Ethical Issue Intensity, Essay Example

1 The most important thing I learned from this chapter is what ethical issue intensity is and who and what contributes to this intensity. Ethical issue intensity “can be defined as the relevance or importance of an ethical issue in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/or organization.”

It is not something that one exercises in isolation; but it also includes the attributes of a given situation and the personal pressures of a given time and place. The organization’s stand on ethical issues, which is usually the result of its senior employees and those with administrative authority, also contributes to the ethical issue intensity of an employee. To recognize the existence of unethical issues many times involves understanding complex business relationships. Research has shown that when individuals are faced with ethical choices, the family, religion, the workplace, community, profession, and legal system influence an individual’s perception of the importance of an issue. I consider the ethical issue intensity to be important to my life, work and future career (I am in accounting). I am not doing an internship: I am going to prepare for a Master degree because it is increasing my awareness of all that goes into making an ethical decision. I will try and understand all the complex business relationships in my organization to be able to realize when unethical issues; such as, for example, insider trading occur. If I should find myself working for someone who keeps giving me orders that are contrary to my right and wrong beliefs, I will explain to my boss that I cannot go along with those orders—even if I lose my job– instead of trying to absolve myself of wrong with, “I was only following orders.”

2. I am perfectly clear about the main topic of this chapter, which is the framework for ethical decision making in business, a component of which is ethical issue intensity. It is this point that I am ready to share with the check-in session.

Chapter 6

Although I learned many important things in this chapter, the most important thing is white collar crime (WCC) because it has only been in recent years that some of the business irregularities have been investigated—as is the case with violent crimes—and those found guilty have been punished in line with their crime. It is now realized that WCC, which was once either overlooked or considered a minor indiscretion, “does more damage in monetary and emotional loss in one year than violent crimes do over several years combined, and it is steadily increasing. The list of WCC is long. On it one will find concealment, subterfuge, deceit, tax evasion, doctors billing Medicare falsely, corporate executives manipulating the stock market, government officials accepting illegal payments, corporate executives illegally disposing of toxic waste—and now, online crimes as well. This is important for my life and work because I now know about these WCC and their serious results, and I will make every effort not to let myself—and others with whom I have contact—become a victim of such crimes. I am not doing an internship: I am preparing for a Master degree. As for my future career (I am in accounting), I will always be vigilant for the existence of these crimes and attempt to nip them in the bud. If that is not possible anymore, I will not hesitate to report them to the police for due process.

I am perfectly clear about the main topic of this chapter, which is individual moral philosophies and moral values. The point that I am ready to share with the check-in session is why people commit white collar crimes (including that some may have criminal personalities) and their justifications.