Helen Kanell has a 4.0-grade point average and is in her last semester in college at Empire
Question:
Helen Kanell has a 4.0-grade point average and is in her last semester in college at Empire State University. Helen has already accepted a position to join the accounting firm of Big & Apple, LLC. Still, she is determined to complete her career at Empire State and graduate with at least a 3.9 average to qualify for Valedictorian, the highest academic honor. However, she has a B average in all five courses going into the final exam. It seems as though Helen was distracted from her studies the last semester because she agreed to be president of Beta Alpha Phi, the accounting students honor society, and it has required a great deal more work than anticipated. Helen is quite certain she will maintain her B average in four of the five courses but she knows she must get an A grade in at least one course to qualify for Valedictorian. Prior to the quiz in Accounting 544, Accounting, law and Governance, Helen is approached by her best friend who works in the accounting department office. Her friend is sensitive to Helen’s situation and she had an opportunity to take a copy of the quiz from the professor’s mailbox. She gives it to Helen and says, “You can thank me later.”
1. Discuss Helen’s responsibilities to the following groups in this situation:
a. The accounting department and the university
b. Other students in the class and in the department
c. Big & Apple,LLC
d. The professor of Accounting 544
e. Her best friend (including possible consequences of Helen’s actions)
f. Herself
2. What ethical values should guide Helen in her decision-making?
3. If you were Helen, what would you do? Include in your answer to whom you might go for advice and the steps you would take to resolve the dilemma. Be specific. Would your answer
change if the Empire State has an honor code? How about if it provides a $5,000 award to all students who graduate as a valedictorian?
Business Law Text and Cases
ISBN: 978-0324655223
11th Edition
Authors: Kenneth W. Clarkson, Roger LeRoy Miller, Gaylord A. Jentz, F