Critical Assessment of Ethical Issues in Business

Role of External Accounting Firms in Corporate Failures

Please choose one of the following assignments:

1.Critically assess the role of the external accounting firm (Arther Anderson) in the demise of Enron. What role should it have played, and what things contributed to its failure to meet the obligations it owed to shareholders?

2.Critically assess the ethical dimensions of the sharing or gig economy (e.g., AirBnB or Uber).

3.Critically assess the ethical dimensions of data mining. Is data mining ethical or not, and why or why not?

4.Are there some things that should not be bought or sold as a matter of public policy, e.g., babies or vital organs like a kidney? Why or why not?

5.Some people argue that executive compensation in North America is far too high. Do we compensate top executives too much (to the extent that the compensation schemes are actually unethical) or is there a justifiable ethical basis for paying top executives so much money? Note: focus on making ethical arguments, not economic arguments. Also, ensure that you look at data from various countries.

6.How do racial or gender or ablest (i.e., not seeing people with disabilities) biases affect business decisions, and what can be done about such biases? For this question, select one form of bias (either racial OR gender OR ability) in order to keep your paper focused.

7.The former CEO of Tyco, Dennis Kozlowski, embezzled millions of dollars from Tyco, including approximately $81 million in unauthorized bonuses. How and why did Tyco’s corporate governance scheme fail to prevent Kozlowski’s fraud and theft? What factors made it possible for this unethical behaviour to flourish?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I don’t know how to use footnotes. Can I just use in-text citations or endnotes instead?
A. No. The instructions say “footnotes”. So you must use footnotes.

Q. Uh, so, how do you do footnotes?

A. Use the “footnote” function on Microsoft Word. It is under the “Reference” tab. You can use any style for your citations as long as you are consistent. Note that because you must use footnotes, you cannot actually use APA style.

Q. What do you mean by “style” for citations?

A. The way that you are supposed to present your information about the text you are citing.  UOIT offers several great resources to help you with managing citations. Check out the library’s home page for starters. There is a link to a page FULL of information about citations! You can also talk to a librarian. Make an appointment with student writing services. There are no excuses for not knowing how and when to cite! You have ample resources available to you through the University. Use them.

Q. What is a peer-reviewed journal?

A. It is an academic journal that uses a rigorous process for selecting its articles for publication. Articles are scrutinized by other academics who determine if the article has merit and what changes must be made in order for the paper to be acceptable for publication. The  peer review process essentially vets articles to ensure that they met a certain level of quality.

Q. How do I know whether a journal is “peer-reviewed”?

A. You can often limit your search in the Library catalogue to peer-reviewed materials by selecting the appropriate box. Alternatively, check out the journal’s home page and look for words like “peer reviewed”, “blind review”, or “refereed”.  Another option is to check the Serials Database to see if the journal is noted as being peer-reviewed.

Q. Where can I find these journals?

A. Online! Or in the library. Or both. Here is the home page for the Business Research Guide from You can find some helpful information about how and where to start your research.

Q. I don’t know where to start! What should I do?

A. It is hard to start a research essay sometimes. It is helpful to break the process down into pieces: steps that are smaller, manageable, and attainable. One of your first steps is to review the questions and figure out which one looks interesting to you. You might want to google a few of the topics to read a bit more in order to better assess the topic. Once you have had a chance to consider the topics, the first big step is simply choosing which question you will tackle. Again, let your interests lead you.