This article details the personal involvement of the author in the early stages of the infamous Pinto fire case. The paper first presents an insider account of the context and decision environment within which he failed to initiate an early recall of defective vehicles. A cognitive script analysis of the personal experience is then offered as an explanation of factors that led to a decision that now is commonly seen as a definitive study in unethical corporate behavior. The main analytical (...) thesis is that script schemas that were guiding cognition and action at the time precluded consideration of issues in ethical terms because the scripts did not include ethical dimensions. (shrink)

In order to move towards an Ethic of Accounting, one must start by defining the function and role of the accountant. This in turn depends to a great extent on the identity of the client or whatever party the Accountant owes his loyal agency to. The issue is one of cardinal importance, and it is perceived as such by the accountants themselves. Loeb for instance says that the client-identity issue is overriding importance now, and will become even more crucial in (...) the immediate years ahead. The question of what constitutes ethical behaviour on the part of the accountant will depend then upon the relation within which such ethical behaviour will have to be deployed.The main question raised in this paper will therefore be, is the accountant primarily engaged by one client (whether an individual or a corporation) to act as their agent, deal with their problems by loyally advancing their interests to the best of his professional competence, although within the limits imposed by law and morality? Or is the public sector to be considered the principal target of the accountant's resolute professionalism and unswerving loyalty? (shrink)

The authors empirically examine the nature and extent of ethical problems confronting senior level AICPA members (CPAs) and examine the effectiveness of partner actions and codes of ethics in reducing ethical problems. The results indicate that the most difficult ethical problems (frequency reported) were: client requests to alter tax returns and commit tax fraud, conflict of interest and independence, client requests to alter financial statements, personal-professional problems, and fee problems. Analysis of attitudes toward ethics in the accounting profession indicated that (...) (1) CPAs perceive that opportunities exist in the accounting profession to engage in unethical behavior, (2) CPAs, in general, do not believe that unethical behavior leads to success, and (3) when top management (partners) reprimand unethical behavior, the ethical problems perceived by CPAs seem to be reduced. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of auditors' individual ethical orientations, professional commitment, and organizational commitment on their ability to recognize the ethical issues in a professional situation and on their level of cognitive moral development. Other objectives of the research were: to develop a measure of auditors' ethical sensitivity; to measure auditors' ethical orientation, ethical sensitivity, and the level of cognitive moral development reflected in their ethical judgments; to examine the relationships of various demographic variables (...) to ethical sensitivity and level of cognitive moral development; and to evaluate the effects of ethical orientation on auditors' professional and organizational commitment. ;Based on ethical theory developed by Hunt and Vitell , a research model was constructed that hypothesized professional commitment and ethical orientation as exogenous predictor variables of organizational commitment and ethical sensitivity. Ethical sensitivity was in turn hypothesized to affect level of cognitive moral development. The covariance structural equations modeling technique LISREL was used to provide a best fit model estimating the relationships among the variables and the quality of the measurements. ;The variables were measured using a questionnaire that was administered to a sample of 207 auditors at all levels of a single Big Eight public accounting firm in a southwestern state. The results of the study supported the significant effects of an auditor's ethical orientation on professional commitment, which in turn affected organizational commitment. The results represented in the best fit model did not, however, support the hypothesis that these three variables affect an auditor's ability to recognize ethical situations in a professional context. Ethical sensitivity was positively related to age, but not to education . The level of cognitive moral development reflected in ethical judgments was higher for females and for auditors who had taken a college ethics course. (shrink)

The harsh consequences of the American plant closing epidemic in recent years on workers, their families, and their communities, has raised widespread ethical and moral concerns. In the early 1970s, a diverse group of academics, social activists, public policy analysts, and special interest organizations developed a number of legislative proposals designed to restrict closings by law. The proposals encountered many formidable obstacles in an increasingly hostile free-market environment. The business community was itself moved to assume some of the burdens precipitated (...) by closures either unilaterally or through collective bargaining. At the same time, powerful business interests tenaciously fought the enactment of mandatory closing restrictions into law. Nevertheless, through a prolonged and tortuous odyssey, the requirements of advanced notice and worker severence pay have now begun to root in law. Their success stands as evidence of a continuing American public policy receptivity to ethics-driven concerns. (shrink)