THE QUESTION: You are a rookie officer. In the police academy, you were taught never to ask for, or accept, special favors or gratuities for your services. However, you notice that your training officer never pays for his meals. He doesn’t even offer to pay like most of the other officers you see at lunch. […]

This scenario portrays a picture of a training officer who is developing a greedy and covetous attitude by having other people pay for his things even when these acts violate a clear police department policy. His behavior is a kind of harassment to the people who submit to paying for him or let him eat […]

THE QUESTION: You are the CEO of a private company that is shutting down an entire division, because the product line has been fatally surpassed by the competitors’ new technology. While processing the layoff of all the division’s employees, Frank, one of your managers, asks you, “Al, do you realize that Lily is part of […]

This scenario portrays a typical case in which a private company’s CEO has to choose between high professional standards and transparency on the one hand, and pleasing a client on the other hand. Generally speaking, in the case of a private company, hiring someone for reasons unrelated to her specific skills does not involve an […]

THE QUESTION: In a light-hearted discussion over sports, a professor nonchalantly makes a joke about “throwing like a girl” which delivers spontaneous laughter from everyone. Erin, one of the students from class, shares with you later that she was offended by the comment, and is considering reporting it to the Office of Community and Ethical […]

THE QUESTION: You are the manager of a casual dining restaurant and have just closed the dining room at 10:00 p.m., per the policy. Just as you lock the door, a high school sports team arrives, knocks and asks you to reopen the restaurant for them.  

In this case, the rule requiring that you close punctually at 10:00 p.m. is about security (Love of Human Life) and order. These are key to every good business. However, the ultimate goal of restaurants is to make a profit by providing food to customers. Since customers are more likely to return to places where […]

THE QUESTION: Your colleagues in the innovation technology (IT) department are setting up a betting pool for the upcoming Super Bowl, and they ask you to participate. “Come on Dave! Which team is your money on?” You know that betting pools are against company policy, and you are tempted to decline or even report them. […]

Office pools are a form of gambling done in the workplace. In some states they are illegal, and sometimes they are only against company policies (Obedience). When facing a scenario like the present one, it’s important to check the legal status of office pools (Diligence), and to consider that people have been fired and even […]

If somebody came up to you on any given day and asked “what do you value?” could you answer? Maybe you spit out a few common values your parents or society has ingrained in you: Honesty, being a good person, working hard… You would leave feeling good about yourself thinking you’re a virtuous human being […]