Ethical Decisions

I’m a student that’s constantly being told to “network” but was wondering about the ethical implications of doing so. More specifically, the practice of people (especially in business) talking to colleagues or professionals not just out of interest or for a quality conversation, but under pretense that they will get something out of the interaction (for example, the phone number/email of an esteemed professor).

In my mind this has been something of a moral/ethical dilemma. Is it ok to talk to people under the false pretense? And to what extent? And is there any way to “be moral” if you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say and their work, but also want to connect with these professionals to further your own career? Could it be a situation where the mentor is morally “obligated” to help younger students on their journeys?

This is something I’ve wondered for a while, and would greatly appreciate it if you could either explain your own line of thinking with this or point me to some papers with more information. I’d imagine it’s something that comes up regularly in business settings but I don’t see many talking about it.

Contributed by anonymous.

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