B. Personal views
The issues of balancing the ethics of one's profession with the need to do one's job do not merely pertain to accounting, but touches upon all workers. For example: does a manager's duty merely lie in maximizing shareholder value, or does he or she have an ethical obligation to his or her employees to secure their welfare? Until recent regulations, accountants often placed their desire to please clients over their responsibility to the public to produce a valid audit. But even when not legally or professionally bound by a formal code of ethics, a worker should not be forced to put aside his or her own sense of integrity to serve his or her employer.
C. Workplace application
A worker should not be expected to do something unethical that violates common laws of decency as part of his or her employment: for example, he or she should not be required to lie about the environmental hazards of a product, or mislead shareholders about the solvency of a company. This is especially true if the worker could be legally liable for the 'fall out' after the lie is revealed. Professional judgment means using one's knowledge, and also one's human judgment to their fullest capacity in the workplace.
Greed
A. Review
There is perhaps no greater 'hot button' word in the American discourse today than greed according to Frank Ryan's 2009 article "Thoughts on civility and selfless sacrifice" from the Central Penn Business Journal. Excessive executive compensation, imprudent policies that put taxpayer money at risk, and outrage and the bailouts of large banks and automotive companies have all enraged the American public, turning them against big business and Wall Street. Frank states that corporate leaders, unions, and even employees of corporations have a responsibility as citizens, to citizens, and also to the future of capitalism as a...
Americans have lost faith in the system, and even innocent companies will feel the pinch in terms of fundraising because of the actions of a few. Meanwhile, many have lost their jobs due to the inflated salaries and pensions negotiated at GM, or the speculative and fraudulent actions of bankers.
B. Review
The article suggests that greed, rather than furthering capitalism, is counter-productive. However, Ryan also rages at the deficit of 'personal responsibility' amongst workers, including the actions of GM's unions. He does not take into consideration the far greater greed and environmental irresponsibility of GM's CEOs and the fact that workers were harmed to a far greater extent than management, in the wake of the current banking scandals, while upper-level management has been cushioned from the effects of capitalism.
C. Workplace implications
Ryan calls for selflessness, but selflessness is not built into the reward structure of the capitalist system. While individual workers and mangers could certainly benefit from greater training in ethics at the nation's business schools, some regulation is also needed to reign in a system that is essentially profit-driven.
Reference
Schmutte, James & James Duncan. (2009, September). Professional judgment: A model for accounting and auditing decisions. The CPA Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2010 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5346/is_200909/ai_n39231893/
Ryan, Frank. (2009). Thoughts on civility and selfless sacrifice. Central Penn Business Journal.
Retrieved March 2, 2010 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5295/is_20091204/ai_n45187458/
Vogel, Melanie. (2009, September 1). The new soft skill: Virtual competence. Career Journal.
Retrieved March 2, 2010 at http://www.career-journal.com/en/leadership/206.html?infoView=23124
