Assume that you have graduated from Deakin Business School with a major in accounting and financial planning. On graduation you have been extremely lucky to secure a job given the current job market due to COVID 19. The firm you have secured a job with is a boutique mining company called Stargate Mining (Stargate), which is a listed company. Stargate is an old and prestigious mining company that specialises in gold and silver. Your role is within the Finance and Project approval divisions.

Harry Maybourne is the Head of your division and has taken on the responsibility to be your mentor and train you within the department. He is responsible for inducting you into the company, and also to provide you with ongoing training and support in relation to your familiarisation with the company and its culture. As part of the process, Harry has regularly invited you to attend dinners with him after work with a couple of other senior colleagues. On some occasions, you also had the pleasure of meeting Adria Ori, who is Harry's partner, who also joined some of these dinners. Adria has been dating Harry for a few months now and is known to some of the senior colleagues.

A few months later, Stargate acquired rights to a mining site which has significant potential to yield gold and silver, together with diamonds. As part of the project, a couple of openings have become available, and Adria is brought in to manage the new project. You were somewhat surprised, given that Adria has a relationship with Harry and the recruitment process was somewhat relaxed to hire Adria to the role, and Harry was also part of the interview board that hired her.

While Adria has some experience in project management, she has not previously managed a mining related project. She is placed within your team and also reports to Harry. However, she has come in at a senior position to you. Adria adjusts well into her new role and starts coordinating the project. You have also been seconded to her to help her out with some of the preliminary work to ensure that the mining project begins smoothly. However, given your training in ethics, you raise your concern about conflict of interest with Harry, however, he dismisses it and asks you to not raise the issue again given that his relationship with Adria is a private matter. While it is troubling you, you follow Harry's instructions given he is your reporting line head.

You note that the performance of the team, including Adria is extremely professional and Adria is proving herself to be a good hire. She has picked up the specific intricacies around the mining industry projects well and is applying her skills to getting the project started. She has already contacted the state government about the mining rights of the lands allocated and initiated a feasibility study on how the mining process can begin.

You also observe that while Adria and Harry are still going out, they do keep a healthy professional distance within the workplace. There have been no behavioural issues at work due to the personal relationship between Adria and Harry. However, what you initially assumed to be good professional behaviour turned out to be more, as it becomes clear to you that Adria and Harry are deliberately distant from each other because no one in the firm, except you and a few senior executives, who joined you in dinners organised by Harry, have knowledge about their relationship.

The results of the feasibility study initiated by Adria (which you were a part of) has highlighted some concerns. On investigating the mining rights and the land area, you find that there is a historic aboriginal cave that is in one part of the land which may have significant gold deposits. You raise this issue with Adria, and she suggests a meeting with Harry to discuss the way forward.

In a few days, you, Adria and Harry have a meeting on the best course of action in relation to the culturally significant cave within the mining area. Harry suggests that given the state government has approved the mining of the land, and while they may be aware of the cave, there is no issue for Stargate, and so they should continue with plans to extract resources from the area where the cave is located. Harry points out that the deposits there will bring in significant revenue to the company and in turn, large bonuses at the end of the project. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, projects have been moving slowly and this is a welcome boost to the financials of the company.

You further investigate the information around the site and determine that the state government is not aware of the specific site and its significance, even though some aboriginal elders have raised concerns. If the site's details are revealed to the government, there may be a possibility that the area around the site may be listed as a heritage area and therefore, not be available for mining. However, if you go ahead with the mining, there is a possibility that there may be reputational damage to the organisation, and some public backlash which may lead to shareholder and government action.

While Adria is concerned, she believes that the shareholders will be very happy with the profits that the site will bring. She is of the view that you should not continue with your work around the historic site, and should focus on the work at hand in progressing the mining project. She also asks you to remove any reference to the cultural site in the paperwork and mentions that Harry is of the same view. Harry is of the view that any fines that may be levied against the company will be relatively small compared to the profit that can be gained from the project.

Given that this is a specific issue around mining, you are of the view that Adria may not have the expertise to manage this kind of issue given this is an issue unique to mining projects. This weighs in heavily on your mind, given the views of the aboriginal elders and your own personal research into the situation. You are also concerned about the reputational and related consequences to the firm, and also to yourself, for being part of the destruction of the historic site if it goes ahead.

If you were to file an internal memo to Harry's boss about the issue around the project, there is a possibility that the project may be halted until further investigations are conducted about the viability of the site. There is also the possibility of you and your team losing your job as the project is crucial to the company's going concern. There could be further disciplinary action brought against Harry for the lack of transparency in the hiring process of Adria.

You are faced with a difficult dilemma with a range of issues. You feel you need to make use of all your training and education in ethics to reach and justify a responsible and ethical decision. How would you approach this situation

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