case study on how long working hours affect personal life of a person

1. Case study
Corporate social
responsibility

2. Case study
 Bill Church was in a bind. A recent
graduate of a prestigious business
school, he had taken a job in the
auditing division of Greenspan &
Company, a fast-growing leader in the
accounting industry. Greenspan
relocated Bill, his wife, and their 1-year-
old daughter from the Midwest to the
East Coast. On arriving, they bought
their first home and a second car. Bill
was told that the company had big plans

3. Cont.
 Several months into the job, Bill found that he
was working late into the night to complete his
auditing assignments. He realized that the
company did not want its clients billed for
excessive hours and that he needed to become
more efficient if he wanted to move up in the
company. He asked one of his friends, Ann, how
she managed to be so efficient in auditing client
records. Ann quietly explained: “Bill, there are
times when being efficient isn’t enough. You
need to do what is required to get ahead. The
partners just want results—they don’t care how
you get them.” “I don’t understand,” said Bill.

4. Cont.
“Look,” Ann explained, “I had the same problem you have a
few years ago, but Mr. Reed [the manager of the auditing
department] explained that everyone ‘eats time’ so that the
group shows top results and looks good. And when the group
looks good, everyone in it looks good. No one cares if a little
time gets lost in the shuffle.” Bill realized that “eating time”
meant not reporting all the hours required to complete a
project. He also remembered one of Reed’s classic catch
phrases, “results, results, results.” He thanked Ann for her input
and went back to work. Bill thought of going over Reed’s head
and asking for advice from the division manager, but he had
met her only once and did not know anything about her.

5. Ques 1. What should Bill do?
Ans. To improve ethical decision making
in business, one must first understand
how individuals make ethical decisions
in an organizational environment. Too
often it is assumed that individuals in
organizations make ethical decisions in
the same way that they make ethical
decisions at home, in their family, or in
their personal lives. Within the context of
an organizational work group, however,
few individuals have the freedom to

6.  Bill should report his actual time taken to
complete the tasks and should not involve in the
practice of eating time because eating time is an
unethical practice according to him. Bill should
stay loyal to his company and inform the upper
management about the truth.

7. Ques. Describe the process through which Bill might
attempt to resolve his dilemma?
Ans.
Ethical Issue
Intensity
Individual
Factors
Organization
al Factors
Organization
al Factors
Business
Ethics
Evaluatio
ns and
Intentions
Ethical or
Unethical
Behavior

8. Cont.
 Bill should talk with the managers about
the dilemma and discuss the problem
so that he would help him to resolve his
dilemma and he may some up with
some alternate solution. Bill should
follow the principle of utilitarianism
which focuses on providing the greatest
good to the greatest number of people.

9. Ques. Consider the impact of this company’s
approach on young accountants. How could
working long hours be an ethical problem?
Ans. It will produce a negative impact on
young accountants. Working long hours
will effect an employees' professional life
as well as personal life. It will not just
effect work but family friends,
community self and spirit.
Study shows that long working hours
increases illness and injury among
employees working long hours
schedules and unconventional shifts.

10. Numerous studies have confirmed that
long working hours and shift work raises
the odds for worker to be injured , to be
fatigued to be stressed, and to suffer
from medical ailments, such as
hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and heart
diseases. The health problem created by
excessive working hours can have
slipovers effects for employees such as
diminished performance, mistakes in
judgments, and errors in performing work
activities.

11. Thank you