I am a member of a social fraternity and within our fraternity, we
have executive positions given to those we see fit. Usually those elected are
people who are considered responsible and trusted. It is similar to the idea we
spoke about in class regarding being a good samaritan; our vice president has
access to over $40,000 and could easily use small amounts of that money for
himself and write it off as some expense. The reason why I believe that our
vice president does not act in such a manner and does not take advantage of the
opportunity is because of the standard of morals he holds himself to. Rather
than viewing their position of power as opportunistic, they view it as a
responsibility for all.
Another example of opportunistic behavior that may be more
unethical is that of my cousin's father. My cousin who has been very close to
me from a young age, is the only person in my extended family with divorced
parents. Her father is a taxi driver and by law is required to pay child
support until she turns eighteen. However, taxi drivers are able to pocket cash
and mark a much more substantially lower amount of income than in actuality.
So, her father was paying very little for child support while pocketing an
absurd amount. This was very unethical because my cousin's mother is African
and knew very little about the legal system let alone have enough money to
pursue a lawyer and trial. This is an example of opportunistic behavior because
my cousin's father saw an opportunity to get out of paying as much as he should
have for child support, all be it unethical.
One question I have for you reading each of these examples is how you know what you believe you know. If the vice president of your fraternity had misappropriated funds, would that information come to light. Similarly, if your cousin's father generates cash income, how do you know how much that is?
ReplyDeleteFor the first example, there is an issue of what type of accounting must be given. I'll talk a bit about this sort of thing tomorrow with regard to travel expenses for university business.
In regards to our vice president, it is indeed true that if he went to far enough lengths he may be capable of misappropriating funds. However, in order to launder the funds it would be difficult as the national headquarters overlooks bank statements and whatnot. With my cousin's father, it is difficult to put a number on the extra cash generated but nonetheless there is still unreported money.
Delete