You work in the human resources department at Account Me Up, a small U.S.-based accounting firm that has recently signed a contract with its first large client: Client X. However, some employees at Account Me Up have concerns about working with this client. They say that some of Client X’s business practices are unethical and don’t match Account Me Up’s company values, which promote environmental sustainability and respect for employees. Your supervisor has heard these concerns and wants you to investigate them further and recommend what to do about the relationship with Client X.

You have investigated Client X’s business practices and collected the opinions of Account Me Up employees and managers who will be affected by the relationship with Client X. Now, you will write a report for your supervisor that considers the ethical implications of Client X’s business practices, weighs the opinions of affected Account Me Up employees, and recommends how to move forward with Client X.

Directions

Concerns have been raised that Account Me Up’s largest client, Client X, is engaged in ethically questionable business practices. Specifically, Client X is saving money by denying employees in certain countries days off for religious holidays, and by dumping factory waste into rivers. You’re writing a report to your supervisor that includes a recommendation for how Account Me Up should move forward with Client X. Your recommendation will be based on your analysis of the ethical implications of the practices and the input of Account Me Up stakeholders—the employees and managers who will be affected by your recommendation.

You’ve contacted the key stakeholders at Account Me Up, and they’ve emailed you their opinions. You’ve also read Account Me Up’s company values. (You can read both the opinions and the company values in Supporting Materials section.) Be sure to include the following in your report:

Introduction: Identify the ethical implications and cultural insensitivities of Client X’s business practices
There are concerns that Client X is acting unethically by dumping waste in rivers and ignoring important cultural values of their employees. The introduction to your report will state why these practices can be viewed as unethical. Identify the negative ethical and cultural consequences of these practices by answering the following questions:

What are the consequences of each practice? Is the practice damaging to someone or some group? Why?

If the practice is legal where it occurs, is it still okay to do it?

• Can you think of any cultural factors that could be influencing the business practices? Do you believe Client X has an obligation to consider the cultural values of its employees above revenue? Why?

Do you think the way Client X uses rivers for dumping could be infringing on a group’s cultural values?

Body Paragraphs: Provide some options for what to do about the relationship with Client X, taking into account various stakeholder opinions. You’ve asked stakeholders at Account Me Up for their opinions, and they emailed you their responses.

Which of the stakeholders’ points do you personally find most compelling? Which would be most compelling as a business owner?

• Are there stakeholders whose opinions you consider to be more important than others? Why do you regard them as more important?
• Write three possible options for handling the relationship with Client X based on the considerations and opinions of the stakeholders.
• Apply ethical frameworks to evaluate the options you identified. Answer each of the questions below to consider your options for handling the relationship with Client X within ethical frameworks.
• Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm? Why? (The utilitarian approach) 

Which option best respects the rights of all who have a stake? Why? (The rights approach)

• Which option treats people equally? Why? (The justice approach)

Which option best serves the community as a whole? Why? (The common-good approach)

Which option leads you to act as the sort of person you want to be? Why? (The virtue approach)

• Conclusion: Make a recommendation based on your personal ethics for how Account Me Up should move forward with its relationship with Client X that also addresses the opposition. Justify your recommendation.
• What will Account Me Up gain as an organization by following your recommendation?
• How will you justify your recommendation to stakeholders with a differing opinion?
• What to Submit

Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following:

Report
Using what you know about Client X’s questionable business practices, write a 750- to 1,200-word report to your supervisor that identifies the ethical implications and cultural insensitivities of the client’s business practices, addresses the concerns of the stakeholders affected by a changed relationship with the client, and recommends what Account Me Up can do about its relationship with Client X.