Final answer:
Handling situations where ethical issues arise requires the management accountant to process abstract information, anticipate new situations, make sacrifices for the greater good, and recognize the importance of timely responses. Codes of ethics within business and technology, such as the one issued by IEEE-CS, guide professionals in their obligations. It is essential to consider corporate responsibility for social, economic, and environmental problems and the challenges of establishing ethical practices with emerging technologies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Handling situations in which an ethical issue arises requires the management accountant to:
- Process abstract information
- Anticipate situations that have never yet arisen
- Make individual sacrifices for the greater good, even if not mandated
- Recognize that awaiting a clear-and-present crisis may leave us unable to mount a timely response
In the context of business and emerging technology, codes of ethics play a crucial role in guiding conduct. Professional organizations, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Computer Society (IEEE-CS), issue codes of ethics that define the obligations of professionals. These codes ensure software engineers, for example, commit to approving software that meets certain specifications, is safe, and does not harm the environment or impinge on privacy. In handling ethical issues, it is important to assess the level of responsibility corporations should take for social, economic, and environmental problems and evaluate the difficulty of establishing ethical practices related to emerging technologies.