Ethical Decision-Making: Applying the GVV Framework to a Case Study

This project analyzes an ethical dilemma using the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) framework, focusing on a case study involving an accountant, John, working for BHP Billiton, and a finance director. The scenario presents a conflict of values regarding the disclosure of critical financial information about t...Read More

Running head: APPLICATION OF GVV FRAMEWORK 1
Application of GVV Framework
Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Application of GVV Framework
1. Scenario
What should an accountant disclose to a finance director?
John is a qualified accountant working for BHP Billiton and he leads a team which
provides management consultancy services. Lately, John's practice has undertaken many
assignments dealing with the improvement of manufacturing efficiency for BHP Billiton which
essentially operates via a number of divisions but its line responsibility seems complicated and
therefore it significantly controls the rest with for regional directors who are semi-autonomous.
The directors’ authority is further enhanced by their place in the company’s main board.
John has cultivated a viable working relationship with one regional director who he
frequently gets in contact with. Four weeks ago, the regional manager asked John to conduct an
urgent investigation on a particular project named Broken Hill 2. The regional director had been
very irritated to receive an informal communication of the deferral of the delivery date which
was earlier agreed upon. The delivery was of necessary components necessary for a particular
design-and-build contract for a new mining site in Australia. Broken Hill 2 comes close to the
regional director’s roles mainly because of the location of the mine which makes the major
components.
When they reach to the site, John’s team discovers many difficulties with the Broken Hill
2 project which starts from the very visible faults in designs which appear to have deeply
extended to cover the entire process of the excavation. Clearly, many contracts will face a breach
and what is most likely to follow is litigation. It is here that John’s team produces a list of

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prioritized actions and immediately start working towards establishing a new revised schedule to
move the project from its current phase to the final phase which is the completion.
In a meeting done recently, John gave BHP Billiton’s regional director and the site’s
manager his estimate of the duration that the entire project would take as per the changes made.
According to John, the expected delay is a minimum of four months and the direct costs are
approximately 15 million Australian Dollars to 18 million Australian Dollars. This amount is
without adding that of claims for compensation which has a potential of presenting itself. On the
regional director’s instructions, John’s team start working on a formal report which clearly
specifies the key recommendations in terms of finances. Even though it is incomplete, the report
seems to support and bring certainty to the estimates which john earlier made.
From the media and most specifically the financial press, John is aware that BHP Billiton
is experiencing difficulties with its bankers and John’s assumption is that the situation with the
Broken Hill 2 project is most likely going to bring about the serious detriment to the company’s
position in terms of finance.
Just a week before the final presentation of the report is due, John receives an unexpected
call from the company’s financial director who explains that he is almost entering a meeting with
the company’s main board but has the need of knowing the date in which the report on Broken
Hill 2 is expected to be presented. On a call made by the regional director to John, he told him
that the report was needed in the morning and he had also informed the director of finance that
John was the one providing the report. In the telephone call he made, he said:
“I have a great appreciation for the progress you have made and I am grateful that you
have started and it is clear that the reliable estimate is yet to be formulated. The regional director

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pointed out that Broken Hill 2 could incur approximately 12 million Australian dollars to 13
million Australian dollars in extra costs that said, according to the director, eight to ten weeks
delay is also expected. The regional will not attend this month’s board meeting but he has sent
his apologies because he is attending a funeral of one of his distant family members.” The
financial director added that “I hope that the regional director is proceeding with caution but if
anything turns out to be wrong with Broken Hill 2 as suggested by those financial estimates and
numbers, there will be serious implications for the company’s cash flows mainly because of the
deferred income and the extra costs. Therefore, the entire board will have to start making plans
on remedial actions as soon as possible. So, when will your report be ready?”
2. Script Development
Ethical dilemma and values conflict in the scenario
Member 3: Good morning everyone, the point of meeting today is to discuss the ethical issue in
the scenario. To start off, the first ethical dilemma I saw in the scenario is
integrity. Integrity simply involves leadership values, honesty, character, and moral
judgment. Individuals who show integrity in their workplaces have the knowledge of what is
right and what is wrong and they effectively use it in everything they do. Who would like to
share or add on what I just said?
Member 1: Yes, thank you Member 3. I agree with you that integrity is one example of ethical
dilemma in this scenario, and according to me, benefit is brought to the business
environment because then, a successful business relationship will be set by the
trustworthy actions. Treating other people in the ways you wanted to be treated is the
most important aspect of integrity. According to Pollock, in the workplace, an employee

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showing integrity does his work well as he would also want his work to be done well
(Pollock, 2014). Maybe someone can share his or her thoughts on some examples of
integrity as an ethical dilemma in the scenario.
Member 2: Thank you member 1 and member 3 for your insight and comments on integrity as an
ethical dilemma in the scenario. According to me, John is clearly seen to lack integrity.
He immediately did not respond to all the questions asked, which he should have answered
because he was very aware of the project’s situation. What is even more evident in
the scenario is the fact that John did not alert the finance director and even the main
board on the seriousness of the situation and the mismatch in his estimation and that of the
regional director pertaining the cost of Broken Hill 2 project. Do you agree with me?
Member 4: I completely agree with you member 2 and I am in full support of the points you just
mentioned. To add on this, I believe that honesty is an example of integrity and in a work
environment, honesty encourages employers, employees and even co-workers to openly
communicate (Ford et al., 2013). Eventually, it brings about the effective relationship in
the organization because when people working in the same organization are honest about
the jobs needing improvement or correction, necessary parties can take necessary action
and get rid of the problem. If John had been honest he would have told the finance
director the actual amount as per the first estimate. John would have ensured the success
of BHP Billiton by correctly and honestly clarifying the expected delay in income which
was approximately four months.
Member 1: Member 4, that is very educative and in my opinion I would say that another ethical
dilemma is professionalism which is part of ethics often leads to improvement in career
and the working environment. According to Mallari, Grace and Joseph (2016),

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communication in the workplace has to be accurate, efficient and respectful (Mallari et
al., 2016). For every employee, it is, important to read the company’s memo so as to acquire
relevant information on work and how one has to carry himself or herself professionally
at work. The financial director’s call is highly professional and this is seen where he
appreciated the progress made by John, he seeks confirmation of the figure that the
regional director told him and lastly he asks when the estimate report is expected to be
ready. John on the other side lacks professionalism in communication because he does not
clarify the information for the financial director and instead he keeps quiet about the error in
the estimated amount.
Member 2: Excuse me Member 1, can I say something?
Member 1: Yes, please go right ahead.
Member 2: Thank you Member 1, I see get your point but my opinion is that
professionalism also applies to organization’s meetings because happening on a regular
basis. According to Ferrell and Fraedrich (2015) professionalism can ensure that the
professional image of an individual is improved by meeting etiquette. One has to be
prepared to contribute to the meeting’s agenda while also being respectful to other
members and the chairperson (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). The regional director missed
the meeting but due to unavoidable circumstances, however, he is professional because
he sent an apology and a reason. The regional director seeks to know the progress so that
he too can tell the board and the chairperson about it and the amount of money needed.
Who else can add on professionalism before we go to parties involved in the scenario and
what is at stake.

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Member 3: Lastly, I believe that time management is also part and parcel of
professionalism and clearly, John and the company contracted to supply the construction
components lack professionalism because they all cannot deliver on time. John has
compiled the report for a week and he is not yet done. What is worse is that despite the
late night call John did not even hurry up to finish the report so that it could be presented to
the board during the meeting. The company contracted to deliver construction materials
call to defer the delivery date and bring jeopardy to the entire company.
Stakeholders and what is at stake for the parties involved.
Member 4: I strongly believe that the affected parties in the scenario include the regional
director, John who is the accountant, the finance director, and the board. Those who are
indirectly involved are the investors and other stakeholders because of the plummeting cash
flows. Anyone willing to shed more light?
Member 3: I agree with you member 4 and I think that John is affected by the events in the
scenario because he is the one who is responsible for accounts oversight in the BHP
Billiton’s Broken Hill 2 project. John reports to the regional director who then reports to the
board, elsewhere, John also reports to the financial officer because dealing with accounts, the
director of finance is also on a need to know basis. If the company plumes into a financial
crisis and fail to get back to its feet, John will suffer a major blow because once the
financial director is held responsible, he will put the blame on John who was in charge of
Broken Hill 2 finances.
Member 1: Thank you Member 3 and Member 4, to me, the regional director will lose his
job because he is at the center of the whole lie and the board may even sue him for

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damages and falsify information. The financial director who will be held accountable will
also lose his job because the company will most certainly shut down and so will the board.
Investors will run at a loss and even if they sell their shares they cannot manage to make
much money. So ultimately everyone in the scenario will be doomed when it comes to working
and most of their careers will be destroyed.
Main arguments being countered.
Member 2: The major arguments being countered by the scenario include, pressure from
management. According to Redick, the culture of every company is different but many
companies put a lot of stress on results and profit above all other things (Redsick et al.,
2013). But they have to because that is the main purpose of a business. It is in these
environments that the executive or the people in charge assume the ethical breaches as
long as employees themselves produce results. Whistle-blowers may, therefore, fear coming
forward with the fear of being seen as not part of the team. John sees everything and still
he cannot come forward because he ears disappointing the regional director while also
fearing to approach the board or the financial director because he will not be following
protocol and organizational hierarchy (Hartman et al., 2014). Who believes that there is
another argument being countered?
Member 4: Thank you Member2, I believe that ambition and discrimination are other arguments
being countered. According to Vardaman, Employees may one way or another face
financial problems or may just be hungry for fame (Vardaman et al., 2014). What these
individuals do is that they even use unaccepted channels which can go to an extent of
falsifying numbers or using the work of other people to be ahead and get rewards. In the
scenario, the regional manager who clearly seems not ready to own up to the errors he

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made ends up reducing the cost estimate which the accounting team led by John
compiled. The ambition of the regional director is to remain at his position in the
company and this fact even blinds him from seeing BHP Billiton’s impending financial
crisis.
Member 3: Thanks you members for seeing to it that we have reached this part of the discussion,
according to me another issue being countered is lying between the employees and the
employer. Among the leading ways, employees lose the trust of the employers or vice
versa is through lying. Despite this fact, employees and employers always lie to each other.
Most people would say that it is not bad to lie unless there is enough reason to lie because
ultimately, the lie has a reason. A lie can be used to communicate information, to deceive
and mislead. John lies to avoid bringing trouble to his regional manager because if he
would have told him, the board would have summoned him and even lost his job. What this does
is that it gives temporary protection to the regional manager but ultimately the whole
company will come crumbling down and all of them will lose their jobs and reputation.
The regional manager is lying to cover up the faults the project he was overseeing cost
the company together with the delay in delivery of construction components.
Possible course of action
Member 1: This discussion has been very insightful. We are almost coming to an end and the last
part deals with the possible course of actions in the scenario. According to me, it is
important to identify relevant facts which include the fact that the finance director has
incorrect information and therefore discrepancies have to be identified in terms of the
cost which is likely to be incurred and the time frame (Fahie, 2014). It is important to identify
the affected parties and the key personnel when it comes to the resolution of the ethical

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dilemma. What is important also is that John should not make a hasty decision while still
on call and instead, he should be focused on when the report will be ready. This is
necessary because John will have an ample time to gather facts and later all back the
director. Who can finish up?
Member 2: That would be me Member 1, at least we all agree that there is ethical dilemma in the
scenario and we have suggested ways of handling it. Lastly, I would like to say that,
another ethical course of action John should take is contacting the regional director so that
he can tell him of the misunderstanding in the financial director’s side and make a reconciliation
of the estimates which clearly seem to be conflicting. He should be cautious in partaking
in this attempt to mislead the board. A conflict of interest is bound to happen and
therefore John should seek advice from a professional entity and even legal advice while
also documenting the steps taken to resolve the ethical dilemma so that it can be helpful I the
future when a similar scenario comes up.

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