LESSON27:WHATDOETHICSHAVETODOWITHANYTHING?

ATAGLANCE
Ethics,orpositivemoralvalues,arethingssuchashonesty,trustworthiness,loyaltyand
integrity.Understandingethicsanddemonstratingethicalbehaviorarewaysyoungpeopleget
ahead.It’snotalwayseasy,though,andwesometimeswefindourselvesinsituationswhereit
mightbedifficulttobehonestorloyal.Understandingwhatittakestodemonstrateethical
behaviorcanhelpayoungpersongoalongway!

IcebreakerQuote
Agoodobjectiveofleadershipistohelpthosewhoaredoingpoorlytodowellandtohelp
thosewhoaredoingwelltodoevenbetter.
JimRohn

IcebreakerDiscussion
ThinkaboutRohn’squote.Whydopeoplehelpothers?ThereisanexpressioncalledWIIFM–
orWhat’sInItForMe…whatdoeshelpingothersdoforus?

Lesson/Activity
Discusstheterm“ethics.”Howdoweknowwhensomethingis“ethical?”Whatdoesitmean
tobeethical?

UsetheEthicsWorksheettohavestudentsassessthemselves(theworksheetlooksatthe
followingcharacteristics:trustworthiness,responsibility,integrityandhonesty).Thisisavery
informalassessmentanditisrecommendedthattheactivitybeusedfordiscussionand
reflectiononly.Itisnotrecommendedthatstudentssharetheirscores,asthisisapersonal
activitytobeusedforselfexaminationandpotentialgoalsetting.

Oncestudentsscorethemselves,discusssomeofthewayspeoplesetgoalstobetter
themselves.Askforrecommendationstoshareforthosewhowouldliketoimprovetheir
trustworthiness,responsibility,integrityandhonesty.Remindstudentsthatweallstruggle
withtheseissuesfromtimetotime–anditisthroughdiscussion,reflectionandpracticethat
weimproveourethicalbehavior.

Reflection
Somepeoplethinkyoucan’tgetaheadbybeinghonest.Doyouagreeordisgreewiththis
statement.Explain.


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Extension
Usethefollowingscenariostodiscussethicsintheworkplace.

1. Thereisanoldsayingthat"thecustomerisalwaysright." Whatdoyouthinkthat
means? Doyouagreewithit?Explain.Whatwouldyoudoifyouthoughtacustomer
wasdeadwrong?

2. Supposeyouareasalesclerkinastoreandsomeofyourfriendswantyoutoletthem
shoplift.Thinkaboutandiscussthefollowing:
a. Ifyourefusedtoletthemshoplift,wouldthatmakeyouadisloyalfriend?Explain
youranswer.
b. Howwouldyourespondifyourfriendssaidtoyou:
i. "Justturnyourback.Youwon'tevenbeinvolved."
ii. "Don'tletitbotheryou.Everybodydoesit."
iii. "Thestorewillnevermissit."
iv. "Thisstoreripseverybodyoff.We'reentitledtogeteven."
c. Iftheyshopliftdespiteyourobjections,whatwouldyoudo?

3. Supposeyouhavesomepersonalproblemsthataretroublingyou.Isitokaytoattendto
theseproblemswhileyouareatwork?Towhatdegree(orunderwhatcircumstances)
doyouthinkit'sokaytodealwithyourownpersonalaffairsoncompanytime?

4. Whenyouacceptajob,whatdoestheemployeroweyou,andwhatdoyouowethe
employer?

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EthicalBehavior

Always Mostly Sometimes 
   Ikeepmypromises;Iamapersonofmyword
   Iamreliable;Ifollowthroughoncommitments
   Iamhonest
   Ikeepsecrets;Ineverbetrayaconfidenceoratrust
   Ihaveintegrity;Idon’tcaveintotemptation
   Iamloyalwhenloyaltyisappropriate
   Iamruthful,sincere,andstraightforward
   Idon’tlie,cheat,orsteal
   Idon’tintentionallymisleadothers
   Ialwaystrytodowhatisright,evenwhenitisdifficult
   Iamtruetomyverybestself
   Iliveuptothehighestethicalstandards
   Idon’tcompromisemyvaluesbygivingintotemptation
   Idowhatneedstobedone
   Iamreliableanddependable
   Iamaccountableformyactions;Idon’tmakeexcusesor
blameothers
   Iusegoodjudgmentandthinkabouttheconsequencesofmy
actions(beforeIact)
   Iexerciseselfcontrol
   TOTAL


Totalnumberof3inthe“Always”column: __________x3=__________
Totalnumberof3inthe“Mostly”column: __________x2=__________
Totalnumberof3inthe“Sometimes”column: __________x1=__________
GRANDTOTAL=__________
Yourscorecanrangeanywherefrom18to54.
Thehigheryourscore,themoreethicalbehavioryoudemonstrateonaregularbasis.Ifyou
scoredlow,orareunhapywithyourscore,itjustmeansyouhavealittlemoreworktodo-.
WeareALLaworkinprogress–andwecanALWAYSchoosetochangeourbehaviors.Ifyou
thinkyouwouldliketotalktosomeoneaboutyourscore,pleaseshowthispapertoateacher
oranadultyoutrust.
Adaptedfromwww.GoodCharacter.com

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