News Analysis # 4
Intuit
is an American software company that develops financial software. Intuit,
parent company of TurboTax, temporarily stopped transmission of state e-filing
returns for about 24 hours due to fear of fraudulent activity (Rogers, 2015) . E-filing resumed
the next day at 6:00 p.m. eastern time with increased fraud protection. Intuit
noticed a pattern of suspicious attempts of identity theft to claim tax refunds
and has been continuously reviewing their system for fraudulence (Rogers, 2015) .
Hackers
were trying to steal the identity of taxpayers’ raises an ethical dilemma.
Also, stealing personal information could have resulted in more severe
consequences such as alteration of finances, credit history, or reputation (Federal Trade
Commission, 2013) .
For example, once identity thieves have your personal information, they can
take out all the money from your bank account, charge your credit cards,
receive medical treatment using your health insurance, etc. According to the Federal Trade Commission, in
this case, an identity thief could have used a person’s social security number
to obtain tax refunds or a job. The ethical dilemma is reduced in the sense
that Intuit responded quickly to the situation and immediately began to access
where the problem lies. If Intuit would not have acknowledged the issue, the
ethical dilemma would have been more serious.
Intuit
properly resolved the fraud issue. Stopping the transmission of e-filing to add
more protection to the system was very effective. This strategy was effective
because if Intuit did not add more protective measures, more confidential
information could have been stolen. Intuit’s actions positively influenced the
organizational culture. Because of Intuit’s actions, employee morale will
increase throughout the organization. In the eyes of the public, Intuit’s
reputation will also increase. The public will see that Intuit is truly an
organization that one can trust. Intuit’s
decision to constantly look for patterns of possible fraud helps minimize the
chances of a reoccurrence of this issue. In addition to monitoring fraud
patterns, Intuit hired a security expert, Palantir, to work with them on
researching where the fraud scams are originating from.
We
will be discussing various ethical theories analyzing Intuit’s actions through
the lens of the different theories. Intuit relates closest to the utilitarian
ethical theory. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that states that an action
is ethical when one’s decision yields the greatest benefit to a majority of
people (Arnold, Beauchamp, & Bowie, 2012) . Intuit demonstrates
use of this theory by seeking to benefit their customers and protecting them
from hackers. By stopping their business operations temporarily to respond the
issue of fraud, portrays that Intuit cared more about their customers than
their profits. Had intuit decided to
completely ignore the interests of their customers we would of seen an example of
ethical egoism. Ethical egoism is when something is ethical when it benefits
the individual the most (Arnold, Beauchamp, & Bowie,
2012) .
Virtue
ethical theory is a theory that focuses on the character of a person or company
and determines whether a person/company is guilty on the basis of past
performance (Arnold, Beauchamp, & Bowie,
2012) .
Since Intuit displayed good ethical conduct, using the virtue ethical theory,
if Intuit were to be involved in unethical practice, Intuit would be judged on
their past actions. Through the virtue ethical theory, Intuit would be less
guilty of their actions because of their past actions.
In
conclusion, Intuit portrayed that their company’s priority was their customers
rather than profits. Comparing Intuit’s actions through the different ethical
theories we find that Intuit is considered to make decisions based on how many
people it affects and if they were to perform an unethical issue, they would be
judged less harshly due to their commitment to the people. Overall, Intuit
handled this situation correctly by stopping business functions and
implementing maximum fraud protection for their users.
Bibliography
Arnold, D. G., Beauchamp, T. L., & Bowie, N. E.
(2012). Ethical Theory and Business. Pearson Education.
Federal Trade Commission. (2013, November). Tax-Related
Identity Theft. Retrieved from Federal Trade Commission:
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0008-tax-related-identity-theft
Rogers, J. (2015, February 6). Fraud Worries
Force Turbo Tax To Halt State Filings. Retrieved from Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/02/06/fraud-worries-force-turbotax-to-halt-state-filings/
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