AOF Ethics in Business

AOF Ethics in Business

Lesson 2 Introduction to Ethics

AOF Ethics in Business

Lesson 2

Introduction to Ethics

Student Resources

Resource / Description
Student Resource 2.1 / Reading: What Is an Ethical Dilemma?
Student Resource 2.2 / Group Activity: Considering an Ethical Dilemma
Student Resource 2.3 / Chart: Ethical Codes
Student Resource 2.4 / Assignment: Ethics Proverbs

Student Resource 2.1

Reading: What Is an Ethical Dilemma?

Ethical dilemmas are situations in which a person is faced with two convincing yet conflicting alternatives for the solution to a difficult problem. What makes the situation a dilemma is that two or more moral values a person considers important are in conflict. Resolving the dilemma then is difficult. Often the right, or ethical thing, to do is not clear or is difficult to choose. We have all experienced ethical dilemmas in our lives. Consider the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: You run into your friend’s mom on the street. She asks you how you enjoyed the movie with her daughter on Friday night. You didn’t go to the movie with her daughter on Friday night, but it appears that she told her mom that you did. Do you tell her mom that you didn’t go to the movie or is it ok to just not answer, smile, nod your head, and quickly walk away?

Scenario 2: You observe what appear to be a homeless mother and her children stealing food at the grocery store. Do you say something to the manager?

Scenario 3: You are being scouted to play for your dream team at your dream college. A week before the last big game, one of your coaches takes you aside and offers you performance-enhancing drugs to increase your chances of really impressing the scouts and getting the scholarship. He says he’s looking out for your best interests and can guarantee you won’t be tested in the near future. Do you take the drugs just this one time to secure your future?

Scenario 4: You have an opportunity for an internship at a respected business in your community. You submit a project you worked on with several other Academy of Finance students with your portfolio. Through the interview process, you discover that you are given credit for a section of the project that really impressed the company. In fact, another member of your team, with little input from you, completed that section. Do you tell the interviewers that you were not responsible for that section of the project?

Student Resource 2.2

Group Activity: Considering an Ethical Dilemma

Student Name:______Date:______

Directions: Read your classmate’s ethical dilemma and respond to the following questions in a sentence or two for each.

Is there an ethical dilemma? Why or why not?

What do you think is the most ethical advice to give to this person? Why?

Is there more than one response to this question that could be considered ethical? Why or why not?

Think back on the characteristics of an ethical person. Which virtues would this person display if he chose to act ethically in this situation?

Student Resource 2.3

Chart: Ethical Codes

Student Name:______Date:______

Directions: In your groups, read the ethical codes your teacher distributed. Choose three of these codes to compare and contrast in the table below.

Does or Did This Code Accurately Reflect the Ethical Standards of the Group?
Ethical Message of This Code
Country, Organization, or Group Represented
Name of Code

Student Resource 2.4

Assignment: Ethics Proverbs

Student Name:______Date:______

A proverb is a well-known and often-repeated short and simple saying that expresses a truth based on common sense or practical experience. A number of proverbs have to do with the issues of ethics, morals, and values that people have thought about throughout history.

Directions: Analyze each of the proverbs below by responding to the related prompts in complete sentences.

Proverb #1: Blood is thicker than water.