Assignment 2

Submitted By :
Course ID

: Human

Values

and

the

Health Sciences PH-447

Date :

If you found something at a yard sale that was far more valuable
than the posted price, would you let the seller know?

In a yard sale, usually people sell off things which are relatively old or
something they do not need right now, hence if a valuable item makes it way
there it would either be because it has been misplaced or was there because
the owner was unaware of the true value of the item (in case of rare antique,
jewels or collectable). So I believe majority of people would try to get the
item as long as they realize the item has high value, without letting the seller
know about they would consider it to be the sellers responsibility to check
the items before giving the sale (Hamm, 2014).
In an individual level I believe it is wrong to take a valuable item from
the yard sale if one knows about the true value of it. This is because the
owner can make a mistake of misplacing it and there is no harm in asking the
owner again to recheck weather he/she really wants to sell it off.
Moreover there is some ethical dilemma based on cultural or social
norms, in some cultures it is not fine to take unattended cash money left
over on the street and use it as own unless someone else claims and proves
it to be theirs. In some other culture people take that money and give it
away to poor people who needs it most.

Is it considered stealing to take pens from a bank? What about extra

napkins from a fast-food restaurant?

Majority should not consider taking pens from a bank as stealing,

because banks usually gives away free promotional pens with the banks logo
on it to its customers. This helps them to advertise the bank much better and
creates a good impression (LEUNG, 2002).
I think its a right thing to do as the cost of each pen for customer is
very low which the Banks can easily consider this cost in their service
charges which they often charge on monthly or yearly basis. There shouldnt
be any ethical dilemma in taking a pen as long as the number is limited to
quantities that doesnt reflect over indulging (Marshall, 2013).
Extra napkins from a fast food restaurant can be taken or asked for
whenever required and majority of the people take it to keep it for later
usage. Often many waiters or waitresses provide more than required in the
first place so that people can use them according to their needs. Hence I
believe majority doesnt consider it as stealing. On an individual perspective
I think it shouldnt even be considered as stealing as napkins are
complementary when one purchases food from fast food joints which people
often eat in a hurry, so additional napkins are often helpful. There is some
ethical factors that should be considered, if the action like taking pen or

napkin feels sneaky one should ask the official in charge before taking it
(Seglin,2010)

My professor gave me credit for a project on which a classmate did

most of the work. Should I accept the praise? Should I accept the
grade?

When it comes to grades majority will accept the grade no matter how
they achieved it, as grades are tough to get and getting a praise is
something few would say no to. There are certain things which has to be
considered, was it a group project or weather the student managed to copy
the project from their classmate. In case of a group project it is often the
case that not everyone can contribute equally for a project as not everyone
can give equal effort or has equal knowledge. The very idea of group project
is to learn how to work together, learn together and get the task done. On
the contrary if the student somehow managed to get their classmate do the
work for them on individual project I believe the professor should be able to
find some similarity between bot the project and hence try to inquire further
before finally assigning the grade.
On an individual level I believe on a group project, which reflects
collective effort everyone should be happy to get the praise and the grade
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they deserve. However for individual project it seems unfair to get a grade
one doesnt deserve because then the student lost the scope to learn
anything, instead just got a grade which doesnt reflect his/her true ability,
hence in that context one should be honest and not accept the grade. Some
similar actions tend to be borderline academic dishonesty which is
something students should be prepared to face in the aftermath of dishonest
approach to achieve grades (Pavela, 2012).
There are strong ethical dilemma associated with it, if I had strong
ethical standard and understood that my over inflated grade doesnt reflect
my ability which will lead to over expectation from the professor in future, I
would have confessed about my level of effort in the project and accept the
grade the professor would give. There are factors like if the grade on the
project was critical in decisions like Passing or failing a course, I would have
asked help from the classmate to achieve a higher grade. Moreover other
factors that influence the decisions include Academic Integrity of the
educational institution, which is something every student has to follow (AIDT,
2012) .

If someone tells an offensive joke, is it my responsibility to speak up

about it?
Offensive jokes are never entertained my majority of people, so its
very obvious for people to speak out about it as long as its offending.
Although one shouldnt engage into any physical or verbal clash for it.
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Sometimes repeated offensive jokes are as such that it can reflect upon
someone as a harassment, which majority would not take it lightly and there
are severe and harsh measures that can be taken for it.
In an individual level I would definitely not tolerate an offensive joke
cracked at me or anyone else, because I dont think anyone has the right to
hurt someone else without a very strong and valid prior reason that can
justify such actions.
No there is factors that can influence ethical dilemma as offensive jokes are
indirect method of trying to demean or hurt someone. Although since it a
joke, a smart reply can indicate that one didnt like to hear it. There is no
reason to take a joke on a very violent reaction as there are times one might
crack a joke out of ignorance without actually knowing how it would affect
others.

Is it ever ok to sneak a peek at your significant other's email?

Sneaking up on anyones email can often signal insecurity among
people. Moreover it can be also be considered as disrespecting ones privacy.
Majority of people certainly do not have the intention to sneak a peek at
their better halfs email, however some may resort to it if couples lack trust
among each other or their action causes them to be suspicious of one

another. Sneaking up emails is not something one needs to do, in fact its
much better to ask about certain issues directly.
I personally feel it is very unethical to sneak up on any ones email
unless one gives direct permission to view something, because there are
always individual personal things which one would not be comfortable to
share to anyone, hence everyone should be provided to protect their own
privacy which is why personalized devices or services have password
protection. (CNN WIRE, 2015)
There is no significant factors that should raise any ethical dilemma as I feel
the act of sneaking into anyones very personal things is unethical and
should be clearly avoided.

My boss asked me to cover for him on his expense report by saying I

was at a meal when I wasnt. Should I do it?

This is a very difficult situation for anyone to be in, as nobody want to

offend their Boss for such simple matters but on the other hand its highly
unethical to fake the report as there is dishonesty involved in it. Majority of
people would eventually agree to put on their name on the report with some
degree of hesitation, because if they disagree their boss might take might
start disliking fellow colleague for not complying with his action.
On an individual level its very difficult to either agree or disagree to
the proposition of covering up but I would personally disagree to it because
this wrong action will eventually affect the offices expenses. Another issue is
if one allows such cover up, most likely he or she will be requested again in
future which will become difficult to avoid too.
The factors effecting the ethical dilemma is if one agrees to help their
boss in this regard he/she is being part of a dishonest act which is very
unethical. Moreover repeated events as such could raise an alarm from the
management regarding both the boss and their accomplice which is
something no one would like (Seglin,2010).

Reference:
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1. Hamm T,(2014). Yard Sale Ethics Is the Sticker Price the End of the
Story? Retrieved from : http://www.thesimpledollar.com/yard-saleethics-is-the-sticker-price-the-end-of-the-story/ on September 17 2015
2. Marshall B. (2013) , TD Vows to Put Humanity Back in Banking, Offers
Free Pens, Retrieved from:http://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/td-vowsto-put-humanity-back-in-banking-offers-free-pens/43767 on September
17 2015
3. LEUNG S.,(2002) Napkins Get Smaller and Scarcer As Fast-Food Places
Trim
Costs,
Retrieved
from
:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1020384634341563520 on September
17 2015
4. Seglin J. L.(2010). 10 ethical questions, answered, Retrieved from :
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/wayoflife/03/10/rs.10.ethical.question
s/ on September 17 2015
5. Pavela . G, International Center for Academic Integrity, Applying the
Power of Association on Campus: A Model Code of Academic Integrity,
Retrieved from:
http://www.academicintegrity.org/icai/assets/model_code.pdf on
September 17 2015
6. AIDT.(2012) Ethics If you are unsure, ask before you ACT! Retrieved
from:http://www.aidt.edu/rtw/Instructor/3%20Workplace%20Behavior
%20Instructor%20Files/Work%20Ethics%20Instructor%20Files/Ethics
%20Section%20Complete.pdf on September 17 2015

7. CNN WIRE .(2015). Is it ever appropriate to snoop on your partner? ,

Retrieved from : http://wtvr.com/2015/05/26/snoop-on-partner/ on
September 17 2015