Week 2 Phone Assignment

For this assignment I worked with Anthony Tatum. He sent out an e-mail to the entire class seeking a partner for this assignment, and I responded that I would be his partner. Since he is overseas and ten hours ahead of me, we had to communicate via e-mail. Upon realizing that the only way to communicate with each other was through the Internet, I was a little hesitant about how successful this assignment would be, but this method of communication proved to be efficient and we were able to collaborate effectively.

We each took on a role. Anthony was the employee and I was the HR representative. Anthony presented a problem to me and I responded to him. The problem he presented me with was that he witnessed fraud, waste, and abuse of company property. As an employee, he is scared that if he tells someone then there may be reprisal against him because the person he witnessed committing these acts holds a high power position. He does not work directly beneath this person, but rather indirectly. Anthony (the employee) works in accounting and it has come to his attention that this person is using the corporate credit card to facilitate a lifestyle that isn't all that pro-company. He notices this person is using the card to purchase flowers, charter airplanes to exotic destinations, buy lingerie, and everything else you can imagine. Anthony is concerned about these expenditures, and is not sure whether he should confront this person directly or come to me. He wants to be guaranteed by me that he won't lose his job and his name won't be dragged through the mud.

This problem is not only a legal issue, but is also of an ethical nature. I recommended that he does not confront this person on his own. Ethically, I suggest that it is appropriate for Anthony to report this type of abuse. I reminded him that if the fraud continues it could be harmful to the overall financial health of the company, ultimately jeopardizing his employment along with the others who work for the company. While there are no guarantees about whether his name would be dragged through the mud (so to speak), his job would be protected. I explained that an investigation would be initiated and during this process we would need a detailed explanation of he witnessed. I would do everything in my power to protect his identity. Since it appears this person is committing fraud that equates to large amounts of money this could potentially escalate and become a legal matter. I explained that his identity would undoubtedly be revealed if it became he legal case.

At the end of our "discussion" we both agreed that the most appropriate action to take would be to tell someone, despite being labeled the "whistle-blower". Ultimately, if the behavior continued and Anthony never said anything knowing what was going on, it could potentially have consequences for Anthony, and he could be viewed as an accomplice.

In doing this assignment, I learned that using the Internet, as an only means of communication, was not as bad as I thought it would be. At one point we were able to connect "live". This made it convenient for asking each other questions and further discussing the situation.