ethics in financial responsibilities

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to summarize ethics in financial responsibilities and to evaluate ethical considerations of executive compensation by writing a persuasive essay. In your essay, take a position on the following topics, and support it with evidence. Evidence can be facts, statistics, and quotes from scholarly articles, reliable news sources, or even anecdotal examples from personal experience.

At least two pieces of evidence should be used (one for each topic).

1. Do you think executive compensation in its various parts (i.e., salary, stock options, severance packages) funded at the current level is unethical? If so, how would you revise the compensation so that it was just? On what basis would you change it? Does the government have a role to play? If so, in what manner?

2. Is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act too strict, not strict enough, or just right? Explain.

Your essay should be at least 500 words in length, double-spaced, and written in Times New Roman, 12-point font. Use APA Style to format your citations.

Solution Preview

The global financial sector has experienced a fair share of crises which escalated in the year 2008 when the entire sector collapsed (Logan, 2015). It is believed that excessive executive compensation has contributed to such a financial catastrophe. To begin with, this essay purposes to explore the ethicality of executive compensation in its various forms, and whether it is a question of amount or form.

The current level of executive compensation in companies can be said to be reasonably feasible but I am still unethical (Dallas, 2012). Many firms paying excessive bonuses, salaries and other packages are constantly dealing with the problem of a tradeoff between short-term individual profitability and the long-term increase in shareholders’ financial position.

(647 words)