Many mountain climbers dream of scaling the highest mountain on Earth. It is a dangerous venture and some of them die in pursuit of this dream every year, including a 33-year-old Canadian woman in May 2012. The following describes one situation involving the ethics and responsibilities of climbers toward one another.

In May 2006, several climbing parties passed by David Sharp, 34, who was near death at 28,000 feet on Mount Everest. He later died alone, without companionship in his final hours. He was one of 11 who perished during the 2006 climbing season and one of more than 200 who have died attempting to climb the mountain.

One climber to leave Sharp was Mark Inglis, 47, a New Zealander who was climbing the mountain on artificial legs. He and his party stopped to consider Sharp's situation. He was in poor condition and near death, but was given oxygen. Rescue was not feasible as helicopters cannot operate at that altitude. The lives of Inglis's party would likely have been endangered trying to move Sharp to a base camp.

It was disclosed that Sharp's group was loosely organized without a leader. The members of the group appeared to be functioning independently according to an expedition outfitter. The outfitter said that Sharp's group did not have sufficient oxygen and climbed without a Sherpa guide.

Discussion of the incident was extensive. One position presented was that climbers do not endanger themselves to save another. Furthermore, looking after another climber may jeopardize one's own chance at climbing the mountain. Sir Edmund Hillary, who, with his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest, said that human life is more important than conquering mountains. Others suggested that the incident was an example of a lack of sense of responsibility and caring for one another.

2.4If it were you instead of Inglis, how would you have acted and what would you have done in this situation?Would you have done anything differently? What main ethical principles/values would guide your decision and action in this hypothetical situation? Explain.

2.5How might the situation be different or similar to dilemmas faced in more typical organization? Can you think of any workplace examples where the leader has had to take actions that require them to make similar difficult decisions?