Ethics Questions

Some questions on ethics that I tackled with a class the other day:

1. Your spouse or friend asks you whether you like the new, hideous jacket he or she just purchased. Do you give your honest opinion?

2. You are playing a game of tennis and your opponent has a tough time returning serves from one spot on the court. Do you strive to hit balls to that spot?

3.You are playing a game of poker. Do you bluff?

4. Your chess opponent made a blunder. Do you let the person take the turn over?

5. You are selling a product that you think is of questionable quality. Do you mention that a product sold by a competitor is superior?

6. You know you will sell more widgets if you price them at $19.99 instead of $20.00 because the first price psychologically seems significantly less expensive. How do you price them?

7. You tell your employees not to accept gifts or lunches from potential suppliers. Would you give your sales representatives an expense account so they can take prospects to lunch?

8. You bill one client for travel time but work on a second client's project while on the plane. Do you bill the second client for that work?

Several of these bring up the issue of what has been called "gaming ethics" where certain deceptions are the commonly accepted rules of the game. Two key questions are: Does the other party really understand those rules? Are you simply trying to rationalize unethical behavior?