Dilemas

2. Instructions:
• Read the situation as a group; clarify the situation.
• In a clockwise round, hear from each group member (without
interruption!) what she/he would do in this situation—WITHOUT
EXPLANATION.
• In a counterclockwise round, hear from each group member WHY
he/she would handle the situation this way.
• If there is time left, have free discussion about the situation.

3. You get an invitation to go to Agadir for
the same weekend you promised to
babysit for your widowed-cousin who
gets a serious surgery.

4. During an event your school is
organising, you have witnessed a
friend stealing money out of another
friend’s wallet/purse.

5. Your parents go out of town for the
weekend and tell you not to have friends
over, but your friends find out that your
parents are gone and they show up with
beer and a lot more friends.

6. Your friend wants to post a funny
video on YouTube that he/she
secretly took of a student falling
asleep during class.

7. You find a pair of expensive
sunglasses on the table at In-N-
Out Burger, left there by a
previous customer.

8. You are waiting for your math
teacher to return to his room and
you notice that he has left his
final exam marks lying out in
plain sight

9. You are alone with your friend’s
girl/boyfriend, on whom you have
a secret crush, and she/he makes
a move on you.

10. Personal Friendships
Michael had several friends including Roger and Daniel. Roger has recently
met and started dating a wonderful lady named Phyllis. He is convinced
this is a long term relationship. Unknown to Roger, Michael observed
them at a restaurant several days ago and realized Phyllis is the wife of
his other friend Daniel.
Michael is deciding whether to tell Roger that Phyllis is married when he
receives a call from Daniel. Daniel suspects his wife is having an affair
and since they and Michael share many friends and contacts, he asks if
Michael has heard anything regarding an affair.
To whom does Michael owe greater friendship to in this situation? No
matter who he tells, he is going to end up hurting one, if not both
friends. Does he remain silent and hope his knowledge is never
discovered?

11. Societal Dilemmas
A pregnant woman leading a group of people out of a cave
on a coast is stuck in the mouth of that cave. In a short
time high tide will be upon them, and unless she is
unstuck, they will all be drowned except the woman,
whose head is out of the cave. Fortunately, (or
unfortunately,) someone has with him a stick of dynamite.
There seems no way to get the pregnant woman loose
without using the dynamite which will inevitably kill her;
but if they do not use it everyone will drown. What should
they do?

12. Information Access
The advent of email in the business world surely has created new ground for
moral dilemmas involving information access and privacy.
Tony, a data analyst for a major casino, is working after normal business hours to
finish an important project. He realizes that he is missing data that had been sent
to his coworker Robert. Tony had inadvertently observed Robert typing his
password several days ago and decides to log into Robert’s computer and resend
the data to himself. Upon doing so, Tony sees an open email regarding gambling
bets Robert placed over the last several days with a local sports book. All
employees of the casino are forbidden to engage in gambling activities to avoid
any hint of conflict of interest.
Tony knows he should report this but would have to admit to violating the company’s
information technology regulations by logging into Robert’s computer. If he warns
Robert to stop his betting, he would also have to reveal the source of his
information. What does Tony do in this situation?

13. Professional Life Versus Family Life
Another example of an ethical dilemma involves professional ethics versus the best
care of your child:
Alan works in the claims department of a major hospital. Paperwork on a recent
admission shows that a traumatic mugging caused the patient to require an
adjustment in the medication she is prescribed to control anxiety and mood
swings.Alan is struck by the patient’s unusual last name and upon checking her
employment information realizes she is one of his daughter’s grade school
teachers.
Alan’s daughter seems very happy in her school and he cannot violate patient
confidentiality by informing the school of a teacher’s mental illness but he is not
comfortable with a potentially unstable person in a position of influence and
supervision over his eight year old daughter. Can Alan reconcile these issues in an
ethical manner?

14. There are three conditions that must be present for a situation to be
considered an ethical dilemma.
1. The first condition occurs in situations when an individual, called the
“agent,” must make a decision about which course of action is best.
The situation must be uncomfortable for the agent.
2. The second condition for ethical dilemma is that there must be different
courses of action to choose from.
3. Third, in an ethical dilemma, no matter what course of action is taken,
other ethical principles are also to be considered. In other words, there
is no perfect solution.