CONSENT FORM
Thank you for being willing to take part in this interview exploring ethical conflict or turbulence. I would like to transcribe the content of this interview to form a written document to be submitted to Sheffield Hallam University as a piece of assessed piece of coursework. It is important that you only take part in this interview if you want to. As such I would be delighted if you would complete and sign this confidentiality questionnaire prior to the interview taking place.

(i) In general terms are you willing to take part in this interview: and an edited transcript of the interview submitted to Sheffield Hallam?
Yes
(ii) Are you happy for your own name to be used in the transcript: or do you want the final transcript to written up with a pseudonym?
Own name
(iii) Are you happy for the names of other people and organisations to be used in the final transcript: or do you want all other names to be content of this transcription to be submitted to Sheffield Hallam?
Pseudonyms
(iv) Are you happy for me to submit the final transcript without you reviewing it - or do you want to reserve the right to see the final transcript before I submit?
Submit unseen
(v) Sometimes the ethical dilemmas described in these transcripts provide real life case studies that can be helpful to show other students, and can provide rich data for research projects. Would you be willing for this transcript to be used in further teaching or research - or would you prefer the transcript to be solely used in the submission of an assessed piece of coursework? Limit to coursework submission
Signed: Kian Hashempour.
Date: 21/01/2013

Your help, and wisdom, is much valued. Any queries should be directed to n.j.fletcher@shu.ac.uk.

Ethical Dilemma Assignment: The Interview
Kian: Hello there.
Sami: Hi.
Kian: Um, you alright?
Sami: awesome, you?
Kian: Good, thanks. Where do you work?
Sami: Mouchel.
Kian: What do you do exactly?
Sami: Senior financial director … well, temporarily.
Kian: How long have you worked there?
Sami: 3 and half years I think. was working voluntarily before that, ya know just to get some experience.
Kian: Just wondering, what did you study in uni?
Sami: I studies to become a teacher and when I did, it turned out I hated it! So I studied accountancy at home for a year and half.
Kian: So you used to be teacher?
Sami: yep, taught secondary school for couple of years.
Kian: How old are you by the way? Just out of curiosity.
Sami: 18, but my birth certificate says 38.
Kian: Haha. Anyway, ever heard of an ethical dilemma?
Sami: Ethical what now!?
Kian: um ethical dilemma is basically a conflict between your personal values and professional views. Like, have you ever been asked to do something, you’re uncomfortable doing or maybe something illegal?
Sami: Ohhhh yeaaaah okay.
Kian: So have you ever experienced an ethical dilemma at any point during your career?
Sami: Erm, let me think … yeah, think so. There’s been a few.
Kian: so yeah, can you please tell me about these dilemmas?
Sami: Well, when I first started working there, I used to a bit of everything really, record transactions, a bit of budgeting or even photocopying stuff every now and then.
Kian: Haha .. really?!
Sami: Yes! Ha .. anyway, it was my son’s birthday so we’d all gone out for a meal to this fancy restaurant and I remembered seeing my boss there, having a meal with his wife. But I don’t think he saw us and they left like half an hour after us. The next day when I saw him at work and he didn’t say anything so I figured he didn’t see us either and I didn’t mention anything too.
Kian: Why not?
Sami: No reason, didn’t see the point of it.
Kian: Are you and your boss close? As in, would you say you are friends?
Sami: Oh nah, wouldn’t say friends like that. But it’s not like we never talk at work either. Why?
Kian: Just wanted to know what your relationship is like with your boss.
Sami: ooh, Okay I see.
Kian: ha carry on.
Sami: oh yeah ... um where was I?
Kian: You saw your boss the next day but you didn’t mention anything.
Sami: Yeah. Then couple weeks after when it’s the end of the month, comes to me telling me that he took a client out for a meal a few weeks ago. He hands me this receipt and tells me to add it to the accounts so the company can pay for it.
Kian: and what so wrong about that?
Sami: well at first I didn’t notice anything.
Kian: What do you mean?
Sami: Well, when I was about make the entries, I noticed that the date was the same day as my son’s birthday. And then I remembered that on that day, he was with he was with his wife and not a client.
Kian: Are you sure!? I mean, had you seen his wife before then? Are you sure it wasn’t a client he was with?
Sami: Yes, positive. Beccuase I had see her before in couple of the office parties I’ve been to. And I was 100% sure, she wasn’t a client. Plus, I saw them kissing so I highly doubt that was a client. We are friendly but not that friendly.
Kian: Haha I see.
Sami: So he basically tried to trick the company in paying for his dinner with his wife.
Kian: which is ..
Sami: Against the law! Its stealing from the company.
Kian: Of course. Okay, before we get to the bit where you tell me what you did and what happened after. I just wanted to run you through some stuff.
Sami: Oh, okay. What sorta stuff?
Kian: Well in my ethics module on uni, we have this ethical dilemma framework, this checklist, which is what someone could go along if they were to face an ethical dilemma.
Sami: Alright.
Kian: So first of we’ll look at the facts and evidence. Did you have any evidence that, yes, that the day you saw your boss in the restaurant having a meal with his wife was the same day as the one stated on the receipt your boss gave you?
Sami: Yes positive. I don’t normally keep the receipts but that day after paying for the meal, I wrapped the receipt around my bank card and put it in my bag. And I had checked the receipt to make sure, and the date on my receipt was the same as the one my boss gave me.
Kian: oh so you were sure that it was him there with his wife?
Sami: Yes I was sure.
Kian: Next step is, was the issue illegal?
Sami: Well of course, it was. He was stealing from the company. He was trying to get the company to pay for his dinner.
Kian: Okay. Next a few steps are basically figuring out what are the possible courses of actions and what parties may be affected. So let’s look at what could you have done.
Sami: Umm, the way I looked at it, I had two choices. One, I could refuse to take part and report my boss, or two, I could carry on with and just pretend I didn’t notice anything.
Kian: What would have happen if you reported your boss?
Sami: Probably my boss could have got fired and I would have be known as the snitch round the office. Or worst case scenario, the company would take my boss’s side and have me fired.
Kian: I think that’s highly unlikely.
Sami: But possible ha. And if I’d carried on as if I hadn’t noticed anything, the company would have spent money on an unrelated business expense, if there ever was an investigation, I could be accused of fraud. But on the other hand my, the relationship between me and my boss would have got stronger and maybe increase the chance of me getting promoted.
Kian: Oh I see. Did you talk to someone else about it? To see what their view is about the situation or what the appropriate legal action would be?
Sami: I did talk couple of my colleagues, the ones I’m kinda closer to. Asking them, what they would do and taking in their point of view.
Kian: So what did you do at the end?
Sami: Rether than reporting him or doing what he told me to do, I went up to him and told him everything.
Kian: What did he say?
Sami: At the start he was denying it, telling me it WAS a client and not his wife. That I might have seen him another day.
Kian: alright.
Sami: But then I showed him the reciept and he stop talking. So I just had a chat with telling him that what he was tryin’ to was illegal and if I ever found out he’s done it again I’d report him straight away.
Kian: I see. So whats he been like since?
Sami: He was alight about it, it wasn’t like awkward after. And now he’s and Im the boss, I guess.
Kian: ohh good ha. Anyway thank you for your time.
Sami: No problem.

Summary:
In this situation, Sami had to face an ethical dilemma when her boss, the she saw couple of weeks ago having a meal at the same restaurant as her, gave her receipt for his and tried to trick the company into paying for his meal by saying he was having dinner with a client when in fact, it was his wife that he had dinner with. At first Sami did what she should have done which was to collect facts and evidence when she found the food bill and receipt for her meal at the same restaurant as the one her boss went to. She checked the dates and they were both on the same day so she was sure that he was stealing from the company. After discussing the issue with her colleagues, looking different points of views and the people that may be affect if she chose to report her boss or carry on as normal. She decided to approach her boss rather than reporting him, where her boss confessed to having the meal with his wife and not a client. So the she refused to take part and warned her boss that if she noticed anything like this again she would report his.