Case 

3: Auditing, Attitudes, and

Absenteeism
Learning Goals
In this case, you will have an opportunity to evaluate whether an ethical lapse in an employee’s
behaviour should be considered as an isolated incident or a symptom of broader problems within
the corporate culture. You will also be asked to consider which factors contributed to the
decision by Peter’s direct reports to simply go along with his directions. Other issues to consider
include the following: How might factors such as poor socialization or communication have
contributed to the behaviour of Peter’s direct reports? What would theories of motivation
suggest? Should the organization have used a more formalized structure? Use your own insight
to make recommendations about what the organization could, and should, do to prevent similar
situations from developing in the future.

Major Topic Areas

 Work attitudes (Chapter 3)
 Organizational culture and socialization (Chapter 10)
 Power (Chapter 8)
 Group dynamics (Chapter 6)
 Motivation (Chapters 4 and 5)
 Ethical decision-making (Chapter 12)
 Organizational structure (Chapter 13)

The Scenario
“You’ve got to be kidding,” said Sanjay, shaking his head, “is he there right now?” “Yes,” said
Bianca, “if we drive over there you can see for yourself.” “What the heck,” exclaimed Sanjay,
“let’s go.”3 The pair left their office tower and drove the 10-minute distance to Peter’s house.
Bianca was right. Peter was supposed to be out at a client site overseeing an audit, but his car
was parked in his driveway, and he could be seen clearly through his large, living room window.
“Well, this is awkward,” sighed Sanjay. “What do we do now?”
Sanjay and Bianca were senior managers at one of Canada’s top four professional audit firms.
Their team was responsible for performing audits for a broad range of corporate clients. The firm
had a very traditional and formalized structure, like the other large players in their industry.
Recent graduates were hired as “students in accounts,” during which time they were expected to
complete their professional exams and work toward their chartered accountant (CA) designation.
Upon passing their CA exams, they could compete to become junior auditors in the firm. If they
chose to stay with the firm, they could then expect to progress to a supervisory role and finally,
in six to seven years, become a senior manager. The best and brightest auditors stood to become
future partners in the firm. Many graduates, however, simply worked at the company long
enough to achieve their CA designation, which requires a minimum of two years’ experience
working in an auditing firm. The culture this process created was coined “up or out,” since that is
exactly what happened. Employees moved up (i.e., they were promoted) or out (i.e., left the
company). There was no shame in leaving, though; in fact, it was anticipated that most
employees would remain only long enough to get their designations and then move on.

Peter had joined the firm a few years ago and had progressed to a supervisory role. Recently,
Peter had come to the conclusion that the path to partner was not right for him, and he began
applying for jobs with other companies. But his decision to apply for jobs elsewhere created a
dilemma. He was not comfortable telling his employer he was looking for work elsewhere, and
he was also concerned that if his employer knew that he was contemplating leaving the firm, his
current assignments and standing would be negatively affected. To make matters worse, Peter
had no idea how long it would take to find a new job, and he also had no idea how to manage
organizing time off to participate in interviews.

Peter reviewed his work tasks and responsibilities and came up with what he perceived to be a
viable solution to his dilemma. He began telling the people under his supervision that their
current client did not require their presence on Fridays, and they should work at home instead.
Peter encouraged them to use the time to work on things like file reviews or even just to relax.
The members of Peter’s team did not question his instructions, even though it was highly unusual
to be allowed, and even encouraged, to work from home. Even full partners seldom worked from
home. The clients themselves did not question the team’s absence on Fridays either (one suspects
that the average worker is not terribly disappointed when he or she discovers that the audit team
is absent for a day). This arrangement allowed Peter to tell his manager that he was conducting
on-site audits on Fridays, when he was actually scheduling and attending a series of job
interviews on those days.

The situation continued for a couple of months before a few of Peter’s direct reports became
uncomfortable enough to say something. They approached Bianca, who drove past Peter’s house
the following Friday to see for herself whether or not he was there. When she confirmed that he
was at home, instead of “on-site,” she returned to the office to discuss the situation with Sanjay.
Now here the two of them were, standing on Peter’s front step, wondering how to handle the
situation. Sanjay knocked on the door. Peter answered, but as soon as he saw Sanjay and Bianca,
his face turned red. They asked him what was going on and were stunned when Peter began to
cry.

After Peter regained his composure, the three of them returned to the office to discuss the
situation. Sanjay and Bianca learned that the reason for the absences on Fridays was so that Peter
could attend job interviews. Once Sanjay and Bianca heard all of the details, they asked Peter to
step out of the office while they discussed the situation in more detail. “The irony,” remarked
Sanjay, once they were alone, “is that if Peter had just told us what was happening, we would
have been happy to give him time off to go to interviews. We recently completed his
performance evaluation, and although he is a solid accountant, he just isn’t partner material. He
doesn’t have a future here anyway. It’s not that he is a bad auditor, but others are better. I would
have been happy to help him find a good placement.” “That’s all well and good,” said Bianca,
“but it isn’t even Peter I’m worried about. He supervised several different teams over the couple
of months he was doing this. Why did it take so long for any of them to let us know what he was
doing? I know the work still got done and the clients were satisfied, and I know that everyone
likes to be friendly around here and hang out together, but these people are auditors for goodness
sake! I would have expected better. Do you think this might be a symptom of a bigger problem
with our corporate culture? And if so, what should we do about it?”