Using organizational ethical framework, I apply logic to address the difficult ethical decisions in my own organization. Every individual within any type of organization will face some ethical dilemma of some extent and it is important to know how to rationally and logically assess the situation and react appropriately.

1. Nagy 1
Personal Ethical Dilemma
College Service Project is a student organization on the campus of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill that was founded in August 2015. College Service Project
(CSP) was founded with the lofty goal of eliminating substandard housing locally in Orange
County, North Carolina by offering free, emergency home repair to make homes warmer,
safer and drier. This home repair is completely free to the homeowner and is completed by
volunteer UNC-CH students who are passionate about service. CSP is an affiliate of a larger
organization called Appalachia Service Project (ASP) who holds the same mission but
focuses on Central Appalachia. ASP works in Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky
and North Carolina with the majority of their work occurring through a summer youth
program operating in around 30 different rural counties. It was ASP’s vision to have their
mission expand to a larger scale and therefore launched the CSP program to reach different
college campuses across the country. Having volunteered with ASP for four summers and
worked on their staff for two summers, I became a founder and co-President of CSP at UNC.
There are two main qualities of CSP that are important when considering the ethical
dilemma that follows here. First, CSP operates under ASP’s founding principles, which
draw heavily on ASP’s affiliation with the Methodist faith, and are meant to guide the
decisions of the organization. And second, CSP is a brand new organization to UNC-CH’s
campus where many students still have not heard of us, and we must assume any time a
student hears of CSP it is their first interaction with and impression of the organization.
The ethical dilemma that came about for CSP revolves around an idea for a big
fundraiser for the organization. The idea originally came from our Trip Coordinator, Izzie

2. Nagy 2
Hirschy, while brainstorming unique ways to raise money for our alternative spring break
trip. The idea was to hold an event in UNC-CH’s Pit, the social hub and center of campus,
called “Screw Dook” the day before UNC played Duke in basketball. At this event CSP
would have large pieces of lumber that are painted Duke’s royal blue and we would charge
students money to drill screws into the lumber with power drills. This is an extremely
clever play on words that taps into the passion of the UNC-Duke rivalry when it is at its
peak. My other co-President, Payton Williams, and I were skeptical of the idea at first due
to the message it would send about our organization and whether it aligned with the
Christian values we were founded on. We also had to consider what our affiliates at ASP
would think when they heard of our fundraising efforts and the repercussions that could
follow for it. However, because the CSP program is so new, there is no precedent as to how
closely our chapter must adhere to ASP’s guidelines or how much independence we have
for ourselves.
The ethical tension that presents itself in this dilemma is one of an individual versus
community as we consider our unique goals as a CSP chapter and our need for funding
versus the community that ASP has fostered and allowed us to be a part of. This decision is
especially important as a new organization because, while this initial dilemma must be
resolved with a situational approach, it sets the precedent to be able to move towards a
more foundational approach for future issues of this sort. A foundational approach for this
organization is ideal in a student organization that has a complete membership turnover
every four years in order to maintain the identity of the organization. The potential
consequences if we chose to hold the fundraiser include damaging the image of our young
organization and hurting ties with ASP, and the consequences of not holding the fundraiser

3. Nagy 3
include missing out on raising much needed funds and devaluing the ideas of those in
leadership.
The ethical dilemma outlined about is best understood through a duty perspective
of organizational ethics. The duty perspective focuses on the idea that the individual has an
obligation to a wider collective where actions often go against one’s natural inclination.
The “Screw Dook” fundraiser can be considered through this perspective when thinking
about what duties and obligations CSP has to ASP as well as their members and
homeowners. On one hand, CSP as a young organization should operate under ASP’s
beliefs because they owe their existence to ASP and their years of experience. But on the
other hand, CSP has an obligation to the residents of Orange County who are in need of our
services as well as the UNC students who are getting involved in our organization. In order
to resolve this ethical dilemma, Payton and I must decide which of these obligations takes
precedence.
In regards to specific steps being taken to resolve this dilemma, Payton and I have
reached out to ASP’s headquarters to get feedback about the idea to see what the Director
of Advancement’s initial reactions to the fundraiser are. She has responded saying she
would like to run it by ASP’s CEO, Walter Crouch, to get the final decision from a higher
authority. If ASP decided that they were opposed to the fundraiser, I do not think we would
have any choice but to call it off. I believe the consequences of harming that relationship
outweigh the benefits of this particular event, as there are many other ways to fundraise
that money. If ASP does not take issue with fundraiser, the decision would then pass to
Payton and myself as we grapple with deciding the image we want to portray of our new
organization to the public in such a large-scale event.