Do you ever feel like sometimes those things that are legal seem to be just a little bit immoral? This cartoon depicts that problem. Often things become legal because such a large majority of people believe that it is unethical. It has been said that the legality is the ethics of society, whereas morals are the ethics of individuals. Killing, for example, is considered socially wrong, so it is law. This comic depicts the fine line between what is ethically right for you, and what you have to do legally. What would you do? Do you turn left or right? Or do your morals always line up with law?

Readers, take a bite, and tell me what you think.

No Explanation Needed

This comic is funny. It is funny because it is so true. It is one of the most common dilemmas in ethics. Doing the "right" thing always means giving something up. Usually, this something, is the one thing you really want. In this case, the cartoon says that it interferes with his legal practice. Meaning that doing the right thing puts him behind in business. This is something a lot of big corporations are finding. Sadly, many choose to do what is best for them or rather, what is the unethical thing to do.

Choosing this option is not a new concept, it is just more public now then it use to be. More and more we are hearing what unethical practices businesses have. These are not new. Do you agree, or do you think that it is new something that has arisen just recently?

Go ahead and take a bite, I want to know what you think.

Comic Strips

Over the next few days I will be posting some comic strips. They all of course deal with ethics. The very fact that they have comic strips for ethics mans that it is a realm in which people dwell and understand the complications. For example the comic on the left depicts the common cartoon of a devil and an angel trying to persuade you of what choice to make. The man has a document in his hand and they are trying to figure out how to handle the situation. The ethical venue would be the angel, however, the devil usually has some pretty good arguments. This comic is humorous because we understand exactly how this man feels.

Read the comics, chuckle and don't forget to take a bite.

I would take a bite of a bagel

Just the other day, a friend was telling me about this experiment he was learning about. A guy decided to sell bagels to groups of people by simply putting a basket or jar with some money near the bagels. He collected data about which methods were the best way to collect money. It was not so much about money as it was about ethics. There was a difference between the jar and the basket, there was a difference where he placed the stand. Sometimes somebody would just steal the whole jar, but for the most part, he made money from the endeavor. One of the things that caught my interest the most about this story was that when the guy placed the set up in an accounting office, most everyone put something into the jar. When he set it up in a business with managers he was much less likely to receive anything for the bagel. It is a curious thing. Accountants are often the individuals getting hit hard for their ethics, or lack of, in business. We often assume that the manager, although at fault, was not the main cause. This situation brings out a bit of new light. The man conducting the study suggested that the mangers may have felt more entitled to the bagels. So was it really an ethical decision?

It is something to wonder what you would do in that situation. If you would be more likely to put money depending on the basket or the jar. With no one watching, do you think that you would exchange money for a bagel? It is hard to know what you would do and how much you would give up for that scrumptious bagel. When I was first asked that question I answered the typical answer, put down some money and grab the bagel. However, I do think that a jar would be different than a basket, and that would affect my choice.

This scenario reminded of a story my sixth grade teacher told me about. She said that when she was little there was a little store where you could get fresh fruit and vegetables. Nobody was there, you just took what you needed and left the money in a basket. Today, this would be suicide. No business would every be so trusting as to practice this principle. Oh! How times change.

I know wonder why those things have changed.
Don't forget to take a bite.