Watching APEGBC's Ethics DVD. It's actually pretty interesting stuff, but I was thinking back to an article from 2004, post-Enron. Maybe it was MacLean's. But the point was that for most of the populuation ethics are a grey area. 20% of the population will do the right thing ALL of the time. That's the 20% we all hope are our police, teachers, doctors, political leaders, and the people that date our kids are. 20% of the population will do what suits them best - ie: the "off moral compass", the Gordon Gekko's, Bernie Madoff's of the world. And the remainder, 60% of the population is morally flexible, and hence this is how the Enron/current world economic situation has evolved.
A good example would be the "cash back" example that I'm sure we have all been in. Picture this; early morning at a busy coffee shop and the cashier/barista is overwhelmed (I've been on both sides of the counter and can whip up a great espresso). You order your Mocha Choco Latte with extra foam, and it comes to $5.35. You hand over a $5 bill and a $1 coin (okay, loonie), but instead of $0.65 back, the frazzled server gives you $5.65 back. What do you do?
a). Promptly tell her/him you have received too much change and hand over the $5?
b). Stash the $5 and hurry off, stoked to have gotten the little windfall at 6:45am on a Tuesday.
c). Mumble thanks and in your mind promise a good tip next morning. After all, the coffee shop won't miss it. And aren't they a giant corporation?
The first 2 answers are fairly obvious as to what category the answerer falls into, but the third is the grey zone, the "Well, just this one time" mentality, and while it's definitely a grey area (it's only $5 afterall), when things compound 3.6 billion times, opps.
Well, 1 blog follower, Chris, Kyuss and myself are off to Kamloops to ride epic singletrack and hang out with Matty D. Sickter!
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