A634.7.4.RB
Ethics
and Behaviors
I
work in a public school. There are
approximately 3000 students that attend my school. Each child brings with him or her all of the
diseases and illness known to man. There
is no escaping becoming ill a few times over the course of a nine month school
year. I became ill just a few days ago. It started as an annoying cough and runny
nose about seven days ago. I just kept
trying to hang. When I went to bed on
Wednesday, I knew that I was “officially” sick.
However, I went to work on Thursday and tried to tough it out. By the end of the day, I was done. Friday, I awoke to a full blown virus. I could not tough it out this time. In retrospect, when I first started having
symptoms, I should have not gone to work.
I should have went to the doctor.
I honestly did not consider the fact that I could get others sick. It was my obligation to be at work. Missing work is something that I consider
immoral. It’s as if I am cheating. In Dr. Bruce Weinstein’s video (2012),
Weinstein asks the audience if they woke with the flu would they chose to go to
work or stay home and rest? Do you want
to get others sick? Maybe you’ll just
socialize with those that you don’t like.
So,
did I go the right way or the wrong way by going to work knowing that I was
sick? Again, I felt the obligation to be
at work. It was only when the illness
got the best of me that I chose not to go.
I had not considered any other consequences.
I’m
sure that this could be true for many.
Consequences are not always considered but when they are realized, some
do things to hide the “wrong doing”.
Chuck Gallagher (2013) gives an example of this in his video. He decides to take his wife to Ruth’s Chris
for dinner. However, he discovers that
he has spent more money than he should have.
To hide this from his wife, he does not retain the itemized bill for the
meal but just the receipt with the total cost.
I believe that this gives the ability to “not remember” what cost so
much.
People
often do things to intentionally inflate their egos while others do things because
it seems right without considering consequences. Several years ago I became acquainted with a
Command Sergeant Major (CSM) who was at the top of his game. He had just recently completed a command
position at the European Regional Medical Command and was selected to be the
Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s next CSM.
His tenure was cut short however.
It seemed that this CSM was a true egoist. He had adorned himself with medals, ribbons,
and badges that he had never earned.
This had gone unnoticed for years.
However it finally caught up to him when he was asked to be a guest
speaker at an Army school graduation. He
submitted his biographical summary (Bio) to the school so it could be placed in
the graduation program. Unbeknownst to
him, someone who knew him well saw the Bio and questioned a few of his claimed
awards and decorations. It finally
caught up to him. He was relieved of
duty and reduced to the rank of Staff Sergeant, confined for six months and
forced to retire. This punishment sounds
harsh but it was very lenient. The convening
Courts Martial Authority took into consideration this CSM’s family. Ultimately he could have face up to 25 years confinement,
reduction to Private and a dishonorable discharge. This would have meant that he would have
served all of those years for nothing.
Sadly, he had never considered the consequences until it was too late. This occurred over seven years ago. I tried to do a little research to see what
had become of him but netted zero results.
He has managed to go off the radar.
References
Weinstein, B. (2012, August 24). Keynote Speech
Excerpts from The Ethics Guy. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLxbHBpilJQ
Gallagher, C. (2013, January 27). Business Ethics
Keynote Speaker - Chuck Gallagher - shares Straight Talk about Ethics! [Video
File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUJ00vNGCPE
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