Under its executive stock option plan, N Corporation granted options on January 1, 2021, that permit executives to purchase 12.0 million of the company's $1 par common shares within the next eight years, but not before December 31, 2023 (the vesting date). The exercise price is the market price of the shares on the date of grant, $19 per share. The fair value of the options, estimated by an appropriate option pricing model, is $4 per option. No forfeitures are anticipated. Ignoring taxes, what is the effect on earnings in the year after the options are granted to executives

David burdick is the ceo of acme bubblegum, a successful public company. as one of the cofounders of the company, burdick has enjoyed speaking and writing about the success of acme bubblegum for several years. typically, he speaks at conferences or directly to the press, but recently, he has been blogging about his firm anonymously. specifically, he defended a recent advertising campaign that was unpopular among consumers and pointedly attacked one of acme bubblegum’s competitors. burdick deeply enjoys his anonymous blogging and believes that none of his readers actually know that he works for acme bubblegum.should burdick be allowed to praise his company’s performance anonymously online? should he be allowed to attack his competitors without disclosing his relationship with the company? how would you feel if the ceo of a company at which you shopped was secretly writing criticisms of his or her competition? how would you feel if you knew a writer for your favorite blog was actually closely involved in a company that the blog discussed? 1. define the ethical issue? 2. who are the primary stakeholders? 3. what are the possible alternatives? 4. how could you evaluate the ethical implications of the alternative actions (use appropriate decision rules)? 5. what action would you recommend and why?