Reference no: EM131261898

Four short discussions

1) Virtue is defined by the Meriam-Webster dictionary as "a moral good behavior or character; a good and moral quality." In simple words, doing what is right. In addition, virtue ethics is defined by Ethic and Virtues (2016) as "certain ideas, such as excellence or dedication to the common good, toward which we should strive and which allow the full development of our humanity" (p.2). The ability to recognize that we can be dedicated individuals and the conscious decisions we make every day in order to achieve fulfillment. According to Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, and Meyer (2008), virtues are habits. When we act in virtue, observing generosity, integrity, fairness, etc., these attitudes become an important part of our lives. They with time, define our character, purpose, beliefs.

Jim Smith circumstance is the perfect example of what I like to call "ethically mislead". By manipulating the estimates of outstanding claims, Jim thought he was observing virtue in his workplace---in his eyes, he was doing right for the right reasons (Virtue Ethics, 2011). However, I disagree with that premise. It is clear that there are no "right reasons" for lying, dishonoring and manipulating. Several virtues like honesty, fairness, and integrity, are at stake in this case. It is important to recognize the value and to try our best to observe virtue in everything we do. At the end of the day, nothing worthwhile is achieved quickly or without sacrifice. "Virtues are developed through learning and through practice...Just as the ability to run a marathon develops through much training and practice, so too does our capacity to be fair, to be courageous, or to be compassionate" (Velazquez, Andre, Shanks, & Meyer, 2008, p.2).

References:

Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., & Meyer, M. J. (2008). Ethics and Virtue. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Retrieved from: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicsandvirtue.html

Virtue ethics. (2011). Seven Oaks Philosophy. Retrieved from: https://www.sevenoaksphilosophy.org/ethics/virtue.html
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtue

2) Virtue ethics was a term that I wasn't too familiar with, so I looked up a clear cut meaning at to what it might be. Virtue ethics is clearly defined as, "one of the three major approaches to normative ethics." Normative ethics spells out what is normal behavior, morally speaking. Virtue Ethics takes on * its approach takes on rules (deontology), which focuses on the action itself and what consequence it may bring.

In this analogy the action was to bring profits to standard, which is what the accountant wanted all of his counterparts to witness. In the meantime Jim, he had his own set of rules which caused him to be a part of the moment. His success was to decrease in profit for Division 1 of ABC Company. Now the question arises, did he have good moral judgement when his "creativity" aided in maximizing the company's profit?

What sticks out for me was his mindset and how he was attempting to reason out his motives. He comments, "I have a duty to this company and its stockholders-and that is to maximize profits." To me his eyed loyalty and business virtue as being parallel when it came to his success at the ABC Company.

There are two approaches to business virtue: agent-based and action based approach. When using agent-based ‘the virtuous' agent (Jim) is involved in a continual quest to find balance in decision making. (Dobson). The goal was to decrease profit, so Jim made up his own rules on how to accomplish this goal.

The second approach which is agent-based. This virtue deals with boundaries he has an accountant. His actions was a reflection of code of conduct of the company, "duty" to the stockholders.

References:

*https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/ht be.

Dobson, John. Applying Virtue Ethics to Business: The Agent-Based Approach Retrieved Oct 21, 2016. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=fin_fac

https://www.merriam-webster/dictionary/virtue

3. A virtue is defined by the English Oxford Living Dictionary as "Behavior showing high moral standards; A quality considered morally good or desirable in a person; A good or useful quality of a thing" (English Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2016). Ethics is defined also by the English Oxford Living Dictionary as "Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity; The moral correctness of specified conduct" (English Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2016). Based on the dictionary definitions, virtue ethics in short means the morally good behavior of an individual person when conducting an activity or specified action. This does not mean acting in a virtually ethical manner when being watched but more so when not. Of course people are going to act appropriately and based on what is "right" when they know someone-typically a supervisor, boss, parents, etc- is watching. It is the behavior that is conducted when no one is watching the describes a persons true virtues.

When applying virtue ethics to the actions of Jim Smith from ABC Insurance Company, one must first identify his wrongdoings or misleading behavior. In an attempt to justify the company's end of quarter "claims lag", profits, and to maximize his own end of the quarter bonus, Jim would call supervisors of each branch to report their estimated percentage of outstanding insurance claims (claims lag). One particular branch would report 20% of all claims were still outstanding. Instead of reporting the actual amount presented from each perspective branch, Jim would cut this percentage in half and report that only 10% of all ABC's claims were still in the outstanding status. By manipulating numbers as such, Jim reduced the quarterly claims expenses while also affording himself the opportunity for a bonus- and an increased bonus at that.
Personal virtues and business virtues do not always coincide. For example, some personal virtues one may possess include: honesty, empathy, compassions, hard work, trustworthiness, and courage. Some business virtues include: good communication, financial competency, risk taking, and long term goal thinking. Based on the Jim Smith example, I believe his virtues at stake were honesty, trustworthiness, truthfulness, financial competency, and risk taking. Jim Smith blatantly altered reported financial estimates from various branches to mislead the organization in believing that their profits were higher and that claims lag were lower than in actuality. Having a duty to the company and its stockholders to maximize profits is not only his obligation but so is his honesty to report actual financial figures. If Jim was willing to alter, mislead, and lie in this situation, what else has he been unforthcoming about?

English Oxford Living Dictionaries. (2016). Virtue. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/virtue

Wittmer, Dennis and O'Brien, Kevin. (2014). The Virtue of "Virtue Ethics" in Business and Business Education. Journal of Business Ethics Education. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b140/b4cd37d9264e33425851cb21cbacd1063289.pdf

Dobson, John. (2007). Applying virtue ethics to business: The agent-based approach. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=fin_fac

4."The self-indulgent man craves for all pleasant things...and is led by his appetite to choose these at the cost of everything else." (Aristotle, 2016). It is evident that the action of Jim Smith personifies this quote. According to (Gowdy, 2013) "Virtue Ethics is a classification within Normative Ethics that attempts to discover and classify what might be deemed of moral character, and to apply the moral character as a base for one's choices and actions". It is also stated that "The general concept behind Virtue Ethics is that it focuses on what the individual should choose for his/her own personal inward behavior (character) rather than the individual relying solely on the external laws and customs of the person's culture, and if a person's character is good then so ought the person's choices and actions be good". (Gowdy, 2013). In analyzing this scenario with Jim Smith, it is evident that he disregarded the ethical behaviour and as an employee and his position to the Organization. "Another way in which one can easily fall short of full virtue is through lacking phronesis-moral or practical wisdom". (Hursthouse, 2012).

Jim Smith's action to reduce the claim's report to 10% can seriously affect the Organization. Jim Smith was acting in his own best interest, to continue being portrayed as the brilliant account that he is deemed to be. His dishonest actions have clearly affected a true reflection of the financial estimates of the Organization. By providing misleading information it will eventually disrupt the budget of the Organization on a whole. This is so because the Organization will not be cognizant of the accurate information that is necessary to show them their true financial position as a company for the quarter and because of this it will put the company in jeopardy to not effectively prepare a suitable budget when it is time to pay out on the claims that they have incurred. If Jim Smith was acting in his position as an honorable accountant, he would be aware that there are certain measures that the company can implement or improve on to help with their claims division in not incurring too much. Reinsurance could have been adequately planned as it will help to provide "capital management which "companies can avoid having to absorb large losses by passing risk; this frees up additional capital" (Merkel & ChFC, 2008). Another factor which will be detrimental for the Organization based on Jim Smith's action is that the Organization can be placed under scrutiny by auditors when they come to audit the Organization. This will capture an enormous amount of attention that can become a serious issue for the Organization and also Jim Smith.

References

Aristotle. (2016). The Nicomachean ethics quotes by Aristotle. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2919427

Gowdy, L. N. (2013, October 15). Virtue ethics. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from https://www.ethicsmorals.com/ethicsvirtue.html

Hursthouse, R. (2012, March 8). Virtue ethics. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/

Merkel, S., & ChFC (2008). What is reinsurance? Retrieved October 26, 2016 from https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/reinsurance.asp