"The Skeleton in the Corporate Closet" is a case study in which an employee discovers that the founder of the company had a secret compartment in his desk, which contained information that pointed out a deception that had occurred many years ago. The founder had deceived the company, indicating that he was a thief rather than the hero he was believed to be. The organization must be taken care of one way or the other and the current dilemma regards how to best accomplish this task. Issues include deceptive or unlawful practices, the stakeholder concept, and upholding company values.
Issue I: Deceptive or Unlawful Practices
An ethical code of conduct, as established by the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions (2002) states that no company shall engage in any deceptive or unlawful practice. For this issue it is recommended that the statute of limitations be determined regarding the concealed documents since there may be legal implications.
Once legal considerations are understood, the decision remains regarding the right thing to do. The stakeholder concept refers to the fact that stakeholders have a moral claim on the decision maker when the decision is likely to affect them. In this context the interests of the stakeholder must be considered and the decision must be for the greatest good for all. Consequences must be understood and reasonable steps must be taken to avoid unjustified harm to others (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2004).
Currently it is advised that stakeholders would be better off if the reputation of the company was maintained by the withholding of information. However it must also be considered that the stakeholders might be better off if the company values were upheld. Ethical codes demand that that the highest company values be maintained. Bringing the information to light and undoing the damage done by
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