Management Accounting Case: Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Business

This case study presents an ethical dilemma faced by Tina, who is asked to optimize books using fake online personas with fabricated credentials and experiences. Tina grapples with the ethical implications of this request, expressing concerns about the credibility of the operation and the potential for fraud. She advocates for transparency and honesty in business practices, suggesting that the company should prioritize long-term sustainable growth over short-term gains achieved through unethical shortcuts. Tina proposes involving other stakeholders and seeking external scrutiny to ensure that decisions align with ethical principles and maintain the trust of investors and customers. She believes that truthfulness and non-fraudulent processes are essential for building a steady and reliable business.

Running head: MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING 1
Management Accounting
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date of Submission

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING 2
INDIVIDUAL PLAN
(This plan will take account of a script in which a narrator will be used to introduce the ethical
dilemma that Tina faces. Tina will then make her decisions on ethical responses towards her case
based on her moral aspects) (Workplace Ethics, 2014).
Narrator: Tina valued her job. She began in a high note and with lots of hope for the better,
having stayed jobless for a long, frustrating period. When she was asked about optimizing books,
she was elated about the prospect. However, the process came with its ethical challenge. She had
to create pseudonyms to act as optimizers for the books. The aliases had fake Master’s Degrees,
interests, marriages, and even kids. Her work was to go online then tag books with search
suggestions and keywords. Afterward, she would develop lists and guides as well as recommend
books she had never read before. In the morning, Tina had to tell her marketing manager the
following…
Tina: Sorry sir, but I think someone with the actual knowledge should do the optimization
process. I also believe that if we use fake personalities, it will affect the credibility of our
operations.
Narrator: Therefore?
Tina: I would request that we sort the input or views of other stakeholders on this matter.
Narrator: As a result,
Tina: Maybe if we spoke it out before enacting such ideas into the system, someone could have a
brighter thought about everything.
Narrator: what else in mind?

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING 3
Tina: Ideas need scrutiny; a third party would better do that job before we perform anything.
Tina: Otherwise, I have a feeling that we might be wrong if we employed this idea.
Marketing Manager: I get your point. I think it is good to ask other team members about it.
However, you have the skills in this area, what is your take?
Tina: I have had similar cases of impersonation, and they have never ended well when a system
failure is detected. I think investors and customers require every organizational process to be
truthful and non-fraudulent. It is true that we would earn less, but we would create a steady
growth. If we follow shortcuts, we would ultimately fail, and the business would be no more.
Marketing Manager: Okay, thank you. We shall discuss more this. I am glad you brought this to
my attention (Job Central).

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING 4
Reference
Job Central. (n.d). How to Handle an Ethical Dilemma at Work. Retrieved from:
https://community.jobscentral.com.sg/articles/how-handle-ethical-dilemma-work
Workplace Ethics. (2014). How to Handle Ethical Issues in the Workplace. Retrieved from:
https://www.workplaceethicsadvice.com/2014/05/how-to-handle-ethical-issues-in-the-
workplace.html