Ethical Dillema

Analysis Paper 2: Ethical Dilemma

Last summer I had an opportunity to intern for a regional public accounting firm just outside of Philadelphia. During the internship, I encountered my first real on the job "ethical dilemma." I had been working at the firm for probably 3 weeks before the incident occurred. It happened on a Friday in late June. This was no ordinary Friday, as all of the partners of the firm were out of the office on an annual retreat. Furthermore, on this Friday, many of the managers and principals of the firm were out of the office on vacation. Continuing, it was lunch time and I was approached by a senior staff member (who happened to be kind of the clown of the office). He invited me to a lunch engagement with him and other staff accountants and wanted to know if I would join. Of course being the new intern, I was happy to attend and have the opportunity to meet more people at the firm. Little did I know that this lunch engagement was a small "tradition" and was not a sporadic event. We got to a local restaurant/bar where we ended up eating lunch and hanging around for nearly four hours! During this lunch, I witnessed staff and managers of the firm talking negatively about other employees and partners that I had never even met. On top of that, the beverage of choice at our table was pitchers of beer. It felt weird drinking beer and watching managers of the firm pounding beers on the job. Being new to the professional world of business, I was not sure what to make of all this. I was looking at my first ethical dilemma. Something inside was telling me that it was unethical to be taking a long lunch and drinking alcohol on the job. The other side of me was saying this must be a special incident that happens on this day when the partners are gone, and it is not that big of a deal. Also, because managers were present, I felt that it may not have been wrong. I drove with another employee, so getting up and leaving was not an option. Furthermore, I did not feel comfortable asking someone to take me back to work, considering the fact that I was with eight other people who seemed perfectly content about the situation. So I decided to just relax, realizing that I am just an intern, and that I would be the last one to get in trouble if anything happened. We got back to the office and everything seemed pretty normal. Two of the other interns who missed out on this lunch questioned why I was gone so long and I explained to them I really didn't have a choice. As the long lunch incident ended, another ethical issue arose. What was I supposed to mark down on my time sheet for the day? It would have looked really bad if I wrote that I was on lunch break for four hours, yet that would be telling the truth. I decided that since I did not have a car to leave from the lunch after an hour (I had no choice) I would just say that I worked my full eight hours.

There are several different alternative outcomes that could have happened in my story. Firstly, I could have spoken up and asked someone to take me back to the office after an hour. This may have caused some agitation on the part of my fellow workers as someone who might have wanted to stay would have to drive me back to the office. On top of that, they may have formed opinions about me as being a potential whistle blower or someone who always follows the rules. On the other hand, for all I know, they may have reacted in a positive way. They may have realized that I might have been uncomfortable since I am an intern, and if they didn't want to drive me back to the office, they at least could have explained to me why I shouldn't be worried. Secondly, instead of speaking up, I could have gone with the flow like I did, but then could have said something to a Partner when they returned. This would be whistle blowing. If anyone from the lunch would have gotten in trouble, I am sure that they would know it was me who said something. This would give me a negative reputation in the firm and probably would make things very awkward for me going forward. Lastly, I could have gone on the four hour lunch and then could have been honest and marked that I only worked a 4 hour day. Under this option, I would risk getting in trouble myself but probably would not have to take others down with me.

The first alternative that I talked about could be considered the right decision under the theory of deontology. By speaking up and asking for someone to take me back to work, I would be acting under the idea that it is wrong for me to be taking a long lunch. This is showing principals of truth and fairness. The second alternative that I mentioned also could be the right decision to take using the theory of deontology. You could say that out of fairness, justice, and truth, it would be appropriate for me to say something to a Partner to make sure that the long lunch break and drinking on the job was appropriate. This also supports the idea of utilitarianism when referring to the firm as a whole. If it is not appropriate to take long lunch breaks and drink on the job, it is for the better of the entire firm for those who took these wrongful actions be dealt with in some way. Finally, the last alternative that I mentioned could be justified as right