Yvonne Pillar is a young accountant who came from a poor family.

She was recently hired by a big

company called Chameleon Co’s.

When it was time to audit the accounting books of the company, Yvonne was instructed by her boss
to manipulate the numbers in order to reduce the taxes the company will have to pay the
government. The company official said that if she will not heed the command, she will be
terminated.

The employment condition that time was really tight and the chances of finding another job are very
minimal.

1. If you were Yvonne Pillar, will you obey your boss? Why or why not?
- No. In the eyes of law, it is legally wrong and possibly has a great impact in the economy.
This inappropriate practice may also be one of the reasons why the employment condition in a
certain country is bad, and the accountant would suffer greater consequences in the future. People
pay taxes because it is used to fund government expenditures and for the purpose of public welfare.
So if there is less tax collection, which could have been manipulated by other companies, it would
lead to lesser projects that eventually results to smaller available opportunities, such as employment,
that would likely affect the country’s economy.

2. Are you morally obliged to follow an order that is illegal?

- No, a person can never be morally obligated to do illegal things or do things that is against
his/her will. Even if there is a contract binding the employee and the employer, the contract between
both parties should not be against the law, or much better should not be against ethical practices.
Being morally obliged to follow bad practices will put a negative remark to the company’s
reputation. Thus, the company could lose potential investors and would lead to worst case scenarios,
such as bankruptcy and company insolvency. Humans are rational being that knows how to evaluate
what is right and wrong, and obeying what her boss said is obviously wrong.

3. Explain the moral implications of the military slogan: “Obey first before you complain.”
- This slogan can be typically heard from military training in which trainees are harnessing their
attitude and discipline towards their upper classmen and co-trainees (Andes, 2019). From the slogan
itself, it means that we need to obey our superior’s word and command in order to gain their trust
and respect. Following their orders can also create a foundation of good relationship with them.
However, this slogan is not always applicable in relation to ethics. If we are going to follow this
military slogan, it is necessary to think of the negative and positive outcome of this rule.