February 22, 2015

Donation or personal service?

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, offers physicians from wealthy countries the opportunity to utilize their medical expertise in poor areas. To do so, however, many physicians must forgo large salary earnings–sums that would likely save more lives if they were donated rather than sacrificed….

The starting yearly salary for a physician employed by MSF is currently under $20,000. By contrast, the mean 2009 salary for a general practitioner in the U.S. is $168,550. Clearly, there are more efficient uses of many doctors’ time and skills than to join MSF, even (or especially) if their main motivation is to save lives and treat the sick. Indeed, many U.S. physicians could easily donate enough to more than cover the salary of another doctor employed by MSF and pay for his/her medical supplies.

A similar issue arises in other professions.

The dilemma was posed by Prof. Christopher Olivola, Carnegie Mellon University

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on February 22, 2015 in Ethics on the job, Medical ethics and tagged , , , .

1 Comment

February 22, 2015

Used car buyer wants money back

I recently sold a 14-year-old SUV with 110,000 miles.  It passed vehicle inspection and licensing within 30 days of the sale.  I sold it “as is.”  I had no knowledge of any defects or mechanical problems.  I sold it well below Kelley blue book value because I knew the tires would need to be replaced for winter driving, which I made the buyers aware of at the time of the sale.

Two weeks after I sold the vehicle, it started having problems.   The new owners told me that they changed the oil on their own and drove it for two weeks before the problems appeared.  They parked the vehicle and have not taken it to a mechanic.  They don’t know what is wrong with the car but now want me to refund the purchase price and take the car back.

I offered to pay the cost of towing the car to a mechanic, but they refused that offer.  Should I refund the money or fight for my rights?  I feel I should fight for my rights .

Submitted by CK

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on February 22, 2015 in Buying and selling and tagged , , .

1 Comment

February 17, 2015

Surge pricing by Uber and Lyft

Uber customers frequently complain about surge pricing. On one hand, surge pricing makes sense from a supply and demand standpoint. On the other hand, the prices can be outrageous, with reports that a 20-minute ride can cost $362. From an ethics standpoint, should Uber revamp this model? Or is it OK to continue with surge pricing because they warn customers first?

Submitted by a journalist

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on February 17, 2015 in Buying and selling, Ethics on the job and tagged , , , .

1 Comment

February 3, 2015

Refusing measles vaccination

Is it ethical to refuse to have one’s child vaccinated for measles?

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on February 3, 2015 in Medical ethics and tagged , , .

1 Comment

January 22, 2015

Offensive cartoons

We have seen a number of publications, ranging from Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten to France’s Charlie Hebdo, displaying cartoons that are offensive to Muslims.  Is it ethical for a publication in a Western country to do this?

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on January 22, 2015 in Ethics on the job and tagged , , , .

1 Comment

September 30, 2014

Hobby Lobby

A large, family-owned corporation [i.e., Hobby Lobby] is deciding whether its company-sponsored health insurance should cover morning-after contraception.  This form of contraception violates the religious beliefs of the corporation’s owners and a majority of its senior officers, because they believe it is tantamount to abortion.  Some employees do not share the same religious beliefs and therefore feel that they are entitled to the same coverage as offered in other employer-sponsored plans.  The cost of covering morning-after drugs is negligible, but failure to cover them could adversely affect public and employee relations.  Is it ethical to eliminate this coverage?

Contributed by anonymous.

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on September 30, 2014 in Ethics on the job, Medical ethics and tagged , , , .

3 Comments

September 12, 2014

Machines that lie to us

Machines are sometimes designed to deceive us. The button at a crosswalk may have no effect on the signal but only induce pedestrians to pay attention to it. The door closing button in an elevator may be a dummy that gives people a sense of control. The progress bar for computer downloads may only give the impression that the download is progressing. Historically, a phone system that reached the wrong number may have patched the call through anyway to make callers think they made the mistake. The close button at the corner of a pop-up ad may only generate another ad. Netflix may switch from a personalized evaluation to a standard list of pop movies, without notice, when the system is overloaded. The posted wait time at an amusement park queue may be a deliberate overestimate to reduce customer impatience.

Some argue that deception by machines is ethical as long as it is beneficial or at least benign. It has been compared to a magician whose deception is tolerated because it amuses us, or to a doctor who tones down a diagnosis to avoid upsetting the patient. Are these comparisons legitimate?

Based on this article.

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on September 12, 2014 in Ethics and technology/AI and tagged , , , , , , .

1 Comment

August 28, 2014

Finding money

My girlfriend and her mom accompanied me on a trip… [As we were sitting in a hotel lobby], I noticed there was 75 cents sitting on the cushion.  I picked up the quarters, and a debate followed on how to behave ethically in this situation.  None of us agreed on what to do.

Obviously, one choice is to pocket the money and spend it as you wish.  But some feel that you should spend it by donating to charity or something selfless.  Another option is to give the money to an authority figure, in this case, a hotel employee, no matter how unlikely it is that they would find the honest rightful owner.  There is also the option of asking the people in the lobby if it is theirs, but again, you’re might be fighting against odds and honesty issues.  Lastly, some people just opt to leave the money, deciding it’s not their money or their problem to resolve.

I’ve since brought this up in conversations with friends, and I am amazed at the varying actions that people say they would take.  What if it was more money?  What if it was on a public sidewalk instead of a hotel?  What if it was in your apartment complex?  How do you tell if someone is being honest with you?  What if you had an idea of whose money is, or even saw them drop it?  What if you were starving?… So there is my dilemma.

Contributed by anonymous.

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on August 28, 2014 in Other dilemmas and tagged .

1 Comment

August 25, 2014

Ex-husband may be pedophile

I was married to my ex-husband for 22 years, and we had three children. When all the children were under the age of 4, my middle daughter, 2 at the time, would like to come to bed with me until my husband arrived, at which point he would move her into her own room. One night I woke up and found my husband standing over the two of us as we slept, and he was masturbating. Long story short, I did not leave the marriage. Likely the wrong decision, but if the marriage ended he would have unsupervised visitation, and I would not be able to protect my children. Instead, I never left my kids alone with their dad – ever.   I wasn’t sure if my ex was a pedophile or not… I did what I needed to do to protect my kids. It was exhausting, but I know that their father never had the opportunity to molest them. He was hands-off anyway in the parenting department. There were other sexually deviant times throughout our marriage. BTW – we never lived as a married couple after that episode… Fast forward.  I have remarried. Now two of the three are married, and grandbabies are on the way. His new girlfriend has grandbabies. Who will protect all of these children? What do I do with the information that I have? I have only shared this with my new husband – not another person knows. I feel a sense of responsibility to protect the next generation of children. Please help guide me. This is eating me up. Do I sit down and have a heart-to-heart with my children? All I have ever wanted was to protect them from harm and hurt – how do I continue to do so?

Contributed by Sam B

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on August 25, 2014 in Personal relationships and tagged .

1 Comment

March 14, 2014

Qutting to start own business

I have worked for 5 years at a company and I am seeing signs that the business is failing. I have lots of ideas about how to make the company succeed. Rather than share my ideas with my boss, I am considering quitting my job and starting my own company. Should I ask co-workers if they want to work for me? Can I tell my boss’s customers about my new business?

Contributed by Debbie

To comment on this dilemma, leave a response.  For anonymity, omit your email address and website, and use a screen name.

Posted by on March 14, 2014 in Ethics on the job and tagged , , .

1 Comment