Analysis Paper: Ethical Dilemma Last summer I had the opportunity to intern at a regional public accounting firm just outside of Philadelphia. During the internship I encountered my first real "ethical dilemma" at work. I had been working at the company for probably 3 weeks before the incident occurred. It happened on a Friday at the end of June. This was no ordinary Friday, as all of the firm's partners were out of the office on an annual retreat. Additionally, many company executives and managers were out of the office on vacation this Friday. Moving on, it was lunch time and I was approached by a senior member of staff (who was kind of the office clown). He invited me to a lunch with him and other accountants and wanted to know if I wanted to attend. Of course, being the new intern, I was happy to participate and have the opportunity to meet more people in the company. I didn't know that this lunch commitment was a small "tradition" and not a sporadic event. We arrived at a local restaurant/bar where we ended up having lunch and hanging out for almost four hours! During this lunch I saw company employees and executives speaking negatively about other employees and partners I had never even met. Besides that, the drink of choice at our table was mugs of beer. It was strange to drink beer and watch company managers drink beer at work. Being new to the professional world of business, I wasn't sure what to think of all this. I was facing my first ethical dilemma. Something inside told me that it was unethical to take long lunches and drink alcohol at work. The other part of me said this had to be a special incident… middle of paper… appropriate or not? If I could get an answer first, then I could determine my next course of action. Even if I didn't feel like saying anything to my partner, I could at least learn for the future that drinking too much at work and taking long lunches (even once a year) isn't right. One thing is for sure, I completely understand how it can be very difficult when you find yourself in an ethical situation, being a "new kid" at the job. This is something I think companies should be more aware of. When you're new to a job, you're not very familiar with the company culture, the employees around you, and the policies. You can easily find yourself in a situation like that where I was really confused about what was right and wrong. That's why it's important to have some sort of support system where employees can express their dilemmas to staff.