All human life is sacred – from conception to death.

All human life is sacred – from conception to death.

However, we confront a culture in America today that doesn’t hold human life as sacred, but rather, as disposable. This mindset has led to court approved abortion on demand, efforts to legalize assisted suicide, and more.

As a result, human life is cheapened. Countless precious lives are ended - often inside the womb - and society loses more than anyone can imagine.
The Alliance Defense Fund is helping to defend the sanctity of human life, and actively works through its legal efforts to:

• Defend the free speech rights of advocates for life
• Oppose efforts to legalize euthanasia
• Oppose public funding of abortion
• Support parental consent and informed consent laws
• Oppose partial-birth, and all other forms of, abortion
• Oppose methods of "research" or "family planning" that require the taking of human life
• Defend the right of conscience for pharmacists, nurses, and doctors to refuse to assist in the taking of innocent life

Our goal is to reform American law so that all human life will be respected and protected from conception to death through the power of an alliance

American Family breakdown

This is a look at the breakdown of the American Family.

The breakdown of the America family is a serious problem today. In the history of our nation, there has not been a single generation raised with the societal conditions that we have. The disintegration of the family has always preceded the decline of a culture. In this paper, I hope to present the functional theory of sociology in respect to family disintegration. I want to present some reasons for the breakdown of the American family, and I want to present a possible solution to the problem.
As someone who is training for ministry and family counseling, I hope to present my beliefs, clearly and adequately supported with statistics, that God's plan for the family system is the best. I want to begin to support my thesis with some statistics of the problem. I then want to show statistics of families that follow God's plan. The results of the two family systems are significantly differently.
The Functionalist Theory of Sociology
The functionalist theory sees the norm of family as "one husband who is the father, one wife who is mother, and the children." Anything other than this ideal is a deviation from the normalcy of values. "According to this point of view, the family is a basic unit of society that serves the purposes of socializing the young, regulating sexual activity and procreation, providing physical care for family members, and giving psychological support and emotional security to individuals. The precarious position of the family in modern society is seen as stemming from the fact that the family's share of these functions has been dwindling while other institutions have taken on greater responsibility."
In a "Summary of Comments Made during the White House Briefing on the Family," Dr. James Dobson made this comment about the family. "A family is not a collection of individuals who happen to live at the same address. They are people who share an intimate and complex connection with one another, being related by marriage, birth or adoption. Together they form something larger and more significant that the contribution of each person taken singly. That association, locked together by love and lifelong commitment, must have a secure place in the American legal structure. To continue to undermine its foundations and erode its authority is to destroy the very fabric of American life."
How is the American Family Fairing?
A 1994 Georgia court docket shows that nearly 20% of the court cases were divorce. In 1992, one city led the nation in divorce per capita. Last year, 1997, this same city was the divorce capital of the South. It also led the nation in child abuse for two years straight. Currently, at a local middle school, at least thirty teenagers are pregnant. These are just some statistics that evidence the weakening family system. The disintegration of the family has always preceded the decline of a society.
What Are the Reasons For the Decline?
In my research, I have found two major reasons for the decline of the family. The first thing that I want to expound on is "no fault" divorce. In 1969, California permitted divorce when "irreconcilable differences" arose, thus becoming the first state with a "no-fault" divorce law. Nearly all the other states soon added no-fault divorce options to their existing laws. "No fault divorce, which swept the United States and Canada in the early 1970's has been a disaster, making it easier to modify a marriage contract than to escape from an agreement to purchase a refrigerator."
In "Social Problems," the authors present a graph of Marriage and Divorce rates between the years 1910-1993. The marriage rate has slightly declined from around 10.5 per thousand to about nine per thousand. The marriage rate peaked around 1945 and has declined except for two small raises in 1965 and in 1980. The divorce rate has steadily increased from around one per thousand to around 4.5 per thousand. The highest jump in divorce rate came between 1975-1993. If the present divorce rate persists, within another generation roughly half of all marriages will be ended by divorce.
The second problem I see is cohabitation. Many people believe that living together before marriage will enhance their chances for a lasting relationship. Sociologists Larry Bumpass and James Sweet of the University of Wisconsin found this belief to be untrue. Twice as many couples that live together before marriage have divorced as those who do not.
What Can a Family Do?
The keys to a good marriage are found in the Bible. The first key is to show appreciation for each other on a regular basis. Romans 12:10 says, "Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another." The second thing is that we must express our admiration, love, and respect for our families. Romans 13:7 says, "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor."
When a man and a woman enter the marriage covenant, it is expected of both to submit to one another. Submission doesn't mean bondage, it simply means to adapt to the characteristics of the other partner. A godly husband will not be a tyrant nor a taskmaster, but he will be a loving provider and protector of his family. The husband
Should "love his wife as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:28)."
The wife should submit herself to the authority of her husband. This submission was to be "as unto the Lord." She is not in any way a secondhand citizen, the wife is a helpmate to her husband. A submitted wife is one that her husband can trust. She is like the "Virtuous Woman" in Proverbs 31.
In summary, the situation our nation's families are facing is dire, but there is hope. When the family returns to the original blueprint that God designed, we will begin to see America strengthened. The family can change the nation in one generation if they will follow God's Word.

Family values

Family values

Individuality, Integrity, Industry, Knowledge, Compassion, Family, Optimism, Honesty, Respect.

IndividualityWe're happy with who we are. We honor those who work to secure freedom to express our individuality. We respect others by accepting their race, religion, culture, opinions, hobbies or other interests as valuable to them. As we develop and express our various talents we enrich each other's lives as well as our own. Wouldn't life be boring if we were all the same?
IntegrityIntegrity means being the same person inside and out, all the time. Whether in public or in private, we keep our commitments, accept responsibility for our own actions, and are honest and fair with everyone. And yes, it means always telling the truth and being good, just because it is the right thing to do. We know that personal integrity is required to earn another's trust, and is therefore the basis of all human relationships.
IndustryOnly through hard work and dedication can we realize our goals and dreams. We are diligent in our work, using all our talents and always doing our best, no matter what the task. We expect fair compensation for our labors but avoid excess. We strive to be self-sufficient, never expecting others to do for us what we can do for ourselves.
KnowledgeThe joy of learning can last a lifetime. Seeking knowledge begins with asking questions, then pursuing the answers with energy and creativity. We learn when we can accept the answers, even if they are not what we expect. The freedom and understanding gained by knowing the truth are our rewards for the pursuit of knowledge.
CompassionAll of us have needed help at some time in our lives. As well, our success always comes with the help of others. So we freely give our time, talents and resources to those who are in need without reservation or expectation. We patiently seek to understand the needs of others, and offer our assistance whenever we can without waiting for someone else to help.
FamilyWe all belong to a family. Our family bonds gives us identity; a way to recognize ourselves with a culture and heritage all our own. We support each other, depend on each other, respect each other and comfort each other. We are also members of larger families; our community, the human family, and the family of life on Earth. We accept the responsibilities of being a part of these families, only receiving what we need so that others may have their share, and helping to strengthen the family through our service.
OptimismLife is full of promise. We have goals that motivate us, and look to the future with a sense of purpose, knowing that we can make a difference. Though our individual influence may be small, it will spread from our family to others, and to future generations. Our purpose is to work together to bring about personal fulfillment in our lives and peace in the world.

Honesty

It means always telling the truth and being good, just because it is the right thing to do.

Respect

Respecting others, elders and people with opposing views and opinions.

What exactly makes up a strong family that possesses good family values? A family that sustains its members — that supports and nourishes the members throughout the span of that family. A strong family unit creates a safe, positive and supportive place for all members to thrive. They are able to utilize resources and to live together in a fairly healthy manner.
The adults in a strong family set the tone. They are good role models that lead by example. They reach out to friends and community and teach their children the importance of doing the same -- and that becomes part of who the children are. They work together to solve problems, and they pass their skills on to the next generation. Some important elements of a strong family system are family cohesion, family flexibility and family communication.

Cohesion- In families cohesion would be defined as the feeling of being loved, of belonging to the group and being nurtured by it. Although closeness is good in a family unit, there must be a balance between being together and being separate. A person must be able to develop their individuality, while being supported and confident within the family. A few things that bring a family together are the commitment of other family members, and the spending of time together.

Flexibility- There must be a structure in a family or it will become chaotic and will not be a peaceful setting for a family. Conversely, there must be flexibility or the family becomes rigid and the authority figures become resented. We could compare a successful family to a democracy. There are leaders, but the whole group is involved in the decision making process. Although the leaders are in charge all members develop the ability to cope with stress, and at times lead. While the family works to avoid stressful situations they work together to solve problems, without blaming, criticizing and finding fault with each other. Families that tend to have a strong spiritual base seem to have a sense of well-being that facilitates this working together in times of stress.
Communication- Ever hear the saying, “What we have here is a failure to communicate?” A lack of communication can rip a family apart and destroy them. Things that facilitate communication are the things mentioned so far -- family closeness, flexibility, time spent together, spirituality. All members must feel a freedom within the group to express themselves freely.
Another very important factor is the relationship between the “head” couple. In a family that is parented by a happily married couple, people are able to express themselves more freely. What they might say isn’t filtered through the problems of the “guardians.” A happy marriage seems to set the tone in the house. It spills over from the family to the community and a healthy family will be reaching out to help others. They do not tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.
A very important thing for families to teach their children is how to make good decisions. If they have watched their parents making well thought out decisions over the years, they will tend to be good decision makers themselves.
A healthy, happy family benefits our whole society. Among the children of strong families their is less crime, less divorce and less emotional problems. They tend to go on and have strong, healthy families of their own, having learned from their folk’s example.

The relationship between your children starts early. Learn how to harvest healthy interactions between brothers and sisters.

The deterioration of family values R2

The deterioration of family values R2

Since World War 2 when women were encouraged to join the work force en mass, to replace the men who went to war and keep the economy and the war effort going.

There has been a trend where a mother was not home to take care of her children, monitor their behavior, help with the homework and discipline when and where necessary.

The advancement in technology has harmed family values. The Media and Television has totally destroyed any comprehension of values in our society.

The lack of discipline and total disregard for authority and respect is clear to anyone who has watched the past 50 years and seen our society’s values deteriorate.

One example alone is that 50 years ago a teacher was happy to go to school to teach, a teacher was respected and looked up-to, a teacher could discipline.  Today teachers fear for their lives they are petrified by their students.

This scenario caries on to other social interactions of society today, and the situation is getting worse and worse every year.

You will notice that many families who come from other countries have a very strong family values, good education, respect and the children excel in their studies. That is because they have not had the chance to be influenced by our society.

The education of our children begins at home and continues in school – the parents and the school must take a proactive approach to teach our children values and respect.

In today’s society a teacher is not permitted to discipline a student, the teachers will be sued, not to mention that teachers fears for their safety.

Parents in today’s society are also restricted as to how to discipline their children; in many cases parents are getting sued. In many cases children would never dream of treating their parents with such disrespect 50 years ago. Today some parents are afraid of their own children.

Abuse has been and will be with society to eternity that does not give society the right to prohibit discipline; a few acts of abuse should not cause society to prohibit proper discipline.

When an individual or individuals utilize a vehicle to commit a crime cause the death of others, does society prohibit vehicles altogether, no, a vehicle is very important for our everyday life.

Well, the discipline of our children by parents and teachers is extremely important for our society and the preservation of humanity.

It seems that our society is so busy chasing the dollar, fame and glory, that anything goes all values goes out the window. We should be an example of honesty, integrity and respect to our children.

Yehuda Draiman, Northridge, CA.

PS

Are Americans patriotic and proud enough to defend, protect and bring family values back to America? Is America ready to fight for honesty integrity and justice in our society, eliminate corruption and fraud, waste and self serving programs.

Re-invigurate our economy and decrease our dependence on foreign economies and resources.

Tell me and I will forget
Show me and I may remember
Involve me and I will understand.

n     Chinese Proverb.

Protecting Family Values

The family is the most basic unit of any society or nation. Without healthy, functioning families, a culture cannot survive.

God created marriage as the unity of one man and one woman. This has been both the legal and traditional understanding of a marriage – literally – for millennia, since Eden. Sadly, many radical activist groups in the U.S. are attempting to twist the law to change the definition of marriage and the family to include same-sex "marriage," polygamy, polyamory, and other structures. These groups scoff at the idea that there is any fixed or known set of values or beliefs that is generally good for families or culture.

We should fight against numerous attacks on marriage and family values, including efforts to:

• Allow children unlimited access to pornography over the Internet in public libraries
• Allow those engaging in homosexual behavior to have preference to adopt children and be foster parents
• Allow those engaging in homosexual behavior to serve openly in the military
• Expose children to explicit sex education materials contrary to parental approval
• Deny parents the right to raise their children before God as they see fit

No Tolerance for Intolerance

 

No Tolerance for Intolerance

One of the essentials of a good community, that is, a community in which each of us can build flourishing lives for ourselves and those we care about, is tolerance. Tolerance matters for the obvious reason that the diversity of interests and desires people have is sometimes so great that we don't even understand why others should think and behave as they do; and yet we acknowledge their right to do so, because we cherish the same right for ourselves.

Thus, the very possibility of society turns on tolerance. Society involves people getting along peacefully all the time and co-operatively most of the time, and neither is possible unless people recognize the entitlement of others to their choices, and give them space accordingly.

But here, of course, is the familiar rub: the paradox of tolerance, which is that a tolerant society is at risk of tolerating those who are intolerant, and allowing movements to grow which foster intolerance. The profoundly dismaying spectacle of the contemporary Netherlands illustrates this point. What was one of the most inclusive and welcoming societies in Europe has been stabbed in the heart by people it sheltered and who have grown into intolerant activists wishing to impose conformity and censorship on others by violence. And alas, it has happened here [in Scotland], too.

The remedy for the paradox of tolerance is, of course, that tolerance can't tolerate intolerance. But this truism is often greeted with the response that if tolerance is intolerant of something, it is in breach of itself: it becomes self-defeating in another way. The answer is to insist that although it's natural to think that tolerance is a warm, woolly, feel-good attitude, in fact it is a principle: it's an ethical demand that everyone should respect everyone else's rights and liberties. And this does the trick all by itself. Tolerance is not a demand to license just anything whatever, least of all behavior that threatens the rights of others. Tolerance thus has its central place in the good society along with other principles that stop it from being a merely flabby acceptance that anything goes.

These are the principles of pluralism and individual liberty, which essentially require tolerance, but indicate its rational limit. Insisting on this vital point is what explains why tolerance not only cannot but must not tolerate intolerance.

Honor, Honesty and Integrity these are not just words

Honor, Honesty and Integrity these are not just words

At times we feel maybe justified in violating a part of our own integrity.
We don’t measure the effect that by doing so, the amount of damage
that it does to others as well as to our own soul.
We speak of justice; we speak of honesty and doing the right things in
life. We are sometimes confronted not so much by the violation of
these principles but by the impact they have on our own spirit.
Feeling betrayed by those you trust, who have in some way acted in a manner that you may never understand,
will have an impact on your life. This may only be for a moment or maybe a lifetime;
each person has their own emotional point of tolerance to transgressions that may have been committed by even the most trusted among you.
These words are what make’s us civilized. They are the fundamentals
of our own character. We can not be responsible for someone else’s
behavior but we are in total control of our own. Our behavior in any
setting should be guided by these words.
We can forgive others, but it is not easy for us to forgive ourselves
when it is our actions that bring forth circumstances that no one
wants. I have felt recently that betrayal, that dishonest act that just
hurts and saddens the soul. Of course, that does not make that person
bad or evil. It is an act that does not help for the survival of a group.
I believe in the biblical statement that vengeance is the Lord’s it is not
mine to give. When dealing with anyone in any capacity honesty is the
guide. Integrity is the path to take. Honor is yours to own. Weep as
you may for an infraction of another upon you; forgive as that
transgression will also corrupt your soul to a deeper distrust of all.
For the transgressor it will be easy to do that which they may feel is
right, though the action violates all honor or self respect which creates
havoc and chaos on others. Maybe to be honest will allow one to sleep
at night. My heart pains, for those who have chosen the path of least
resistance, which is the path to destruction.
Integrity doesn’t mean that you become some cold, stoic person, and
vacant of all emotion. Integrity just means to flow with your honest
feelings and actions ensuring that they are in alignment with propriety.
If you don’t like what you are doing then honor yourself by doing the
best job anyway. You can always change careers.

BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING ETHICS

  BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING ETHICS INTRODUCTIONEthical values provide the foundation on which a civilized society exists. Without the foundation, civilization collapses. On a personal level, everyone must answer the following question: What is my highest aspiration? The answer might be wealth, fame, knowledge, popularity, or integrity. But if integrity is secondary to any of the alternatives, it will be sacrificed in situations in which a choice must be made. Such situations will inevitably occur in every person's life.
A 1987 popular movie portrayed the unscrupulous dealings of people involved in securities trading based on nonpublic (inside) information. A key character, portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, in a dramatic scene says, "Greed is good!" The implication is that greed is an acceptable motivation and that business people will do anything to make money, including engage in unethical behavior. In reality, greed is unacceptable, and unethical behavior will destroy a firm's ability to make money. Although the goal of any firm should be to increase its owners' wealth, to do so requires the public's trust. In the long run, that trust depends on ethical business practices.
In the United States and other free societies, people often have the freedom to make their own decisions about the "right" thing to do. Before the American Republic, a common belief was that where there was liberty, anarchy would result because people would be unable to govern themselves. Yet Americans were free and well behaved. How could this be?
The great English writer, G.K. Chesterton, observed that America was the only nation in the world founded on a creed. He said that creed was set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence. Chesterton was referring to the second paragraph of America's founding document: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
America's founders established a nation based on widely held ethical values. In George Washington's farewell address to public life, September 17, 1796, he said that the survival of freedom on American soil would have nothing to do with him, and everything to do with the character of its people and the government they would elect:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.... In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them. A volume could not trace all the connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the others, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?... [R]eason and experienceboth forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
In addressing the Massachusetts militia in 1789, John Adams, the second U.S. President, said, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Whether a person derives ethical values from religious principle, history and literature, or personal observation and experience, there are some basic ethical guidelines to which everyone can agree. In the July 1992 issue of Management Accounting, James Brackner, member of the IMA Committee on Ethics, stated:
The universities are responding with an increased emphasis on ethical training for decision making. For the most part, however, they ignore the teaching of values. For moral or ethical education to have meaning, there must be agreement on the values that are considered "right."
Michael Josephson, in Chapter 1 of Ethical Issues in the Practice of Accounting, 1992, described the "Ten Universal Values." They were as follows: honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, fidelity, fairness, caring, respect for others, responsible citizenship, pursuit of excellence, and accountability.
In considering the impact of ethical values on a society, Chuck Colson made the following observation:¹
 

Societies are tragically vulnerable when the men and women who compose them lack character. A nation or a culture cannot endure for long unless it is undergirded by common values such as valor, public-spiritedness, respect for others and for the law; it cannot stand unless it is populated by people who will act on motives superior to their own immediate interest. Keeping the law, respecting human life and property, loving one's family, fighting to defend national goals, helping the unfortunate, paying taxes--all these depend on the individual virtues of courage, loyalty, charity, compassion, civility, and duty.

When ethical values are falling, people often turn to government for help. However, there is little government, especially in a free society, can do when its citizens are unethical. Echoing the sentiment of President John Adams, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, in his 1978 address at Harvard University, stated the following:
 

Destructive and irresponsible freedom has been granted boundless space. Society has turned out to have scarce defense against the abyss of human decadence, for example against the misuse of liberty for moral violence against young people, such as motion pictures full of pornography, crime, and horror. This is all considered to be part of freedom and to be counterbalanced, in theory, by the young people's right not to look and not to accept. Life organized legalistically has thus shown its inability to defend itself against the corrosion of evil.

THE PURPOSE OF ETHICSThe purpose of ethics in business is to direct business men and women to abide by a code of conduct that facilitates, if not encourages, public confidence in their products and services. In the accounting field, the AICPA maintains and enforces a code of professional conduct for public accountants. The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) also maintain a code of ethics. Professional accounting organizations recognize the accounting profession's responsibility to provide ethical guidelines to its members.
Can ethics be taught? At some point in life, ethics must be taught. People are not born with innate desires to be ethical or to be concerned with the welfare of others. The role of the family includes teaching children a code of ethical behavior that includes respect for parents, siblings, and others. The family bears chief responsibility for ensuring that children will receive the necessary education and moral guidance to become productive members of society. The basic values such as honesty, self-control, concern for others, respect for legitimate authority, fidelity, and civility must be passed from one generation to the next, a fundamental process of the family. The breakdown of the family is associated with some terrible social problems. In an editorial in U.S. News and World Report, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, editor-in-chief, wrote:²
 

It has been fashionable to glorify the trend toward single-parent families resulting from high divorce rates and unmarried child-bearing. One million kids a year now watch their parents split up, and a like number are born out of wedlock. This selfish rationalization substitutes the happiness of the adult in our moral codes for the well-being of the children. Career and self-fulfillment have got ahead of caring responsibility. The results on children have been devastating. The developing child needs love, stability, constancy, harmony and permanency in family life. These needs have been casuistically sacrificed in the adult's quest for freedom, independence and choice. ...The impact that family disintegration has on children's life is a national crisis that has weakened our social fabric and placed unbearable burdens on schools, courtsprisons and the welfare system. The nuclear family must be nurtured. It must be at the center, not the periphery, of social policy. Too many policies and attitudes undermine this central value.

The United States in the 1990s could be described by the words of Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the season of despair."³
From 1960 to 1990, the U.S. population increased 41 percent. During the same period, gross domestic product increased 250 percent; social spending by government (in constant 1990 dollars) increased from 143 billion dollars to 787 billion dollars, a 450 percent increase; inflation-adjusted spending on welfare rose 633 percent; on education, 225 percent. These statistics might lead one to conclude that Americans are characterized by hard work, generosity, and a commitment to education. Some other statistics are not very encouraging. The rate of violent crime increased 355 percent; divorce, 125 percent; illegitimate births, 428 percent; children living in single-parent homes, 193 percent; teen suicide, 214 percent; and scores on the S.A.T. dropped 75 points. America faces some difficult social problems. The best way to respond to these problems is not always clear. Yet, to sit back and ignore the problems is clearly the road to disaster.
THE ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONSThe twenty-sixth president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, said it best: "To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society." More recently, the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting (Treadway Commission) indicated that curricula should integrate the development of ethical values with the acquisition of knowledge and skills.⁴ John C. Burton, dean of the Columbia University Business School, in a speech to the American Accounting Association, stated that the declining influence of social institutions has increased the role educators must play in shaping values.5 Cal Thomas made the following assessment: "If we want to produce people who share the values of a democratic culture, they must be taught those values and not be left to acquire them by chance."⁶
Specific responsibilities of the accounting profession are expressed in the various codes of ethics promulgated by major organizations such as the AICPA. The AICPA's first principle of professional conduct states: "In carrying out their responsibilities as professionals, members should exercise sensitive professional and moral judgments in all their activities."
A profession is formed on the basis of (1) a generally accepted body of knowledge, (2) a widely recognized standard of attainment, and (3) an enforceable code of ethics. A code of ethics is a crucial element in forming a professional. The three major accounting professional organizations have an ethics code.
The main reason for having ethical guidelines is not to provide a cookbook solution to every practice-related problem, but to aid in the decision-making process for situations that involve ethical questions. Business persons will encounter novel situations in their jobs and will need ethical guidelines to handle them effectively. Ethics codes are necessary to provide such guidance. To aid its 100,000 members in resolving ethical dilemmas, the Institute of Management Accountants recently established an "ethics hotline." Ethics counselors offer confidential advice, solace, and comfort to management accountants who may have no other place to turn for help.
When societal values are deteriorating, maintaining high ethical standards in accounting and business grows increasingly difficult. People will undoubtedly ask, If everyone else is cheating, then how can an ethical person possibly succeed? Nevertheless, the real question is, how does one measure success? Exhibit 1 provides a poignant essay on the foolishness of measuring success by the accumulation of wealth or power.