From the Wall Street Journal “How Three Unlikely Sleuths Exposed Fraud at WorldCom?"

What were the potential consequences of the actions Cynthia Cooper and her team took as they investigated the accounting discrepancies at WorldCom? What were the potential consequences of their not pursuing these discrepancies? Be sure to consider potential effects upon all stakeholders. Would utilitarianism support their actions?

Consider the accounting discrepancies from a Kantian perspective – could WorldCom’s accounting practices be universalized? Who was WorldCom treating as a means and not an end? What would Kant say about Ms. Cooper’s actions?

What aspects of Ms. Cooper’s character were virtuous and what virtues were demonstrated by her actions? Or, a related question: What sorts of virtues would be needed for someone to act as Ms. Cooper and the others on her team did in fact act?

Ms. Cooper’s team pressed ahead with activities that led to their “blowing the whistle” within the company and with Arthur Anderson. Given a little more time, their activities might have led them to “blow the whistle” on WorldCom to the SEC. Should they have pursued these activities? Would it be the duty of others, finding themselves in a similar situation, to act as Ms. Cooper and her team acted? Draw together your answers to the previous questions, along with Bowie’s five conditions for whistle-blowing, to support your conclusion.