Worldcom Ethical Issues

1883 Words8 Pages
Introduction Companies have to answer to numerous people on the decisions they make and rarely are companies able to hide mistakes. They may think they can keep mistakes a secret, but almost always, the information eventually comes out and generally in a very public way. Executives and managers have an obligation to follow certain rules. There is a Civil Code that outlines the obligations of corporate directors. Article 144 requires “that a director/officer does everything in their power to serve the interests and obligations of the corporation first, ahead of any personal interests; does everything in their power to serve the interests and obligations of the staff, ahead of any personal interests; does everything in their power to serve the needs and requirements of customers ahead of any personal interests” (United America, 2009). In the past decade, there have been numerous stories in the news about executives that did not follow the direction outlined above. One of those companies was WorldCom and involved a large number of their executive team. There were ethical problems that were brought up as a result of the investigation in to the downfall of WorldCom and in reviewing ethical problems; these can be evaluated using the deontological framework. One point of view that can be explored when assessing ethics is Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative. The investigation of WorldCom brought various ethical problems to light. Ethical Problems Raised As WorldCom filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2002, their mistakes and actions became very public. Many discussions were generated surrounding what brought about the downfall of this telecommunications giant. The ethical or unethical decisions and actions of the WorldCom executives became a topic of great discussion. “An ethical dilemma in business as one where the economic and financial
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