A popular U.S. TV show is titled “What Would You Do?” Using actors and hidden cameras, the show presents a variety of scenarios of people acting out in situations, usually conflicts or poor treatment of someone, in a public setting. The show focuses on the reactions of the people watching what is being acted out, while not knowing that those engaged in the scenario are just actors. The reactions of those watching the scenarios are recorded and later the show’s anchor, John Quinones, comes out from hiding and confronts those who have reacted and asks them why they did what they did. Some of the show’s episodes have featured situations, such as racial profiling occurring in a restaurant, parents publicly disapproving of their child’s interracial dating, a pompous club promoter denying people entry based on how they are dressed, teenagers taunting a homeless man on the street, and a grocery bagger being insulted because of a disability. If you observed the following scenarios, what would you do? Why would you react the way you did? Several young men and women are stealing items from an open house you are attending. You do not know the hosts very well, but you know most of those who are stealing. A waitress is being hassled by her supervisor who is using verbal sexual innuendo at the restaurant where you are trying to enjoy your meal. You are a regular customer but you do not know the waitress because she is new. You observe a man accidentally dropping an expensive bottle of wine in a liquor store when the man- ager is not looking. The man turns to those around him and denies responsibility; he even tries to blame a Latino maintenance employee who is working cleaning up the store. A transgender woman named Amelia works as a server at a restaurant and proceeds to inform a regular customer that she used to be a man named Bill. The customer begins to harass Amelia. A good friend of yours tells you he is planning to omit certain important facts from his resume before he applies for the same job you are applying for. He says “it’s not important that they know I just lived off my parents for two years after college. Hey, I needed a break.” At your place of employment, a customer paid too much for an order; but your boss told you not to call it to his attention. What would you do in each of these situations if you observed them occurring? Would your actions reflect “conventional” thinking about business ethics? Would you react differently than most people? Why? What would be the primary source of ethical norms that would be at work in your thinking (see Figure 7-5)?

 

FIGURE 7-5 Elements Involved in Making Ethical Judgments Behavior or act that has been committed compared with Value judgments and perceptions of the observer Prevailing norms of acceptability