Imagine your supervisor was given the task of writing a proposal that will be key to obtaining a large amount of government funding for the company. Your supervisor assigned the proposal to you, and it is due tomorrow to the CEO so he can submit it to the government agency. You have completed the report, gotten feedback from your peers, and revised it, so it's ready to submit, except for one important detail.

According to company policy, all proposals of this size require the signature of your immediate supervisor. Your immediate supervisor, however, is out of the country and inaccessible for the next five days, so getting her signature is impossible. In a phone conversation two days earlier, she told you to sign the proposal for her if she did not make it back in time. You have just received a voicemail message from the CEO reminding you that he needs the proposal by tomorrow. A $3 billion government contract rides on this proposal.

Do NOT write the proposal - reflect on the ethical issues at hand and answer these questions:

1. What are the ethical decisions you have to make?

2. What are the likely consequences of your decisions?

3. How will you resolve the situation and why?