Ethics

Question No. 1 What are the Ethical Concepts and Dilemmas That Valerie is Facing
The Ethical issues which are encountered by Valerie in this case include moral, legal, utilitarian and egoistic ethics.

Valerie is facing a dilemma between complying with the legal obligation to report the crime and protecting her own interests in the company and in the United States. Mr. Waters crime constitutes both criminal and civil offense and is punishable as per most countries penal and civil codes.  The acceptance of bribery from suppliers and other parties concerning the company is a criminal offense. It is also a form of corruption. This type of offense also constitutes civil offense by breaching the confidence of the company. On Valeries part, her knowledge of the crime would make her liable for either delaying or failing to report the crime. In some countries, this delay or failure can constitute a crime of obstruction of justice or being an involuntary accessory to the crime.

On the aspect of moral ethics, Valeries dilemma is between complying with the moral obligation to speak up and report on the crime of Mr. Lionel Waters and to just live a peaceful and comfortable life by being quiet about what she discovered. Delaying the report or failure to do so will constitute a moral crime of omission.

Under the concept of Utilitarian ethics, there is a need for Valerie to speak up on the crime or report it to trusted and unbiased personnel. Doing so will stop the crime from further causing damages to the company, other suppliers, the customers and the employees as well. Justice will be served particularly for the suppliers who have been unfairly and unjustly ignored in the supplier selection process because they did not pay bribes to Mr. Waters. Justice will also be served to the company stakeholders and owners, who are being cheated by Mr. Waters of their hard-earned financial resources. Most of all, the employees would benefit from the justice to be served because they will have better prospects for better management, working conditions and fair working benefits. The customers will also benefit in that they will be provided more diversified line of products to choose from, under fair and just selection system, at a price which would be just and free from corrupt values (Leys, 19614.)

However, Valeries egoistic principles or ethics are pushing her to just keep the discovery to herself in order to protect her job, residency in the United States, masters degree program and personal life. After all, she is not a US Green card holder but holds a special working visa which is under the discretion of her employer. Without the working visa, she wouldnt be able to stay in the US, unless a company procures for her. Reporting the crime would of course, pose threats to her employment, residence in the US and other consequences which will affect her future life. In other words, doing what is morally and legally right and ethical would cause her such inconvenience and risk in her life (Leys, 19614)

Question No. 2 If I Were Valerie, What would I Do and Why
Values aid people seeking to make sense of behaviors or seeking to justify them (Sathe, 1985 Sproull, 1981 in Nystrom, 1990 971.)

It is easy to say what I can do in Valeries particular situation as I am not in the actual situation. If I were, definitely, I would face the same quandary as she is. I would definitely weigh in the situation, the consequences of my actions, either way. I would consider all the consequences if I would report the situation to whom, when and how. I would also consider the consequences if I delay or fail to report the situation. Either of the choices would be inconvenient not only to me, but to all the parties concerned. If I choose to be quiet, there is no guarantee that I will keep my job, my US residency and all other personal goals attached to the job. Somehow, somewhere, the truth will emerge. The difference is, I would not be the person who directly divulged the crime. However, what if somebody else discovers that I was already aware Then, I would definitely be in trouble.

On the other hand, choosing to report the crime would help solve the problems. If I were in Valeries situation, I would carefully reflect on the situation and the available options, if I choose to report the crime. Valerie is right that she has to choose the perfect timing. I would at least find another job before reporting the crime. If I were as skilled as Valerie, it wouldnt take long for me to find another job. But, there might be repercussions with regard to finding a new employer in the height of any corporate scandal. I might not be allowed to leave the company in the height of the scandal, or the immigration itself might hold the visa processing itself, or most of all, a new employer might hesitate to take me in given the situation.

In reporting such a crime, if I were in Valerie, I would carefully choose the personnel to whom I would be reporting the crime. This person should be fair, just and not a party to the ongoing crime. As Valerie is not aware about who else is involved in the crime, then she should be careful about the situation.

Then, there is also the evidence (invoices which she found in the photocopying machine). Once she has decided to report the crime, she should never ever trust anyone else with that evidence of paper. It could be stolen and she would be left with nothing else to prove the crime with, unless the company launches its own unbiased investigation.

In the choice between being quiet or reporting about the crime, there will be inconvenient consequences both ways. Either choice might also lead to losses in terms of jobs, manpower, finances, and many other things which are attached with the employment. In the end, my decision should primarily be for my benefit, as well as for the general majority. But, just like Valerie, I would carefully consider the perfect timing and the perfect personnel to approach. At least, the pieces of the puzzle fit together, the impact would be toned down and the consequences controlled a little bit.

Question No. 3 What Are the Types of Stressors Being Experienced by Valerie
Relatively speaking, Valeries dilemmas can occur in many companies, not only in her country but many others, as well. Bribery and corruption has become rampant in many government and privately-controlled companies.

The types of stressors that Valerie is experiencing are also being experienced by other employees in other companies. In Valeries case, the primary stress factors are her job conditions, role conflict and ambiguity. The stressful job condition that Valerie is facing is attributed to the way Mr. Lionel Waters is managing the department, thereby causing a lot of burden and inconvenience to Valerie and her colleagues. Values held by top management often trigger or amplify organizational crises, and they also help create impressive corporate turnarounds (Nystrom and Starbuck, 1984 in Nystrom, 1990 971.)

Valeries role as a Marketing Manager is also a cause of stress for Valerie. She is pressured with her role in the department to gather as much supplier as possible to present perfume scents. However, Mr. Waters personal motives are all blocking Valeries valiant efforts. This is of course, frustrating to a highly-demanding job.

Question No. 4 Mr. Waters Ethics in Handling the Business and His Employees
Mr. Lionel Waters, the manager of the entire department where Valerie is working for does not in any way, exemplify a leader with good ethics and values. He does not deserve to be in such a position because he chooses to uphold his own personal ambitions over the companys goals, welfare and over-all financial standing. Mr. Waters, without any sense of discretion, totally ignored the rights of his other employees, except his two personal recruits. His blatant and ostentatious way of taking advantage of the companys resources and weakness is so indiscrete that most of his employees are aware of this indiscretion. What manager or leader would have such shameless indiscretion Doesnt he ever think that he doesnt have his employees respect with such conduct

Question No. 5 What Were the Aspects of the Corporate Culture that Contributed to the Dilemma
The dilemma seems to point to several aspects of corporate culture, one is the recruitment system, second is the check-and-balance system, third is the performance management system, and the last one, is the benefits management system.

From the beginning, the recruitment system is based only by appointment. There is no mention in the case about any other qualifying process to choose the personnel who has both the competence and the more important thing, the character required so much for the job. Apparently, there is no existing check and balance system in the company. If there is, why is there no one questioning the length of allowable leave of Mr. Lionel Waters and his cohorts Why is there no examination on the financial books and the supplier activities related to the entire department Why are there no review and monitoring of the expenses on travelling and extravagant activities conducted by Mr. Waters
The third aspect of corporate culture is the performance management system. Isnt anybody monitoring the actual outputs or performance of each individual in the company, from top to bottom
The last aspect is the benefits management system. Somebody needs to really knock on the door of this department and check why there is such a significant discrepancy in the allowable travelling and vacation period between Mr. Waters and his cohorts, and those of the other staff.

The above-mentioned aspects of the corporate culture are apparently contributing, if not, paving the way for the crime to be committed, thereby, causing such a dilemma to Valerie. Operative values affect behavior both by direct, conscious behavioral channeling and by indirect perceptual filtering. (England, 1967 in Nystrom, 1990 971.)