Jessica has just been hired as the Payroll Manager at Murdock Cable Company. The company employs 52 people primarily from the neighboring community. She was welcomed to her new position by the General Manager, Greg (her immediate supervisor), and Walter, the company owner. Jessica’s first impression of the company is that it is a welcoming environment with professional people who are friendly. Walter told her to see him if she has any questions or problems. Greg, the General Manager who hired Jessica, informed her of the need for maintaining strict confidentiality regarding employee salaries, pay scales, and commissions. The previous Payroll Manager was terminated after disclosing certain payroll information which violated the confidentiality guidelines. After four months of employment, Jessica began to wonder why one technician (Mark) made so much more in commissions than the other service technicians. She assumed that Mark was highly experienced, qualified, and exceptionally diligent. She overheard Walter commending Mark on his performance on several occasions. She noticed that Walter, Greg, and Mark often have lunch together. Work tickets are randomly assigned to technicians. When a technician completes a job, the next ticket from the dispenser should be taken. Technicians do not have the option of selecting their work tickets. As the Payroll Manager, Jessica is responsible for loading the work tickets in the dispenser. She receives the work tickets from Greg. One day, Greg gives Jessica the stack of work tickets for the service technicians for the upcoming week. As required, Jessica loads the tickets into the dispenser. She returns to Greg’s office and sees him giving Mark a separate stack of work tickets. Now Jessica understands why Mark’s commissions are so high; Greg is giving the easier, high-commission work tickets to Mark. After some investigation, Jessica discovers that Mark is Greg’s brother. Jessica is contemplating what to do. Since she has only been at the company a short time, she is still on probation. This is her first job since college.

REQUIRED:

. • Discuss the ethical implications and demonstrate your decision-making processes for the above scenario.

• You should provide a well-organized thoughtful discussion of the ethical situation and the business or organizational problem that the company faces.

• Include at least two sources, appropriately cited and referenced. Use APA formatting. Below are questions that may help guide your discussion. The following questions are not in any particular order. The questions are a guide to help stimulate your thoughts. A sentence or two answering each question is insufficient.

• What is an ethical dilemma? What ethical dilemma does the accountant face? What business problem(s) does the company have? What flaws, if any, provide an opportunity for fraud? 

• Who are the potential stakeholders and how might they be affected by the decision of the accountant?

• What choices does the accountant have? Evaluate the choices, i.e. who benefits or who are hurt by the choice(s).

• What action would you recommend, i.e. how do you believe the business problem should be resolved? How should the ethical dilemma be resolved?

• Going forward, what should the company do regarding organizational ethics?