Helen Essay

1. Helen’s responsibilities to each of the following groups: a. The Accounting   Department and the University –Helen’s responsibility to the Accounting   Department and the University is to uphold honour and pride. Every student is an emissary and a reflection of his or her alma mater. b. Other students in the class and in the department- Helen’s responsibility to the other students in the class and in the department is to encourage truthfulness. Being one of the top students, it is inevitable for the other students and the department to look up to her. c. Big & Apple LLC-Helen’s responsibility to the Big & Apple LLC is to uphold integrity, trust and loyalty. The accounting firm invited her to join them with the intention and hope to hire the best and well-suited person for the job. d. The professor of Accounting 544- Helen’s responsibility to the professor of Accounting 544 is to maintain credibility and respect to his teachings. e. Her bestfriend- Helen’s responsibility to her bestfriend is to promote trustworthiness. Someone who cannot be trusted with little cannot be trusted with much. f. Herself- Helen’s responsibility to herself is to defend her integrity. Cheating is simply a deception of one’s self. 2. From an integrity perspective, Helen should walk away from the opportunity to take a copy of the final exam from the professor’s mailbox.   Because once she gets caught, she might end up not graduating at all aside from totally losing her summa cum laude standing. In other words, she will get expelled. However, if she doesn’t get caught, she might repeat again this mistake and ruining her integrity and somehow degrading her dignity as an accountant. 3. If I were Helen and I have a goal of qualifying for summa cum laude, I would reconsider my priorities and curb time for some things that would not contribute to the attainment of my goal. I would rather consult my professors should I have a hard time dealing with my courses. I would devote more time to studying so as not to compromise the ethics that I stick by. 4. Assuming that the Empire State University provides a $5,000 award to all students who graduate summa cum laude, I will stand by my decision to uphold integrity. Because integrity is not something that you do today and forget tomorrow should the circumstances change. Integrity is the code of value that you stick by. Integrity is who you are no matter what. 5. There should be a consequence for the student who provided the exam to Helen. Because the very act of getting the exam from the professor’s mailbox is stealing and cheating. 6. Should the Empire State University have an honor code my answer would be the same. Because I personally believe in integrity and as I’ve said in my previous answer (number 4) integrity is not something that you do today and forget tomorrow should the circumstances change. 7. As a fellow student in Accounting 544 with Helen, I might feel cheated on and disappointed if I found out about what she did. I might feel that way because I could have been doing things truthfully, looking up to her, and believing that she has done things honestly to get the highest academic honor only to find out that it should not be hers. It would simply be unfair to the class,disrespect to the professor, dishonour to the university, and unethical to accounting.