Case Study #1 (The Missing Money)
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CASE STUDY #1 (THE MISSING MONEY)
Tristan McMillan
Professor Amy Evans
Business and Professional Ethics
27 August 2023
These are the facts from “The Missing Money” case file: the Spirit Club (consisting of Erica the treasurer, president Matt, and vice president Laura) wanted to purchase T-shirts from an
outside vendor. In the middle of the spring semester, a projected budget for the next academic year using the current revenues and expenses needed to be written. Erica realized that the bank account report did not have what was required: the fall T-shirt sales. Thus, Matt had anywhere between $70 to $350 in his account that rightfully belongs to the Spirit Club. After speaking with Laura about this issue, Erica spoke with Matt about the missing money. In a conversation that took less than two minutes, Matt promised to take care of the issue but has not deposited the money or done anything about it since. Near the end of the semester, Erica realizes that having the final speaker left the Spirit Club with about $400 in funds for the next academic year.
The ethical dilemma present in “The Missing Money” is whether or not Erica should approach Matt about the missing funds or if she should have an advisor or administrator step in to resolve the problem. Should Erica potentially ruin her friendship with Matt, or should she let the Spirit Club run out of funds? The stakeholders within this case are Laura, Erica, Matt, the Spirit Club itself, the students at large, and any advisor. Laura is tangentially involved in this case because she is a core part of the Spirit Club and because she told Erica to start talking with Matt about the missing money. Erica is directly involved with the situation involving the missing money since she is actively investigating what is happening with the Spirit Club’s funds.
Matt is also directly involved with the Spirit Club’s missing funds as he is the main party responsible for them to be unaccounted for. Matt seems to be uncaring about the situation concerning the money, according to the fact that the conversation he had with Erica lasted less than two minutes. If Matt cared more for ensuring the right thing was done, he would most likely converse with Erica for more than a couple of minutes. The Spirit Club is a stakeholder in this case because the result heavily affects the club’s existence. The students may also be considered a stakeholder because clubs like the Spirit Club might not be able to form if situations
like this are allowed to continue. Any advisor/administrator that becomes aware would subsequently become a stakeholder in this situation as a representative of the university and its clubs. Advisors and administrators usually exist to prevent school clubs from pulling any dubious legal actions like Matt did here.
Erica is at stake of losing her friendship with Matt (if the situation is handled incorrectly) and of the Spirit Club being closed due to a lack of funds or if it gets shut down. Laura is at stake of losing her position at the Spirit Club if it closes from a lack of funds or gets shut down. Matt is at stake to lose his position at the Spirit Club due to embezzlement and his friendship with Erica might end. The Spirit Club itself is at stake of becoming defunct because of lack of funds in the next academic year. The students may be at stake of losing the ability to form any clubs like the Spirit Club. The advisors and administrators are at stake to be reprimanded by the university itself if they fail to solve the issue surrounding the missing Spirit Club funds. If there was an advisor that was overseeing the club’s activities and they failed to recognize what was occurring, they might be at stake of losing their position or job. Everyone on this list has something that they have the potential to lose or suffer from if the problems surrounding the Spirit Club are not solved as soon as reasonably possible.
The first alternative that Erica will want to counter is wanting to avoid talking to Matt about the missing funds again or avoiding bringing in any outside help in the form of an advisor or administrator. Not only will this course of action make it difficult for Erica to find solutions for the Spirit Club’s missing funds, but it also makes it difficult for the Spirit Club to continue onward without an issue. If Matt’s embezzlement issue is left unresolved, the Spirit Club may continue to lose funds to the point where it can no longer function – leaving the only option to leave the club or shut it down completely. An advisor or administrator’s entire job when concerned with the Spirit Club is to resolve the missing money issue as soon as reasonably possible. Having an advisor or administrator take over the investigation (if you will) would take a load off of Erica’s back allowing an easier time for her to find a way to support the club’s funding and make sure it stays open and functional.
The second alternative that Erica will want to counter is to give up on trying to find an alternate solution, thinking that the situation is hopeless without talking to Matt. For example, Erica can find another way to fund the Spirit Club and move forward without focusing solely on finding the missing money. It’s possible that the club can get funds through another revenue stream rather than having to deal with Matt’s embezzlement. Perhaps an alternate revenue stream can be to act as a host for various activities that require tickets to get in (i.e., the Spirit Club hosts a carnival that costs $5 to get in). It’s possible that the Spirit Club can move on from this missing money issue by finding alternate routes to getting the funds needed to keep the club running. Of course, Matt will still need to be talked to about the initial missing money problem. If Matt continually pulls this stunt for extra money in his pocket every academic year, then something needs to be done to either remedy/fix the issue or to remove him from the president seat.
The third alternative that Erica will want to counter is to ignore the problem and let the Spirit Club continue onward into the next academic year. Without finding a solution to the missing money or any alternative revenue stream to make up the difference in funds, the Spirit Club would have to trudge forward. The club might continue to lose money if Matt is left to his own devices and allowed to embezzle funds. Erica should at least try to find a solution that would benefit all parties and keep everyone in decent or high spirits. If she decides to ignore the missing money problem altogether, nothing will change, and the same result may happen again in the next academic year – putting everyone in the same situation for a second time. This alternative would be the least productive and the worst outcome for Erica and the Spirit Club.
One possible response or lever that Erica can use to enable her to act on her values is that by solving this problem, Matt and the Spirit Club will be able to continue forward and give everyone a space to have fun and relax in. School clubs can act as a space that gives students time to relax or enjoy themselves with other activities that they might enjoy. For example, some colleges allow students to have video game clubs to take breaks from work and give them a mental reset. Keeping the Spirit Club alive would benefit the three students and give them a space to do what they enjoy.
A second argument that Erica can use to act her values is that by dealing with Matt and the missing funds, Matt could become a more effective and astute club president. If Matt is
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confronted with this issue and is able to move forward as president, he could become more sensitive to situations like this and act more diligently. After all, he said that he would take care of the problem, perhaps meaning that he has a good heart but did not realize how soon the problem would need solving? If that is the case, Matt could possibly become a better president that is better adjusted and equipped to deal with high caliber situations like this one. Plus, Erica would be able to talk to Matt with confidence that he would not try to embezzle money from the club and do the right thing without outside intervention like herself or an advisor/administrator.
A third argument that Erica could use to enable herself to act on her values is that it would be the right thing to do, according to her virtues. She feels that this missing money issue is of utmost importance and that it should be dealt with thoroughly. If she continues to act with integrity towards a common good (i.e. keeping the Spirit Club around and getting in contact with
Matt), then she would be acting virtuously (scu.edu). When she practices self-discipline and focuses on solving the problem rather than indulge in keeping her friendship with Matt, she will be acting virtuously and be able to perform the correct action to keep everything afloat. If she wants to have everyone act in the best interest of the Spirit Club, Erica can start by curating/developing integrity within her community (scu.edu).
The first alternative of leaving the investigation up to the advisors or administrators would not necessarily fulfill utilitarianism and the views associated with it. This is because the Spirit Club could fall under the control of the college or be shut down after this debacle with the missing money. If that occurs, the Spirit Club would be gone, which could bring down the “overall happiness” of the students – something that runs against utilitarianism. (pg 29). However, the first alternative would be fitting for ethical approach of deontology, wherein the advisors and administrators’ duty is to solve the missing money problem in ways that they know how. If possible, it would be best to avoid getting any advisors or administrators involved as it may create bigger problems when they are introduced to the situation.
The second alternative of making an alternate revenue stream that brings more funds into the Spirit Club, while simultaneously fixing Matt’s embezzlement would be the best outcome for
Erica. In this solution, The Club not only gets more chances at funding itself and having excess money for various activities but the issue with Matt would be resolved. This outcome would greatly fulfill the utilitarian ethical values because everyone benefits here: the Spirit Club is allowed to keep running and have better financial health, Erica and Matt have solved the issue with the missing money (either by having Matt return the funds and apologize or by having him suspended from dealing with money for a time), and the problem would not become a large piece
of contention for the club members.
The third alternative of finding no solution and letting the missing money situation continue to fester would be the worst possible outcome for Erica and the club. Not only would the situation be left unsolved and allowed to continue, but the Club would suffer because of inaction. The club would be left with low funds for the next academic year and would have to fight an uphill battle to recuperate. In this alternative, Erica fails to fulfill the virtues of being decisive or honest and instead fails to live up to her own character to deal with this issue. In this
alternative, nothing would be accomplished, and Erica would fail to help/assist the Spirit Club and get to the bottom of the missing money situation.
The best option here would be to find an alternative revenue stream to help keep the Spirit Club in good financial health and deal with Matt’s embezzlement of funds in a courteous manner. This option would benefit all parties and solve all the problems without any unnecessary intervention by the advisors or administrators. This solution would allow the Spirit Club to accomplish more since it has more funding to invite more guests, host more carnivals or fun past times for the student body. Plus, Erica, Laura, and Matt would be allowed to worry less about funding for future academic years after this option is put into effect.
Bibliography
University, Santa Clara, et al. “Ethics and Virtue.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
, www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/ethics-and-virtue/. Accessed 22 Aug. 2023. Hartman, Laura Pincus, et al. “Chapter 3: Philosophical Ethics and Business.” Business Ethics: Decision Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility
, McGraw Hill Education, Dubuque, IA, 2023.
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