HBOS Plc Company’s Ethical Dilemma Essay

Introduction

In the business environment, there are series of ethics that define the moral obligations expected of the business actors. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly review the concept of business ethical dilemma using the Four Lens Model of Worldview Development in HBOS PLC Company located in the United Kingdom that involved eight senior managers.

The Underlying Ethical Dilemma and Causes in HBOS PLC Company

HBOS PLC Company is a profitable bank within the United Kingdom. In 2011, the eight senior managers conspired to commit fraud that resulted in the bank losing £35 million (The Telegraph 2011). The ethical dilemma in the case is that the top management of the company used complex nature of the financial statements and the weaknesses in the accounting standards to manipulate the financial records with an intention of enriching themselves. This was characterized by manipulating the balance sheet to reflect high performance. Specifically, they inflated the asset values, overstated the reported income and cash flow and eliminating the liabilities from the financial records. In addition, the top management negotiated dubious investment contracts for the company. These investments incurred losses which were never reported in the books of account of the company.

The crime committed by the eight top management involved can be categorized into five ethical dilemmas. These are conspiracy, securities fraud, false statement, insider trading, and fraud. Based on the code of ethics, it is clear that the management breached all the ethical principles (Bazerman & Moore 2009). The managers involved in the scandal were competent but they did not exercise professional due care and apt professional behavior. In addition, the eight managers did not exercise integrity when preparing the financial statements. They also lacked integrity in running the organization. Further, the eight managers lacked objectivity. They deviated from the main goal of the business and failed to take into consideration the shareholders’ interests.

Factors That May Have Contributed/Prevented the Occurrence of These Dilemmas

Business ethics are moral obligations that the management of a business should follow in doing business activities. Good business ethics define objectivity and motivation in maintaining trust in transactions. In order to promote the ideals of positive business ethics, it is vital to develop a good organizational culture by fostering a strong alignment on the set path of achieving goals, missions and vision. This is achievable through adhering to the written rules of engagement, expected behavior, and accepting the repercussions for deviation. These aspects are not clear in the organization. Therefore, healthy communication ethics that recognizes and where necessary, supports staff who make a steady commitmentto practicing accepted desirable healthy organizational culture should be encouraged (Bazerman & Moore 2009). Unfortunately, the company lacked these channels hence the possible reason for the fraud.

The main aim of ethic education is to create a sagacity of moral responsibility of Certified Public Accountants at the earliest time possible before they join the management ranks. Further, ethics education enables them to have knowledge on how to handle ethical dilemmas that they may face when practicing. The company may have failed to address issues of ethical education which are important in preventing ethical dilemmas.

Bounded Ethicality

As indicated in chapter seven, bounded ethicalitytends to justify unethical behaviors as stimulated by psychological tendencies and organizational pressure (Bazerman & Moore 2009). In relation to the above dilemmas, the bounded ethicality applies to the psychological tendency of the eight conspirators to fulfill selfish interests of self enrichment at the expense of company goals and objectives. Specifically, due to their top hierarchy in the authority ladder, they succumbed to incentives of power and deviated from discipline, responsibility, and sincerity in the management of the business.

References

Bazerman, M.H. & Moore, D.A. (2009). Judgment in managerial decision making (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publications.

The Telegraph: Former HBOS managers charged in the £35m fraud investigation. (2011). Web.