As USG Ethics Awareness week comes to a close, it’s important to reflect that making ethical decisions are complicated and personal. We should all strive to do the “right thing”. As several departments have shared their thoughts on how they face their own ethical challenges, it’s important to remember: Choosing to make decisions is a constant, never-ending process of maturing. Choosing to make ethical decisions, not only define us, but demonstrates to those around us, who we are as individuals.
Dana Itkow, GHC CHRO proposes a scenario for our reflection: What would you do?
You are walking to a meeting in another area of the building. As you are heading down the hallway, you hear a conversation with a senior leader at Georgia Highlands and another person. You recognize the voice of one person. You aren’t trying to hear what they are saying but you catch a few words of “reduction”, “budget”, and “deficit.” You know there are rumors of budget cuts and what that will means. Your mind starts racing with thoughts of “what if there will be jobs eliminated.” You pause in the hallway. You have an ethical dilemma.
Do you:
- Rush past and hope they don’t see you?
- Linger a bit longer to get more information?
- Turn around to take another way to your meeting-you don’t want anyone know that you were anywhere around?
- Announce your presence so they know you are there and need to close the door?
Human nature makes us curious. The need for knowledge is a noble one at face value. However, gleaning knowledge that is not advantageous to you could be troublesome.
Option A-You could rush past, and you probably won’t be seen. This may be the easiest choice to make, and you can fade into the “don’t see/don’t need to know” approach. Is this the best ethical decision? You still have information that they don’t know you have. Do you share this with your work friends? Probably not the best idea to simply slither on away.
Option B– Lingering or “stalking” in the hallway to glean additional information is a bad decision. Why do you need to know? Shouldn’t you trust GHC leaders to be making tough decisions? Are you going to use this information in a nefarious way? Do you share with colleagues. This may be the riskiest of all decisions and serves no good for the culture at GHC or even yourself.
Option C-Turning around and running away would solve part of the problem. You are getting out of the area. But you did hear some information. What are you going to do with that information. Did you hear correctly? Are they even talking about GHC. They could be talking about another school. You were not privy to the entire conversation. If you only heard a few things, you tend to create a storyline that may or may not be true.
Option D-If you announce your presence at the door, you are being transparent that you may have heard something and taking the high road to those who are having the conversation. Will they be embarrassed that they may have said some things that you heard? Maybe, but it may make them be more careful in the future. They are now aware that you may have heard something. You have come clean. You could even say, “I overheard a bit of your conversation. Don’t worry, I will not say anything.” This allows everyone to be off the hook. Those having the conversation can decide if they want to explain or leave. You have made a good ethical choice today to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Gossiping and spreading partial information can be harmful to the culture.