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Running head: ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING ANALYSIS

Ethical Decision-Making Analysis University of Nebraska at Omaha

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Everyone has faced the dilemma of scheduling overlaps, but when the stakes are high, these annoyances can become serious problems. A few years ago I was given the opportunity to go on a paid trip to an exclusive car show in Las Vegas with a friend’s company. I would help work the largest annual automotive event in the world, get the chance to make hundreds of valuable connections, and learn about an industry I have been fascinated with for years. As a passionate traveler, I jump at the chance for any free trip, but this opportunity was especially exciting. My one problem was that I had a psychology test the same week of the show. I emailed my professor months in advance to confirm with him I could just take the exam early or right after, expecting it wouldn’t be a problem since there were several athletes and club members that would frequently miss important classes. I received a reply stating that the test dates were final and I would take a zero on the test if I was not there. I was very disappointed that I would have to let my friend down and miss out on an unforgettable experience, so I decided to talk with my professor in person. His argument was that since it was not school-related, his policy held no exceptions. I told him that this company I would be working with holds a potential job opportunity for me after graduation, which could have been true if I was interested, but deep down, I was not. After explaining to him that this trip could be a determining factor of getting a job, he allowed me to take the test before I left if I wrote a paper on how my experience applied to the field of psychology. I had never lied to a professor about anything and never missed a class for a trip. Although it may be justifiable to keep my post-graduation job opportunities open, I felt quite conflicted about exaggerating my interest. The approach most aligned with what my decision making method would probably be consequentialist, and more specifically, utilitarianism. As with most of my decisions, I like to

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look ahead a year or a few and ask which choice would I see as the best option from that standpoint. I prefer to view opportunities based on the long-term benefits and consequences and the people who would be most affected, positively or negatively. One of the difficulties of this approach is that the minority group can easily get the short end of the stick (Trevi7o & Nelson, 2017). In this situation, that was my professor. If I had hopes to continue my relationship with my professor and knew he would be in my future, I may have decided to preserve the honesty between us. Since the decision would affect the long-term relationship with my friend and his company more, the benefit of keeping my obligation to him was more significant. My personal characteristics and interests also play a role in this decision (Trevi7o & Nelson, 2017). Due to my personal goal of exploring more places and my professional goals of starting my own company, I strongly desired to go on the trip. I would also consider myself a mid-level risk taker, so unlikely but potentially negative consequences down the road due to my lie did not avert me as much as someone who hates risk. I don’t mind conflict if I see it as worthwhile, so I felt discussing the options with my professor as necessary instead of avoidable. Since honesty is one of my values, it was hard for me to justify stretching the truth. But, I did feel more loyal to my friends and my future than my professor and my relationship with him. As a result of these traits, I can see why I made the decision I did due to my personal preferences and values. Another approach to the dilemma is to apply the eight steps to sound ethical decision making. According to our class book, the first step is to gather the facts. In this example, the facts include the trip, its intrinsic and extrinsic benefits, and the test, the professor’s policy, and the cost of not taking it on the required testing date. Step two is to define the ethical issues and, in this situation, those would be the ethical issue of following through with a commitment to a

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friend and myself and the issue of honesty to my professor. Step three is to identify the stakeholders and in this dilemma the key people who would be affected by my decision are myself, the professor, my friend and his company. The fourth step of the process is to identify the consequences. The consequences of staying to complete my exam would be a clean conscious and a trusting relationship between my professor and myself, but also result in a missed opportunity to go on a valuable trip. If I went on the trip, I would have to stretch the truth and risk having to lie more to continue the story, but I would also have an unforgettable trip, grow my network, experience a new city, and develop a stronger professional relationship with my friend and his company. Both options include various short-term and long-term consequences, but the symbolic consequence of dishonesty held more weight than others. Step five is to identify the obligations. While my obligations to my professor are more formal, such as to be an honest student and complete all the course requirements to earn a good grade, my obligations to myself to pursue business and personal growth opportunities and my obligations to my friend to help him at the car show felt more meaningful. This is probably due to the different levels of importance in terms of relationship. Step six is to consider your character and integrity, and this is where my decision may have differed had I used this method. Since lying for personal gain is not aligned with a character of integrity, I would not be proud to share my actions with everyone I know. If I were to make my decision based on this step, I would have chosen to take the test and miss the trip. The next step is to think creatively about potential actions. Other options I could have pursued would be to claim a different lie, such as sickness, a family emergency, or an injury. I could have also accepted a zero on the test and receive a poor grade in the class, or I could have paid for a three hundred dollar flight and missed half the trip if I left right after the exam. None of these answers seemed better than my other two,

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so I did not analyze them as intensely. The final step is to check your gut. As with most complicated decisions, this step can result in mixed feelings and may not result in a confident answer. When I weighing out the options of my dilemma, I felt most comfortable with showing a false interest in something instead of missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and that is what I chose. In conclusion, there are many factors that play a role in making a decision that affects others, such as this one. Many aspects are impossible to quantify and the future consequences are unknown, so making the best decision will always be a risk. If I were to make this decision again, I would make the same choice to go on the trip. After going through the eight step model, every step pointed me to take that opportunity, other than step six. Although what I said to my professor was not the whole truth, my interest in the automotive industry did grow because of the trip and I very well may use those connections in the future, making the trip a contribution to my professional future. I also do feel most connected to the utilitarian approach, so it is important to me that all of the benefits outweigh the costs. Because of these considerations, I would not have changed my decision.

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References Trevi7o, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2017). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (7th ed.). United States: John Wiley & Sons....