfaction. So Veronica should stay in the company and try to change the attitude of Jasmine to keep ethics in their work. Honest work pays off. (Shoemaker, J.2009)
Conclusion
It is very difficult to define ethics and morals in the organizational context. Different groups may define morals differently. However, there will be common agreement on some issues. The management should make a code of ethics in the organization and motivate the employees to follow it. This will help the organization to keep a good image in public. Organizations should also work with the expectations of the government (Jackson & Kevin, 2004).
Works cited
Garrison, Ray, Noreen, Eric, Brewer, Peter, Chesley, Dick and Carroll, Raymond. Managerial Accounting. Canada , McGraw-Hill Ryerson Higher Education; Canadian edition (2006).
Hoffman, Paul. (2006). Define Your Position: Values, Ethics & Leadership. Web.
Jackson & Kevin. (2004). Building Reputational Capital. New York, NY, Oxford University Press.
Kotter, John, and Cohen, Dan. The Heart of Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Company, 2007.
LRN (2007), The LRN ethics and compliance risk management practices report, Web.
Martin, John. New Corporate Governance Challenges in the Post-Sarbanes-Oxley World. Houston, Texas, (2004)
Shoemaker, John. (2009). Honest Work Pays Off. Web.