According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, students entering the University of Michigan Business School have to write a case study on the most challenging ethical dilemma each had faced. I asked myself,
"If I had to write about my biggest ethical dilemma, what would it be?"
I don't think one big event shapes anyone as an ethical person. In fact, I face ethical challenges every day.
If everyone else has left early, do I leave or do I stay and put in a full day's work for a full day's pay? When a friend asks me to do him a favor and write a letter recommending him for a job, do I do it even if I know he doesn't meet all of the requirements? That might seem like an easy one if you know me and how unbending I tend to be on honesty - but where does generosity come in? What if I truly know my friend is smart and hard-working and will be a success in that job? What if he has done me favors in the past, and I know he will do well, do I stretch the truth and count that six months he worked on projects in college as 'work experience'?
If I am hiring someone, do I have the courage to pick the person who doesn't meet the published qualifications if I am convinced he or she is the best person for other reasons - speaks a second language, has experience creating web sites. I have to admit I am wrong in that I didn't think of these other qualities that we could really use and I have to on top of that face the fallout from those people who didn't get hired even though they did have all the right skills on paper.
Generosity - how do you treat people you work with every day? I have a lot of education, and sometimes a person will say something or ask a question so clueless that it leaves me almost speechless. A few days ago, I received an email from a person and there were so many errors in what the person was asking I didn't even know where to begin. Something along the lines of,
"It is really nice to hear you are interested in learning more about our country. I can tell you have never been to a pow-wow. Here is a little information about what goes on .... "
It's not a great story or case study, maybe not even a great blog, but the truth is that my greatest ethical challenge is being a littler more generous, braver, more honest, stronger for the next five minutes, than my first impulse might lead me to be.
"If I had to write about my biggest ethical dilemma, what would it be?"
I don't think one big event shapes anyone as an ethical person. In fact, I face ethical challenges every day.
If everyone else has left early, do I leave or do I stay and put in a full day's work for a full day's pay? When a friend asks me to do him a favor and write a letter recommending him for a job, do I do it even if I know he doesn't meet all of the requirements? That might seem like an easy one if you know me and how unbending I tend to be on honesty - but where does generosity come in? What if I truly know my friend is smart and hard-working and will be a success in that job? What if he has done me favors in the past, and I know he will do well, do I stretch the truth and count that six months he worked on projects in college as 'work experience'?
If I am hiring someone, do I have the courage to pick the person who doesn't meet the published qualifications if I am convinced he or she is the best person for other reasons - speaks a second language, has experience creating web sites. I have to admit I am wrong in that I didn't think of these other qualities that we could really use and I have to on top of that face the fallout from those people who didn't get hired even though they did have all the right skills on paper.
Generosity - how do you treat people you work with every day? I have a lot of education, and sometimes a person will say something or ask a question so clueless that it leaves me almost speechless. A few days ago, I received an email from a person and there were so many errors in what the person was asking I didn't even know where to begin. Something along the lines of,
"I am new to your country and I would like to have the experience of being queen of a pow-wow but this weekend is the only time I am free. Can you tell me if it is possible to get enrolled in a tribe by Thursday and how much does it cost? And which tribe is the best?"Where do you start? Do I make the person feel really stupid by going point by point - that you cannot enroll in a tribe like you enroll in a college, pow-wows don't have queens, there probably isn't one in Los Angeles this weekend and on and on? I am a smart-ass by nature so I was tempted to give a response that would amuse me but no doubt hurt the person's feelings. Instead, after five minutes thought, I wrote back,
"It is really nice to hear you are interested in learning more about our country. I can tell you have never been to a pow-wow. Here is a little information about what goes on .... "
It's not a great story or case study, maybe not even a great blog, but the truth is that my greatest ethical challenge is being a littler more generous, braver, more honest, stronger for the next five minutes, than my first impulse might lead me to be.
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