Ethics Challenge

Josue is a student intern for UCLA College's International Work Experience program. He has been given the opportunity to work withSoluciones Solares, a nonprofit company working in Guatemala. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to do accounting and to work with a company that puts portable solar panel kits into rural villages, a concept that is close to his heart.

On a recent visit to Antigua to the home office ofSoluciones, Josue was approached by Maritza, a representative of the company. After a catch-up cup of coffee, she asked Josue about using some grant money to purchase items not readily available in Guatemala for the company. Since these funds are obtained through a reimbursement process, she asked Josue to falsify receipts from solar-kit related purposes to obtain the money.

This request caught Josue off guard. He was fairly certain that using money intended for one purpose to use in another was probably not the right thing to do. As he thought about the request, he remembered Maritza doing several favors for him in the past. For instance, prior to his formal entrance to the internship program, he worked closely with Maritza and other company representatives to develop a proposal for his project. If it were not for her help, he strongly believed that he would not be in Guatemala now.

He remembered another time when a power outage happened while he was demonstrating the solar-kit and how to install it to local villagers. He tried calling headquarters, but it was late, and nobody was in the office. He decided to call Maritza at home. To his relief, she answered and immediately sent a team with portable light generators to help him. To this day, he is grateful for her acts of kindness.

What should Josue do?