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Ethics in the Workplace: Social Responsibility and Accountability by Anne Fielder, Ph.D. ClassroomActivities Lesson Plan Activity #1 Lesson Plan Activity #2 Lesson Plan Activity #3 Ethical issues in the workplace are eventually confronted by almost everyone. Students are often confronted by such issues as they get their first jobs and enter the workforce. The following case studies and activities provide examples of how this is so. Activity #1. Case Study: Reporting the Unethical Behavior of a Friend Describe and discuss the three ethical models of behavior (utililitarian, moral rights and justice). Write the definitions of these models on the board. Copy and distribute the following case study. Read it aloud in class. Billy Bratson turned sixteen last month. His dad is taking him to take his driving test on Saturday. He is very excited because he dreams of owning his own car. His older brother, Mike, has a 1994 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra two door coupe that he bought with the money that he earned from his grass cutting business. The car is red with tan leather seats and is in excellent condition. Billy is very excited because Mike is going to be a freshman at Florida State University in the fall. He just found out that freshman are not allowed to have cars on campus. Mike, therefore, has offered to sell his car to Billy for $3000. But Billy is facing a dilemma. Billy had a hard time getting a summer job to pay for the car. His best friend, Derrick, helped him to get a job at Burger Heaven. This is a neighborhood fast food restaurant where Derrick has been working for six months after school. Derrick and Billy have been best friends since first grade. Derrick has always been lots of fun, but sometimes his sense of mischief has gone too far, and he has gotten Billy into trouble. The two of them have spent several long afternoons in the Assistant Principal's office due to one prank or another. All of these pranks, such as putting bubbles in the school fountain, have been harmless so Billy usually went along with them. Billy had been working at Burger Heaven for one week when one Monday morning, Derrick came to work with a cold. Maybe this was the reason that he was cranky, and bored and wanted to make some mischief. Every Monday and Wednesday, the kids from the local day camp come to Burger Heaven after swimming in the local pool. They are messy, noisy, and they misbehave. Derrick thought it would be fun to do something to them. That day he and Billy were in charge of assembling the burgers. Billy's job was to put the ketchup on the bottom of the bun and to put the cooked burger on the bun. He then passed the burger to Derrick who put the cheese on the bun (if the customer wanted a cheeseburger). He then topped it with pickles and onions. Derrick thought that it would be fun to spit on the burgers before he finished assembling them. He said, "if the ‘little monsters' catch my cold, they might not be in on Wednesday." Summarize the case study with the students: in this case, a teenager, Billy Bratson, starts his first job in a fast food restaurant. There he witnesses another employee, his best friend, spitting on the hamburgers. Billy realizes that this is not only against the rules, but may be considered criminal. Ask students to write a short essay addressing the following questions: 1. What would you do in this case? Would you tell the supervisor what Derrick was doing? Use one of the ethics models to support your answer. What are the possible outcomes of your decision? 2. What if you knew that Derrick had a disease, such as hepatitis, that was more serious than just a cold? Would that change your decision? What if Derrick didn't have a cold at all but just wanted to "play a prank"? 3. Does Billy have a social responsibility to the customers? 4. Should Billy be held accountable for Derrick's behavior? In your assessment of the student essays the following interpretations can be taken into account for each question: Interpretation for Question #1. Billy should try to convince Derrick not to spit in the food. If he cannot convince Derrick, he should tell the supervisor what Derrick is doing. Derrick is not just acting unethically, but he is also breaking health laws. All three of the models would support the decision that this is unethical behavior. It would lead to bad consequences; Derrick's actions are disrespectful, and failing to hold Derrick accountable would be disrespectful both of Derrick and of the customers, and allowing Derrick to act in that way would not be living up to the ideal of a wise and good person. The issue of integrity comes into play here. Does Billy do what he knows is right or does he protect his friend? While helping our friends is generally a virtuous way to behave, excusing their disrespectful, harmful, and base or vicious actions is not virtuous (nor is it respectful or conducive to good consequences.) He may lose Derrick as a friend, but if he doesn't tell the supervisor, he is morally complicit in the act and also may be considered an accessory to a crime. Have the students discuss whether you should only be held accountable for your own behavior or the behavior of others as well. The outcome should be that once Billy witnessed the crime committed by Derrick, he was involved and became accountable. Interpretation for Question #2. In Question #1 it was already deterined that what Derrick was doing was wrong, both legally and ethically. This should just make the issue more obvious. Interpretation for Question #3. Yes, as an employee of Burger Heaven, Billy is socially responsible to what is best for the customer. Interpretation for Question #4. Once Billy witness the crime committed by Derrick he was involved and became accountable. Activity #2. Class Discussion: A Victimless Crime? Copy and distribute the following case study. Read it aloud in class. Billy has been working at Burger Heaven for one month. While the job is not too bad, he dislikes the long hours on his feet, the grease from the burgers, and the sometimes surly customers. He is glad that he is going to college in two years (hopefully on a baseball scholarship) and will not be working at Burger Heaven for the rest of his life. The assistant manager, Thelma, has been really nice to Billy since his first day on the job. She was very patient with him those first days. She showed him how to perform the same tasks several times, and she never got angry when he asked her the same question three times. Also, when Billy was scheduled to play in a baseball game, she always arranged his schedule to give him the time off. Thelma is a 23 year old single-mother of two preschool children. She is a high school graduate and has been working at Burger Heaven for three years. She is hoping to get into the management training program in the fall. This would mean that she could get her own store to manage and could work toward her goal of being district manager. On her salary as assistant manager, she sometimes has trouble making ends meet. Several times over the last month, Billy has worked with Thelma until closing. The manager, Mr. Jones, either had a day off or he had left earlier. On those occasions, Billy witnessed Thelma putting various food items, such as frozen hamburgers, frozen chicken tenders, tomatoes, and lettuce, into the trunk of her car. Once Billy asked Thelma about what he had witnessed. She told him that she needed this food to feed her children. Discuss with the students that some of the core values in this case are honesty and fairness. In this example, Billy observes some minor theft on the part of his supervisor, Thelma. Thelma has been good to Billy and she has two hungry children to feed. Is her petty theft really hurting anyone? Students may look at this case differently then they would the case in the first activity for two reasons. They will see this as a "victimless crime," and they will feel sympathy for the single mother with two small children. On closer examination, the students should realize that this is not a victimless crime. When employees steal, they are stealing from the owner of the business or the stockholders of the company. Also, any form of theft is a crime. Start a classroom discussion by asking the following questions: 1. Should Billy tell Mr. Jones what Thelma is doing? Interpretation for Question #1. Even though Thelma may have believed that her actions were justified by her need, what she did was unethical. (This would be a good place to introduce the concept of the victimless crime to the students.) Students should see that Thelma's actions are disrespectful, are not the type of behavior one would want everyone to engage in, and are not conducive to Thelma's becoming the best person she can be. One may wonder whether Thelma's action implies that she might do worse things if she became a full manager. There may be some question as to what a consequentialist analysis of this case would recommend. You may wish to discuss whether the potential inconclusiveness of the consequentialist framework reflects badly on the case or on the consequentialist model, itself. Some consequentialists have argued that we should establish rules based on consequentialism and that the rules should be followed because they lead to good consequences. (See "rule utilitarisnism' or "rule consequentialism" in, e.g., the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism-rule/).. Billy should be aware that Thelma could go to jail for stealing. This would put both her career and her children in a much worse jeopardy. 2. If Billy tells Mr. Jones, what outcomes can he expect? Will his job be in jeopardy? Interpretation for Question #2. If Billy tells Mr. Jones, Thelma could lose her job, or even worse, go to jail. On the other hand, Thelma could say that Billy is lying and put the blame on him. As she has been with the company much longer, Mr. Jones may believe her. You might ask the students if Billy's whistleblowing would protect his job under the law. The answer is yes; his job would be protected under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The question would then be, "For a job at this level, would it be worth the hassle?" On this question, the virtue model seems to be less than conclusive: being the best person one can be means "choosing one's battles." Perhaps one needs one's job so badly that one cannot afford the risk that is involved in "blowing the whistle." Extension for Activity #1. Role Playing a. Have one student play Billy and another play Thelma. Have Billy try to persuade Thelma to change her behavior based on the reasons above. Assuming that Thelma does agree to stop stealing food, ask the students if Billy should still discuss the incident with Mr. Jones since a crime has already been committed. b. Under the assumption that Thelma will not stop her stealing, assign another student the role of Mr. Jones. Have Billy sit down with Mr. Jones, and have him explain to Mr. Jones what he has witnessed. Activity #3. Case Study: Whistleblowing at Wal-Mart Explain to students that Wal-Mart, the largest employer in the United States is currently facing a case involving whistleblowing and defamation. This case began when Jared Bowen was fired on March 30, 2006. Copy and distribute the following case study: Jared Bowen began his career in 1992 as a cashier at Wal-Mart at the age of 18. In 2005, he was the vice-president of operations for the Wal-Mart company. One of his duties was to approve expense reports in the corporate office. These expense reports included some from Tom Coughlin, Wal-Mart's vice-chairman and No. 2 executive. Mr. Coughlin had also been a hunting buddy of the company founder, Sam Walton. According to Bowen, he balked at approving expense reports from two of Coughlin's subordinates in November 2004. He believed that the expenses were not properly documented. In January, after Coughlin pressured Bowen to approve the expenses, Bowen informed his superiors. Mr. Bowen said that he initially told Wal-Mart investigators that on at least two occasions Mr. Coughlin requested payment for expenses that were suspect. In late 2004, he asked Mr. Bowen to approve travel expenses totaling almost $2,000 for one of Coughlin's subordinates. And in spring 2004, Coughlin asked Bowen to obtain $5,100 in Wal-Mart gift cards that he said would be used as incentives for managers in the 51 top-performing Wal-Mart stores. Mr. Bowen admits that he initially forgot to tell the investigators that Tom Coughlin had asked him to get a corporate cellphone for his brother, Tim Coughlin, who also worked at Wal-Mart. Mr. Coughlin was asked to resign in March after a six week investigation found as much as $500,000 in unauthorized payments. These payments seemed to have been obtained through the reporting of false information on third-party invoices and company expense reports. He has since entered a guilty plea to tax and fraud charges. However, one week after Coughlin resigned, Jared Bowen was fired. A spokesperson for Wal-Mart said he was involved "in an extensive scheme to misappropriate corporate assets for the personal benefit of Tom Coughlin." Wal-Mart claimed Bowen didn't allege any illegal activity or report his misgivings until after Coughlin resigned. Mora Williams, the vice president for corporate communications at Wal-Mart, said that the company's probe began after another employee provided information incriminating Coughlin. However, a copy of Bowen's exit interview at Wal-Mart said he was fired for a "loss of confidence" in him as a company officer. Jared Bowen has now filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart alleging that Wal-Mart retaliated against him by firing him for being a whistleblower. A second lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of defaming his character. Have the students read Whistleblowing at Wal-mart (a real whistleblowing case from corporate America). Discuss the concept of whistleblowing with the students. Have them answer the following questions in a short essay: 1. Did Jared Bowen do the right thing in reporting his suspicions regarding Mr. Coughlin? Interpretation for Question #1. The answer should be a resounding "yes"! If anything, Jared did not go far enough as he neglected to tell the investigators about the cell phone for Coughlin's brother. There are two reasons why it is important to report the fraudulent activities that an employee observes. The first is social responsibility to the organization that employs you and to its stockholders. The second is accountability and the fact that in today's environment an employee may be held accountable for withholding knowledge of an act that may be harmful to the company. 2. What would you do in this situation? Explain why you would take this action.

Ethics in the Workplace: Social Responsibility and Accountability

by Anne Fielder, Ph.D.

ClassroomActivities

Ethical issues in the workplace are eventually confronted by almost everyone. Students are often confronted by such issues as they get their first jobs and enter the workforce. The following case studies and activities provide examples of how this is so.

Activity #1. Case Study: Reporting the Unethical Behavior of a Friend
Describe and discuss the three ethical models of behavior (utililitarian, moral rights and justice). Write the definitions of these models on the board.
Copy and distribute the following case study. Read it aloud in class.
Billy Bratson turned sixteen last month. His dad is taking him to take his driving test on Saturday. He is very excited because he dreams of owning his own car. His older brother, Mike, has a 1994 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra two door coupe that he bought with the money that he earned from his grass cutting business. The car is red with tan leather seats and is in excellent condition. Billy is very excited because Mike is going to be a freshman at Florida State University in the fall. He just found out that freshman are not allowed to have cars on campus. Mike, therefore, has offered to sell his car to Billy for $3000. But Billy is facing a dilemma.

Billy had a hard time getting a summer job to pay for the car. His best friend, Derrick, helped him to get a job at Burger Heaven. This is a neighborhood fast food restaurant where Derrick has been working for six months after school. Derrick and Billy have been best friends since first grade. Derrick has always been lots of fun, but sometimes his sense of mischief has gone too far, and he has gotten Billy into trouble. The two of them have spent several long afternoons in the Assistant Principal's office due to one prank or another. All of these pranks, such as putting bubbles in the school fountain, have been harmless so Billy usually went along with them.

Billy had been working at Burger Heaven for one week when one Monday morning, Derrick came to work with a cold. Maybe this was the reason that he was cranky, and bored and wanted to make some mischief. Every Monday and Wednesday, the kids from the local day camp come to Burger Heaven after swimming in the local pool. They are messy, noisy, and they misbehave. Derrick thought it would be fun to do something to them. That day he and Billy were in charge of assembling the burgers. Billy's job was to put the ketchup on the bottom of the bun and to put the cooked burger on the bun. He then passed the burger to Derrick who put the cheese on the bun (if the customer wanted a cheeseburger). He then topped it with pickles and onions.

Derrick thought that it would be fun to spit on the burgers before he finished assembling them. He said, "if the ‘little monsters' catch my cold, they might not be in on Wednesday."
Summarize the case study with the students: in this case, a teenager, Billy Bratson, starts his first job in a fast food restaurant. There he witnesses another employee, his best friend, spitting on the hamburgers. Billy realizes that this is not only against the rules, but may be considered criminal.

Ask students to write a short essay addressing the following questions:

1. What would you do in this case? Would you tell the supervisor what Derrick was doing? Use one of the ethics models to support your answer. What are the possible outcomes of your decision?

2. What if you knew that Derrick had a disease, such as hepatitis, that was more serious than just a cold? Would that change your decision? What if Derrick didn't have a cold at all but just wanted to "play a prank"?
3. Does Billy have a social responsibility to the customers?
4. Should Billy be held accountable for Derrick's behavior?

In your assessment of the student essays the following interpretations can be taken into account for each question:

Interpretation for Question #1. Billy should try to convince Derrick not to spit in the food. If he cannot convince Derrick, he should tell the supervisor what Derrick is doing. Derrick is not just acting unethically, but he is also breaking health laws.

All three of the models would support the decision that this is unethical behavior. It would lead to bad consequences; Derrick's actions are disrespectful, and failing to hold Derrick accountable would be disrespectful both of Derrick and of the customers, and allowing Derrick to act in that way would not be living up to the ideal of a wise and good person.
The issue of integrity comes into play here. Does Billy do what he knows is right or does he protect his friend? While helping our friends is generally a virtuous way to behave, excusing their disrespectful, harmful, and base or vicious actions is not virtuous (nor is it respectful or conducive to good consequences.) He may lose Derrick as a friend, but if he doesn't tell the supervisor, he is morally complicit in the act and also may be considered an accessory to a crime.

Have the students discuss whether you should only be held accountable for your own behavior or the behavior of others as well. The outcome should be that once Billy witnessed the crime committed by Derrick, he was involved and became accountable.
Interpretation for Question #2. In Question #1 it was already deterined that what Derrick was doing was wrong, both legally and ethically. This should just make the issue more obvious.
Interpretation for Question #3. Yes, as an employee of Burger Heaven, Billy is socially responsible to what is best for the customer.
Interpretation for Question #4. Once Billy witness the crime committed by Derrick he was involved and became accountable.

Activity #2. Class Discussion: A Victimless Crime?
Copy and distribute the following case study. Read it aloud in class.
Billy has been working at Burger Heaven for one month. While the job is not too bad, he dislikes the long hours on his feet, the grease from the burgers, and the sometimes surly customers. He is glad that he is going to college in two years (hopefully on a baseball scholarship) and will not be working at Burger Heaven for the rest of his life.
The assistant manager, Thelma, has been really nice to Billy since his first day on the job. She was very patient with him those first days. She showed him how to perform the same tasks several times, and she never got angry when he asked her the same question three times. Also, when Billy was scheduled to play in a baseball game, she always arranged his schedule to give him the time off.

Thelma is a 23 year old single-mother of two preschool children. She is a high school graduate and has been working at Burger Heaven for three years. She is hoping to get into the management training program in the fall. This would mean that she could get her own store to manage and could work toward her goal of being district manager. On her salary as assistant manager, she sometimes has trouble making ends meet.
Several times over the last month, Billy has worked with Thelma until closing. The manager, Mr. Jones, either had a day off or he had left earlier. On those occasions, Billy witnessed Thelma putting various food items, such as frozen hamburgers, frozen chicken tenders, tomatoes, and lettuce, into the trunk of her car. Once Billy asked Thelma about what he had witnessed. She told him that she needed this food to feed her children.
Discuss with the students that some of the core values in this case are honesty and fairness. In this example, Billy observes some minor theft on the part of his supervisor, Thelma. Thelma has been good to Billy and she has two hungry children to feed. Is her petty theft really hurting anyone? Students may look at this case differently then they would the case in the first activity for two reasons. They will see this as a "victimless crime," and they will feel sympathy for the single mother with two small children. On closer examination, the students should realize that this is not a victimless crime. When employees steal, they are stealing from the owner of the business or the stockholders of the company. Also, any form of theft is a crime.

Start a classroom discussion by asking the following questions:

1. Should Billy tell Mr. Jones what Thelma is doing?
Interpretation for Question #1. Even though Thelma may have believed that her actions were justified by her need, what she did was unethical. (This would be a good place to introduce the concept of the victimless crime to the students.) Students should see that Thelma's actions are disrespectful, are not the type of behavior one would want everyone to engage in, and are not conducive to Thelma's becoming the best person she can be. One may wonder whether Thelma's action implies that she might do worse things if she became a full manager.

There may be some question as to what a consequentialist analysis of this case would recommend. You may wish to discuss whether the potential inconclusiveness of the consequentialist framework reflects badly on the case or on the consequentialist model, itself. Some consequentialists have argued that we should establish rules based on consequentialism and that the rules should be followed because they lead to good consequences. (See "rule utilitarisnism' or "rule consequentialism" in, e.g., the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism-rule/)..

Billy should be aware that Thelma could go to jail for stealing. This would put both her career and her children in a much worse jeopardy.

2. If Billy tells Mr. Jones, what outcomes can he expect? Will his job be in jeopardy?
Interpretation for Question #2. If Billy tells Mr. Jones, Thelma could lose her job, or even worse, go to jail. On the other hand, Thelma could say that Billy is lying and put the blame on him. As she has been with the company much longer, Mr. Jones may believe her. You might ask the students if Billy's whistleblowing would protect his job under the law. The answer is yes; his job would be protected under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The question would then be, "For a job at this level, would it be worth the hassle?" On this question, the virtue model seems to be less than conclusive: being the best person one can be means "choosing one's battles." Perhaps one needs one's job so badly that one cannot afford the risk that is involved in "blowing the whistle."

Extension for Activity #1. Role Playing
a. Have one student play Billy and another play Thelma. Have Billy try to persuade Thelma to change her behavior based on the reasons above.
Assuming that Thelma does agree to stop stealing food, ask the students if Billy should still discuss the incident with Mr. Jones since a crime has already been committed.
b. Under the assumption that Thelma will not stop her stealing, assign another student the role of Mr. Jones. Have Billy sit down with Mr. Jones, and have him explain to Mr. Jones what he has witnessed.
Activity #3. Case Study: Whistleblowing at Wal-Mart

Explain to students that Wal-Mart, the largest employer in the United States is currently facing a case involving whistleblowing and defamation. This case began when Jared Bowen was fired on March 30, 2006. Copy and distribute the following case study:

Jared Bowen began his career in 1992 as a cashier at Wal-Mart at the age of 18. In 2005, he was the vice-president of operations for the Wal-Mart company. One of his duties was to approve expense reports in the corporate office. These expense reports included some from Tom Coughlin, Wal-Mart's vice-chairman and No. 2 executive. Mr. Coughlin had also been a hunting buddy of the company founder, Sam Walton.

According to Bowen, he balked at approving expense reports from two of Coughlin's subordinates in November 2004. He believed that the expenses were not properly documented. In January, after Coughlin pressured Bowen to approve the expenses, Bowen informed his superiors. Mr. Bowen said that he initially told Wal-Mart investigators that on at least two occasions Mr. Coughlin requested payment for expenses that were suspect. In late 2004, he asked Mr. Bowen to approve travel expenses totaling almost $2,000 for one of Coughlin's subordinates. And in spring 2004, Coughlin asked Bowen to obtain $5,100 in Wal-Mart gift cards that he said would be used as incentives for managers in the 51 top-performing Wal-Mart stores. Mr. Bowen admits that he initially forgot to tell the investigators that Tom Coughlin had asked him to get a corporate cellphone for his brother, Tim Coughlin, who also worked at Wal-Mart.

Mr. Coughlin was asked to resign in March after a six week investigation found as much as $500,000 in unauthorized payments. These payments seemed to have been obtained through the reporting of false information on third-party invoices and company expense reports. He has since entered a guilty plea to tax and fraud charges. However, one week after Coughlin resigned, Jared Bowen was fired. A spokesperson for Wal-Mart said he was involved "in an extensive scheme to misappropriate corporate assets for the personal benefit of Tom Coughlin." Wal-Mart claimed Bowen didn't allege any illegal activity or report his misgivings until after Coughlin resigned. Mora Williams, the vice president for corporate communications at Wal-Mart, said that the company's probe began after another employee provided information incriminating Coughlin. However, a copy of Bowen's exit interview at Wal-Mart said he was fired for a "loss of confidence" in him as a company officer.

Jared Bowen has now filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart alleging that Wal-Mart retaliated against him by firing him for being a whistleblower. A second lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of defaming his character.

Have the students read Whistleblowing at Wal-mart (a real whistleblowing case from corporate America). Discuss the concept of whistleblowing with the students. Have them answer the following questions in a short essay:

1. Did Jared Bowen do the right thing in reporting his suspicions regarding Mr. Coughlin?

Interpretation for Question #1. The answer should be a resounding "yes"! If anything, Jared did not go far enough as he neglected to tell the investigators about the cell phone for Coughlin's brother. There are two reasons why it is important to report the fraudulent activities that an employee observes. The first is social responsibility to the organization that employs you and to its stockholders. The second is accountability and the fact that in today's environment an employee may be held accountable for withholding knowledge of an act that may be harmful to the company.

2. What would you do in this situation? Explain why you would take this action.