Excerpted from Building Decision Skills, 4th edition & Decision Skills for Colleges. Copyright 2008, Institute for Global Ethics
Austin was involved in a service project at school that was not going well. What his group had originally wanted to accomplish was to repair and paint all 20 benches scattered around the campus of Southwest High. Well, things had unfolded more slowly than expected: First, they couldn’t find the right tools; next, donations of materials from local hardware stores were slow in coming; and, finally, the whole project had been delayed until the principal could find time to meet with them and approve their plans.
In fact, the semester was now about over, and if Austin and his friends really wanted to finish the project, they would have to put in a couple of long Saturdays, on their own time. Austin felt, on the one hand, that it would be right for him to donate a couple of Saturdays to finish the work; on the other hand, he didn’t feel that he, or his fellow students, were responsible for the delays, so why should he sacrifice his limited personal leisure time?
Excerpted from Building Decision Skills, 4th edition. Copyright 2008, Institute for Global Ethics
Community service is a requirement at Western High School. To graduate, a student must complete at least 40 hours of volunteer service in the community during his or her senior year. Many local nonprofit organizations are delighted to have assistance from the students.
Lisa and Toni have both chosen to work as candy stripers at the town hospital. They are not close friends–in fact, they come from entirely different backgrounds–but they are assigned to them same unite at the same time every week. As candy stripers, Lisa and Toni get called upon to do a number of things, such as sorting laundered goods, putting away supplies, and reading to patients. Neither Lisa nor Toni has ever been apart of such a large operation before. In fact, it’s eye-opening to see how many supplies a hospital goes through in a very short period of time. Disposable gloves, tissues, water bottles, gowns–the list goes on and on.
One afternoon, Lisa sees Toni exiting the supply closet with a small pile of supplies. She sees Toni stuff these items into her backpack and walk out the door. Lisa knows that Toni did not have permission to take the property home. She also knows that Toni did not see her. Should she report what she observed or not?
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