Business Ethics Activities
Instructions:Use the three step checklist to determine whether or not each of the following
situations demonstrates ethical behavior
Situation 1: Julie Powers collects overdue accounts for a large credit card company. She
had access of records of all transactions for any customer. Julie sometimes looks up the
ecords of famous people. She checks to see where they use their credit card and how
much they spend. She sometimes tells her friends about the buying habits of
entertainers and politicians.
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?
Situation 2: Howard Beckley works for a nonprofit organization. Recently, he found a list
of computer passwords near a photocopier. He started using the passwords to look at
other employees email files.
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?
Situation 3: Tomas garcia is in college and works as a sales clerk in a bookstore.
Occasionally, the scanner in the store is unable to read a barcode on a customers
selection, and the clerk must enter the code using the keypad. Tomas sometimes makes
mistakes when he enters the code. As long as the customer does not object, Tomas think
it’s unnecessary to co
ect his mistakes.
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?
Situation 4: Don Sutton applied for a payroll clerk job with Search Services, a market
esearch firm. To improve his chances in getting the job, he exaggerated his work
experience on his resume. Based on this resume, Don was hired. After one year, he
eceived above average ratings during his job performances review. Shortly thereafter,
his boss met Don’s former supervisor and learned the truth.
● When Don exaggerated his experience on his resume, do you think he believed he
would be caught? What effect did this belief have on his behavior?
● If you were Don’s employer, would you fire him? Why or why not?
● If you were another applicant for the job Don applied for, would you be tempted to do the
same as Don? Why or why not?
Situation 5: Eva To
es is a receptionist for Media Technologies. After the company
installed voicemail. Eva’s workload became lighter, so her supervisor assigned
additional responsibilities, including some accounting tasks.Even with these
assignments, Eva is not always busy. To fill the time, she plays computer games.
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?
Situation 6: At Cooks Corner, a kitchen equipment store, most employees work less than
40 hours per week. However, only employees who work a minimum 40 hours per week
are eligible for health insurance.
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?
Situation 7: Ms. Silverman often makes personal long-distance phone calls for her office.
She charges these calls to the business account.
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?
Situation 8: Ms. Silverman hired her teenage daughter to work after school as an office
assistant. Jackie comes in to the office every afternoon and earns $6.00 per hour.During
this time, she does homework and telephone friends. Ms Silverman knows that the
usiness does not really need an assistant, but this is a good way for Jackie to earn
spending money.
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?
Situation 9: InfoTech provides market research for companies that sell products and
services on the Internet. Your group at Info Tech has an opening for a research analyst.
You are on the search committee to pick candidates to be interviewed. Committee
members give the following reasons for waiting to eliminate various candidates.
❏❏ Candidate A: “She graduated from college before I was born. She can’t possibly
know anything about our business.”
❏❏ Candidate B: “This ad said two to five years of experience, but we really need
someone with more than two years of experience.”
❏❏ Candidate C: “This guy went to the same college, I did. Let’s give him a shot.”
● Is the action legal?
● Does the action violates the company or professional standards?
● Who is affected, and how, by the action?