Organizational Performance Analysis and Recommendations- Part 2

For this Assignment, you will continue in your role as consultant to the executive team of a midsize copper smelting company in northern Canada. As a reminder, here is a summary of the team’s current situation and need:

Due to some recent changes to the local environmental air quality laws, the company’s large coal-fueled smelting furnace is now operating out of compliance due to high levels of pollutants in the exhaust gases. The regulatory agency has given the company 12 months to demonstrate compliance, after which it will be fined $1,000 per day until the operations meet the regulation. The company has two alternatives. The first alternative is to install air scrubbers to reduce the output pollutant levels. The second alternative is to convert the smelting furnace from coal to natural gas. Both alternatives will meet the current regulatory requirements, but there is a slight concern that the air scrubber solution may not meet future regulatory restrictions. The executive team wants you to perform a financial performance analysis on both alternatives using several different capital budgeting methodologies. The team also is seeking guidance on non-financial considerations regarding the company’s ethical and social responsibilities related to this decision.

Last week, for Part 1 of your report, you conducted a financial performance analysis on both alternatives using several different capital budgeting methodologies. This week, in Part 2 of the report, you will provide company leadership with guidance related to the company’s ethical responsibilities related to this decision.

As a reminder, you will continue adding to the report you began developing last week. In addition to the requirements that follow, be sure to incorporate references to appropriate academic sources, such as those found in this week’s Learning Resources or those in the Walden Library.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Return to the Module 3 Assignment Template you utilized in Week 8. With the research and readings from Week 8 and Week 9 in mind, incorporate any feedback, as needed, into your report as you complete Part 2.

Submit Part 2 of your report to the executive team. Part 2 of your report should be approximately 3–4 pages in length (excluding title page and references) and should address the following:

Part 2: Ethical Responsibilities

During several visits to the plant, you have overheard some employees and mid-level supervisors discussing the issues related to the smelting furnace and some potential “solutions” to the current regulatory problem. Some of these conversations are troubling because they are suggesting covering up the issue through false or misleading data reporting. Based on these conversations, you feel obligated to discuss the issue of ethical responsibility with the executive team. Be sure to address the following:

• Examine the importance of ethics in managerial accounting.
• Analyze how ethics, both good and bad, can affect the organization as a whole. Consider not only the financial impact but also the direct and indirect impact on stakeholders, such as employees, customers, suppliers, etc.
• Propose at least two recommendations that the company could implement to help ensure high ethical responsibility at all levels of the organization.