ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Professionalism, ethical codes and the public interest
Kestrel plc is expanding into a country where facilitation payments to officials are customary and widely seen as acceptable. A regional manager says Kestrel should simply follow local norms. The board insists on one consistent group standard. Which statement best describes the manager's position and its implication?
The manager is taking an ethical relativist position, meaning right and wrong depend on local culture and custom. This implies different standards in different countries, which would undermine a single consistent group code. The board's insistence on one standard reflects a more universalist, absolutist approach.
- AEthical relativism; it implies right and wrong vary by culture, which would undermine a consistent group codeCorrect
- BEthical absolutism; it implies one universal standard applies in all cultures
- CUtilitarianism; it implies the payments are wrong because costs exceed benefits
- DVirtue ethics; it implies the manager is acting with integrity
Explanation
Holding that local custom determines what is acceptable is cultural or ethical relativism. Its implication is that standards differ by location, which conflicts with the board's wish for a single group standard, closer to absolutism or a universal code.
Did you get it right without looking?
One question tells you little. A timed set on Professionalism, ethical codes and the public interest shows your real accuracy, how long you take and where you lose marks.
More Professionalism, ethical codes and the public interest questions
- Kestrel Foods' finance director discovers that a supplier's product has a minor defect that could harm a few customers. She argues the produ…
- Dalton plc's finance manager, Priya, a professional accountant, discovers that a senior director has been manipulating reported profit to se…
- A candidate answering an SBL task about a proposed acquisition notes that the pre-seen information claims the target's earnings growth is 'c…
- Halden Bank's chief executive is described by colleagues as honest, fair and courageous. When the bank's sales targets encouraged mis-sellin…
- Orion Foods' audit partner, Tomas, finds that the client's management intends to continue selling a product that its internal tests show is …
- A regulator criticises the accounting profession because members follow detailed rules to the letter yet still produce reports that mislead …