Ethical issues in business can often be stormy waters to navigate. The reason for this is that the human tendency is towards gaining as much as possible for as little effort as possible. This is so in all areas of life, including weight loss, making money, finding love, and all the major areas in which human beings seek to excel. Because of this fundamental trait in human nature, it is also often the case that those who gain power in a limited amount of time are tempted to maintain or perpetuate this power as much as possible in as little time as possible. In most whistle-blower cases, for example, the wrongdoing is not the result of an original intent to create an ethically difficult situation. For this reason, the first piece of advice I would give to Gail Rosenberg is to communicate with her immediate superiors. If this fails to obtain the desired result, she should consider becoming a whistle blower, but with the understanding that this could hold significant challenges for her personal safety and the safety of those she cares about.
Clearly, Gail's personal ethics compels her to do something about the case of dishonesty she became aware of. A lesser person than herself might have let the dishonesty slide in favor of the presigious position that is her prise, accepting that business honesty was a luxury only to be expected by highly delusional school childrn. However, Gail is clearly of a mindset that is far more concerned with the effecs of business on those associated with that business than with any derogatory comments towards herself in terms of personality or age.
Her first step...
She should, however, be careful. Many whistleblowers have been subject to significant danger as a result of their activities (Brown and Olse, n.d.). So, my recommendation is that her first step should be careful communication. Since all her supervisors and bosses have shown themselves to be completely in agreement with the unethical practices of the company, she should be very careful about getting all the facts behind it. She might, for example, ask questions such as why they believe that the practice is acceptable. In doing this, she should maintain an air of open understanding and willingness to learn. It is unlikely that Gail would, however, receive a satisfactory response in this way. Hence, her second step should be to seek external help.
According to Weise (2012), there is an increasing tendency towards whistleblowing. This is not only related to the relative notoriety and financial gain that might be accomplished in this way, but also due to the fact that business ethics have become far more important to companies than the case was before. Indeed, not only accounting, but also a care for the environment and involvement with the community have become part and parcel of one's interaction with the community.
For this reason, it is far more likely that Gail's protests would result in a favorable outcome for her individually and the communit in general than would have been the case only twenty years ago.
Even two decades ago, it was generally accepted that business could do no wrong. Today, this is not the…
