Ethics Matter

Dieter’s Investigation on Walter

Dieter was persistent enough in looking into Walters’ past. His efforts to evaluate Walter were motivated by the big salary and additional benefits that he would be receiving in his new role as superintendent. The last three districts where Mark and Flora had previously worked had purchased their contracts. A subsequent assessment of their performance revealed that they had overutilized the districts’ resources, putting the agency in danger of going bankrupt. Dieter conducted a background investigation on Walter and his wife in order to gather information about their behavior and provide it to him. From the information that he gathered on Walter’s underperformance and unethical conduct at the previous areas of employment, it is clear that Dieter persisted on his background checks. He also figured out that Walter would carry on with the irresponsible behavior in the district, which was true.

Essence of informing the district officials

After identifying that Mark and Flora were irresponsible and unethical in their organizational conduct, it would have been advisable for Dieter to inform the district officials on the matter. In so doing, the district officials would have launched a parallel investigation on the couple, especially in the way they handled resources and finances. It is ethical for an individual to expose any evil or inappropriate practice within an organization because it contributes in the mitigation of the problem (Kant, 2016). The move would also have saved the district a lot of money that was being quoted and budgeted which was supposed to be directed to various activities including ending teachers’ strikes and covering costs of unmet goals such as creating of gymnasiums. By keeping his mouth shut, it gave the couple an opportunity to carry on with their unethical practices.

Keeping a complete file on matters

Dieter made a right move by keeping a complete file on the fiscal matters especially where Walter was involved in irresponsible promises. The files were a good source of intangible evidence that would have worked against Walters. Keeping a record of wrongs in an institutional setup is vital, especially when the proprietors of the fraudulent and irresponsible activities are senior employees (Lim, 2012). They kept a straight record of how Walter contributed to the swelling of the district’s budgets with unrealistic promises. Additionally, it exposed loopholes in the books of accounting, and Walter was liable for all these inconsistencies.

Balancing of the district’s books using federal grants

Balancing the district’s books using federal grants indirect costs was a scheme that had been hatched by Walter and Flora to make it appear that the district was experiencing financial stability. In a fraudulent organization, for instance, books on accounting are usually cooked with the aim of portraying to the public that the firm is enjoying a strong financial position (Velasquez, 1996). A similar strategy was used by Walter so that Dieter would assume that he was not irresponsible in the way he handled district funds. In the future, balancing of the books using the indirect federal grants would still have surfaced as a financial issue to the district.

Informing the board on Walter’s contract

In any organizational setup, in the event of unethical conduct by workers or suspicious transactions or agreements, it is vital for a whistleblower to raise the alarm on the word go (Rowe, 2012). In so doing, it may save the firm millions of dollars or its reputation. Apparently, it would have been advisable for Dieter to immediately inform the board when he knew that the teachers’ contract was highly risky. In so doing, this would have saved the district from the ever-increasing budget that continues affecting its operations. Walter was a teachers’ hero, but Dieter knew the true cost of the contract. From his point of view, it would have in the future contributed to a decline in the district’s financial performance and the consequences would continue being dire over the years.

Dieter’s next move

With all the happenings in the district, the right step for Dieter involves reporting the matter to state officials. It will be necessary for him to provide the district and state officials a comprehensive report on the impending solvency and those factors that have played a critical role in the financial problem. He should then present the complete files with the evidence that shows Mark’s involvement in the financial problems faced by the district. The move is advisable because it will save the district from diving deeper into financial problems (Dewey, 2016). Mark’s exposure will also make it hard for him to push on with the threat to lay-off Dieter. It is therefore apparent that by reporting the district to the state officials and singling out Mark as the proprietor of the irresponsible and unethical activities leading to the financial troubles, Dieter will bring positive changes to the district. Doing what is right come along with suitable outcomes that favor a large population (Dewey, 2016).

References

Dewey, J. (2016). Ethics. Read Books Ltd.

Kant, I. (2016). The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics. Lanham: Dancing Unicorn Books.

Lim, B. (2012). Kierkegaard’s Existential Ethics : Ethics as Theory of Moral Education. The Journal Of Moral Education, 24(3), 45. http://dx.doi.org/10.17715/jme.2012.12.24.3.45

Rowe, J. (2012). Michal’s moral dilemma. London: T & T Clark.

Velasquez, M. (1996). Why Ethics Matters: A Defense of Ethics in Business Organizations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 6(2), 201. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3857623