Tina was a senior in college when the economy took a nosedive. Her father could no longer afford to pay her bills, but he made too much money for her to qualify for student loans. In January, Tina found herself officially on her own—and without a job. She took out her last available loan in December and began sending out her resumes rapid-fire to anyone and everyone who might be hiring. Whether it was a highly sought-after internship that she could use to build her resume or just a receptionist position that would pay the bills, Tina applied for everything.

Tina was a finalist for several attractive internships in January and February, but none came through. By the final week of February, she had only enough money to pay her March rent, and still she had no job and no prospects. When she checked her e-mail a few days later, she discovered that a publishing company that she had sent her resume to in December needed another intern for the semester and wondered if she would be able to come in and interview. She immediately scheduled an interview. She loved to read and had always wanted a job like this one.

Tina was elated to learn that she had gotten the job—and unbelievably relieved. Her first day was great! She loved the place, the people, the other five interns, and most of all, the work. At the end of the day, Tina's boss called her into her office to train her on Amazon Optimization. The marketing manager who hired Tina had mentioned during the interview that she would be doing some search engine optimization on Amazon. Tina was pleased with this aspect of the job because she had done something similar the previous summer while working for a chemical company and had really enjoyed it. She reasoned that if she had enjoyed optimizing chemicals, she would certainly enjoy optimizing books since reading had always been a passion of hers.

Little did Tina know, she would not be the one optimizing the books—not technically, anyway. The boss explained that Tina would create various pseudonyms, and they would be the optimizers—pseudonyms with fake interests, fake Master's Degrees, fake marriages, and fake kids. Tina would have to go online and tag books with keywords and search suggestions and then create lists and guides, recommending books she had never read based on qualifications and interests that did not exist.

Tina went home that night feeling sick to her stomach. She was taking an ethics course in which she had read and discussed multiple cases exactly like the one with which she was dealing. Maybe a few months earlier, before she had taken that class, she could have rationalized behavior such as this and just done what she was told. Now, she knew that she would need to act on her values or feel like a hypocrite.

That night, Tina drove around for hours listening to music and thinking about everything that had happened in her life leading up to that moment. She thought a lot about what kind of person she was and what this life is really about. She contemplated the span of 100 years and what a short amount of time it must be in the real scheme of things. She thought about duty, religion, purpose, and the after-life. She listened to one Counting Crows song over and over again, drawing strength from the line, "I think you better turn your ticket in and get your money back at the door." She kept trying to tell herself that job, status, money, and fame were just seconds on an eternal clock—and that in the end, what would matter the most was what kind of person she was.

Later that night, Tina went home and lay awake in bed for hours trying to figure out what she would say the next day and how she would say it. She told herself that it was now or never, and that if she could not go through with this, she would be taking the first step down the path of least resistance—a steep slope where many gain momentum and few ever turn back. She made up her mind to go in and talk with her boss the next morning.

What action and Tina take and say to her boss?

Questions:

1.    What are the main arguments you are trying to counter? What are the reasons and rationalizations that support engaging in the behavior? What biases and heuristics might be involved?

2.    What is at stake for the key parties, including those who disagree with you?

·     Consumers

·     Publishing company

·     Competitors of the publishing company

·     Tina

·     Tina's boss

·     The other five interns

·     Tina's university

·     Authors

·     Marketing profession

·     Internet

3.    What is you most powerful and persuasive response to the reasons and rationalizations?

4.    To whom should the arguments be made? When and in what context?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

This case study revolves around the ethical decisions Tina has to make regarding her job tasks that involve deceptive practices Based on the details g... View the full answer