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.

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

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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

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

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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

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

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February 6, 2014

Low wages in overseas factories

Is it ethical for Western companies to pay low wages when they move their factories to developing nations?

Contributed by DL (high school student)

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Posted by on February 6, 2014 in Ethics on the job and tagged , , .

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February 1, 2014

Paying tax on PayPal

I was going to pay a person through PayPal and asked what the total was with tax. I was told there was no tax if paying through PayPal. I asked, aren’t you required to charge tax? They said, if I was paying cash, the taxes were included. While I suspect they are doing this to avoid paying income tax on it, I have no way of actually knowing whether or not they will. So is it ethical for me to pay the non-tax price for this product?

Contributed by Pliant

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Posted by on February 1, 2014 in Buying and selling and tagged , .

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December 28, 2013

Money found in attic

Several news sources reported this story in May 2011.  Josh Ferrin had just bought a house when he found $45,000 in small bills, squirreled away in the attic of the garage.  The previous owner Arnold Bangerter had died a few months earlier, and the house was sold by his children.  Ferrin was ecstatic over his find until his wife said they should return the money to its “rightful owners.”  He agreed and gave the money to Bangerter’s heirs, who said that their father sometimes hid part of his savings in the house.  Ferrin didn’t feel right keeping the money even if he were legally entitled to it.  What exactly was Ferrin’s ethical obligation?

Contributed by John Hooker

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Posted by on December 28, 2013 in Buying and selling and tagged , , .

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November 26, 2013

Obamacare: buy insurance or pay penalty?

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) requires me to have health insurance, or else pay a penalty.  The penalty is $95 or 1% of income (whichever is greater) in 2014, $325 or 2% of income in 2015, and $695 or 2.5% of income thereafter.

Is it ethical for me to pay the penalty, rather than buy insurance, if I think this will save me money?

Contributed by anonymous.

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Posted by on November 26, 2013 in Medical ethics and tagged , , .

7 Comments

March 27, 2013

Sell assault weapons?

Is it ethical to manufacture and sell assault weapons to civilians?

Contributed by an ethics instructor.

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Posted by on March 27, 2013 in Buying and selling and tagged , .

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September 30, 2012

Welcome

photoqatarHi.  I’m John Hooker, an emeritus professor of business ethics at Carnegie Mellon University.  I created this blog to provide a forum for analyzing ethical dilemmas in a rational way.

I analyze each dilemma, based on the principles described under How to analyze.  You may need to look at these to understand what I am talking about.  You can also contribute to the discussion.

  • Recently posted dilemmas appear below.  To view all the dilemmas by category, click the topics on the left.
  • To contribute your dilemma, write it as a comment on this post.  I will convert it to a separate post so it can be categorized.
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Posted by on September 30, 2012 in Uncategorized.

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March 28, 2012

Using study drugs

An ethical dilemma that I’ve experienced ever since I’ve entered college was the use of amphetamines such as Adderall and Vyvanse, in order to study longer and get better grades. Through middle school and high school, I studied for hours to earn straight A’s and get into a private university. After struggling my freshman year in college, I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. I changed my study habits, joined study groups, and obtained tutoring, but I could never do as well as other students. I knew my peers used “study drugs” to stay up longer and remain focused, but I never wanted to stoop so low. It’s extremely frustrating to study for days before the exam and then receive a B, when other kids cram the night before using amphetamines and get an A. It’s distressing when I apply to jobs but hear nothing, while students who use drugs get offers from Goldman Sachs and Deloitte. I have morals that my parents taught me, but it is really hard to stick to them when I don’t benefit from doing “the right thing.”

Contributed by Anonymous.

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Posted by on March 28, 2012 in Ethics at school and tagged , , .

4 Comments