hermes
Acrobat
I'm finishing up an essay for Legal and Ethics and I thought the question might be an interesting one to post here and get oyur thoughts:
You are the head of the records management department of a large accounting and business consulting firm. You have been employed at that firm for five years, during the last two of which you have served in your present position. You love your job. You have a spouse and a young family.
Your firm is a business consultant for some of the world?s largest corporations and governments. It is not uncommon for you to see the newsmakers of these corporations, and even local, state and federal government officials visiting your firm?s offices from time to time.
You are shocked to read in the paper, however, that one of your firm?s largest clients is in serious financial trouble. Your shock deepens when you learn that their financial troubles may be the result of ethical and legal violations. You grieve for the employees and investors who have lost so much money as a result of those actions.
Your firm has a policy that all records pertaining to its activities on behalf of its clients are confidential records, belonging to the client. Part of your job is to protect the confidentiality and security of those records while your firm?s project is ongoing. When a project has been completed, your firm?s policy, once it has been paid for its work, is to return all original documents to the client, and to destroy all copies of those documents as well as any others, whether electronic or hard copy, that it has generated during the project. The retained client file, consisting only of a brief summary of the work done, and the amount billed and paid, is then closed and stored under your direction and control in a secure facility.
In view of the increasingly sensational news reports, you decide to ask the vice president to whom you normally report for specific instructions regarding the implementation of that firm policy for what is obviously becoming a very high profile case. The vice president instructs you to waste no time in destroying those paper and electronic files. He asks you to report back to him on the accomplishment of that mission within twenty-four hours. What will you do?
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Steve
You are the head of the records management department of a large accounting and business consulting firm. You have been employed at that firm for five years, during the last two of which you have served in your present position. You love your job. You have a spouse and a young family.
Your firm is a business consultant for some of the world?s largest corporations and governments. It is not uncommon for you to see the newsmakers of these corporations, and even local, state and federal government officials visiting your firm?s offices from time to time.
You are shocked to read in the paper, however, that one of your firm?s largest clients is in serious financial trouble. Your shock deepens when you learn that their financial troubles may be the result of ethical and legal violations. You grieve for the employees and investors who have lost so much money as a result of those actions.
Your firm has a policy that all records pertaining to its activities on behalf of its clients are confidential records, belonging to the client. Part of your job is to protect the confidentiality and security of those records while your firm?s project is ongoing. When a project has been completed, your firm?s policy, once it has been paid for its work, is to return all original documents to the client, and to destroy all copies of those documents as well as any others, whether electronic or hard copy, that it has generated during the project. The retained client file, consisting only of a brief summary of the work done, and the amount billed and paid, is then closed and stored under your direction and control in a secure facility.
In view of the increasingly sensational news reports, you decide to ask the vice president to whom you normally report for specific instructions regarding the implementation of that firm policy for what is obviously becoming a very high profile case. The vice president instructs you to waste no time in destroying those paper and electronic files. He asks you to report back to him on the accomplishment of that mission within twenty-four hours. What will you do?
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Steve