Last year in January, a friend and I traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, to play golf, rest and enjoy the warm climate of Arizona for a few days. I had two round-trip airline tickets from Colorado Springs to Phoenix that were going to expire by the end of January if I did not use them. So I invited my friend, Dave, to join me. He eagerly greed. We made some calls to Phoenix area resorts and found what we thought was a good golf package that included a double occupancy room, two rounds of golf, cart, range balls, free drinks and two free buffet breakfasts. We were quoted a figure that we thought was a bit pricey, but given our spontaneous desire to play golf and sit in the sun, we made reservations with the resort and were off to Phoenix the next day. When Dave and I arrived at the resort, we signed in at the front desk, gave the clerk our credit cards, received the keys to our shared room, picked up our golf vouchers and eagerly awaited the arrival of the following morning so we could hit the course. We were like two children on Christmas Eve, anxiously awaiting Santa’s arrival.
To our disappointment, the next day turned out to be a rather cold, gray, windy day in Phoenix. Unfortunately, there was a frost delay and we had to wait several hours for the temperature to rise so that we could play. We kidded each other that we could have stayed in Colorado Springs and experienced the same weather for a lot less money! We eventually got on the course and played in conditions that were, to say the least, not very good. (Back To Top)
Just before leaving, we asked the attendant what the normal green fees were for the course, in case we wanted to return someday without the resort’s golf package. To our surprise, the green fees were pretty reasonable. As we drove back to the resort, we began to examine the “value” of our golf package, given the normal cost of the green fees and our estimation of the cost of our room.
Both Dave and I travel extensively for our businesses and are familiar with normal and customary hotel charges for business class, single occupancy accommodations. We both agreed that our double occupancy room fell below the standards to which we were accustomed as business travelers. The more we looked at the value of the golf package, the more we began to feel that it was not a great value. Rather, it seemed an exorbitant and unfair trade practice of the resort, particularly given the bad playing conditions we had experienced that day.
Rather than dwell on this negative feeling, we resigned ourselves to our situation. After all, no one forced us to go to Phoenix, and we both freely chose to accept the pricing when it was given to us over the phone. Since Dave and I are both relatively upbeat, positive and optimistic people, we simply resolved that the next day’s golf experience in the warmth and sun of the Arizona desert would more than offset the unsettled feelings of our first day.
Call it misfortune, destiny, fate or a cruel lesson in acceptance, we awoke the next morning to the exact same type of cold, gray, windy weather we had experienced the prior day. We were scheduled to play at a different golf course that required us to fight the congested morning traffic of metropolitan Phoenix. When we arrived at the course, there was no frost, but it was cold! We waited an hour, hoping for warmer weather. The sun taunted us by playing hide and seek in the clouds. (Back To Top)
The morning finally got a little better and we played our second day of golf, once again, in conditions that were not what we had expected. After our round, we asked the attendant the regular price of a round of golf at the course. The green fee was almost double what had been quoted the day before. We felt a little better about our golf package given this new information.
However, our analytical business minds could not resist repeating the examination and calculation of what we thought was our golf package’s actual cost to the resort. Even with the higher green fees for that day, neither Dave nor I felt that we had received a genuine golf value, as had been promised to us by the resort over the phone.
Adding to our woes, Dave was suffering from the initial onset of the flu, and I had developed painful blisters on my left foot caused by a new pair of golf shoes. Further, it began to rain and neither us felt like going out that night to experience the great dining pleasures Phoenix had to offer. (Back To Top)
When we checked out the next morning, the clerk presented us with one bill, which seemed odd to me at the time since we had checked in separately. The price was exactly what I had been quoted on the phone. The only troubling aspect was that I had believed that the quoted price was a per person price, not a total price for two people. I was almost certain that I had clarified, at the time of making the reservation, that the quoted price was a per person price.
I thought that perhaps the clerk had made a mistake, but my reservations about the value of the golf package crept into my mind, and I was delighted that the final bill made our golf package a pretty good value. Still, I was troubled and felt that a mistake had been made by the clerk in our favor. But, I did not say anything at the time. Dave quickly gave the clerk his credit card and told her to put half of the charge on his card and the other half on mine. This she did without hesitation. We then went to enjoy our last free buffet breakfast before departing for the airport.
As we walked to the restaurant, we noticed that it was raining hard in Phoenix, the land of sun and desert. I felt uneasy and unsettled about the charges. Dave didn't’t feel the least bit concerned. He had not made the reservations, not been privy to my conversation with the reservation clerk, and he said we had gotten a great value after all, particularly given the weather we had endured. Still, during breakfast I was bothered that I had not spoken up and pointed out that the charge could not be right. I knew in my heart that if I had been overcharged, I would not have hesitated to point out the clerk’s error. But for some reason, I had not spoken up when I was undercharged. (Back To Top)
I mentioned all of this to Dave at breakfast and we discussed what I should do. He easily picked up on my discomfort and noted the irony in the situation, given that I am an ethics and compliance consultant. Indeed, I was in the midst of a personal ethical dilemma. The more I recalled my conversation with the reservation clerk, the more strongly I felt that the final bill was wrong and that the checkout clerk had erred in our favor. If so, the correct bill, by our calculations, was exorbitant in light of the lower than business class accommodations we received, actual green fee charges and deplorable playing conditions.
During the remainder of our breakfast, I continued to be troubled by this incident and my own failure to press the issue with the checkout clerk. I couldn't’t help but recall a portion of an ethics speech I often deliver at conventions concerning personal choices. I was reminded of my observation that when you encounter or are confronted with an ethical dilemma, you have four choices.
The first is to ignore the dilemma and act or refrain from acting as if there were no ethical issue involved. This choice generally results in conduct that is unethical or unlawful. I had done this at the checkout counter and didn't’t feel good about that choice. Since we had not yet left the resort, I still had the opportunity to deal with the dilemma and make it right.
The second choice is to comply with the law or some other established ethical prescription, requirement or duty that specifically addresses the dilemma. This choice often results in what is considered by many to be ethical or honorable conduct. I gave this option some consideration and felt that I had not broken any law. I had simply paid the charges that had been presented to me by the clerk. I did feel that perhaps under contract principles of law, I had made a legally enforceable promise to pay at the per person quoted price. But then again, hadn't the resort waived the per-person price when it presented its final bill, which we paid. The option of following the law or fulfilling some prescribed duty wasn't of great solace to me. (Back To Top)
The third choice is to consciously disregard the law, as well as any applicable code of conduct, and act in an unlawful or unethical manner. Since the law didn't really apply to my dilemma on this particular day, this choice was not an option for me and my beliefs.
The fourth choice I have often urged others to consider is to act in a manner that exceeds the minimum requirements of the law and to engage in a more noble and virtuous course of action that reflects ethics, integrity and responsible personal conduct. I was bothered that I had not done this at the time of checkout, but I still had time to go back and revisit the issue with the clerk.
As I finished my breakfast and discussed these options with Dave, I knew that I still had to make a choice. I really had two options. The first was to take advantage of what I believed was the clerk’s error by ignoring the dilemma and rationalizing the mistake as some form of ethical justice in light of our perceptions that we had not received a good golf value. The second choice was for me to return to the front desk and bring my concerns to the clerk’s attention.
I was really struggling with this issue and not totally settled upon a course of action, when the checkout clerk appeared at our table explaining that she had made a mistake on our final bill. She asked if we would come to the front desk to rerun our credit cards to add the charges she had missed. She explained that they had lost one of the reservations and the bill she gave us at our checkout was for a party of one, not two.
I was actually relieved that my dilemma had been resolved. Now I didn't have to make a choice. I didn't have to confront my inner feelings, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. My dilemma was over. We paid the revised final bill without complaint. We made no mention of our feelings of disappointment. After all, we did have a choice whether or not to come to Phoenix after being quoted the price.
As I’ve reflected upon my Phoenix golf experience, I have felt regret and disappointment in myself. I now know that I should have acted upon my ethical instincts that something was wrong during the checkout. I should have pursued the matter at the time the clerk gave me the bill, rather than agonizing over it during breakfast. In retrospect, I like to think that I would not have left the resort without having the clerk recheck our bill to make sure she had not made an error in our favor. At least that’s what I hope I would have done!
A Learning Experience (Back To Top)
I learned a few things from this experience. I’m grateful for the opportunity it gave me to gain greater insight into myself. I’ve even made a few observations about how hard it is to do the right thing. For example, the choice you make in any given ethical dilemma is a function of your: personality, moral character, inner strength, personal core values, internal sense of what is right and wrong, moral courage, integrity, honor and ethical fitness.
These qualities are the result of several competing influences, such as your: family, peers, friends, education, religious beliefs, culture, worldly experiences, the media and even unconscious motivations and influences.
The competing nature of these varied influences frequently makes choosing and following the right ethical and moral path a difficult task.
Additionally, there are numerous temptations (e.g., ego, greed, lust, power, sex, etc.) and inner personal conflicts (e.g., self-interest versus concern for others, peer pressure versus individuality, truth versus loyalty, and conscious versus unconscious drives) that get in the way of doing the right thing.
In some cases, doing the right thing requires self-sacrifice for the betterment of others. In other cases, it requires taking an unpopular stand that subjects you to the criticism of others. Sometimes, the right or ethical thing to do is not even readily apparent to you. And in some situations, doing the right thing might be harmful to others who may be innocent bystanders. (Back To Top)
The emotional context or circumstances of a dilemma often cause you to be unable to accurately perceive and discern the true, ethical, or moral path. In some dilemmas, you are forced by circumstances beyond your control to choose between the lesser of two evils, thereby making the choice a painful and hurtful one. There are even occasions when you must choose between what appears to you to be two rights.
Indeed, doing the right thing is not as easy as simply talking or writing about it. Let’s face it: doing the right thing often requires a lot from us as human beings. (Back To Top)
Unlike many scholars, philosophers and professional ethicists, I don’t profess to know what is right and wrong, nor do I have any particularly meaningful insights as to the moral principles by which you should live your life, or conduct your business. I do know, however, from my personal experiences and reflections, that ethics, integrity, responsible personal conduct and honor are important concepts to know, understand and appreciate – and even more important, to incorporate into one’s daily behavior.
Many great philosophers have observed that one’s ethics are revealed and demonstrated by one’s personal behavior and private conduct. I believe this to be true. I also believe that ethics, integrity and responsible personal conduct can be taught. I believe that people can, and will, under the right circumstances, change their behavior patterns and be able to live more virtuous, caring and loving lives.
At a personal level, this kind of change requires that you make a formal commitment to reflect and demonstrate ethics, integrity and responsible personal conduct in all that you do. Specifically, this commitment requires that you consistently identify and resolve ethical dilemmas in a manner that reflects goodness and virtue. This concept is what I call “Ethical Virtuosity.” (Back To Top)
Ethical Virtuosity is obtained or acquired by regularly engaging in and practicing seven specific steps: becoming self-aware, seeking ethical knowledge, developing an ethical belief system, practicing emotional discipline, consciously exercising your free will, demonstrating moral courage and personal accountability, and most importantly, immediately acting on your personal commitment to become ethically virtuous.
At an organizational level, Ethical Virtuosity requires a genuine institutional commitment to follow twelve easy steps or strategies. If these strategies are implemented and followed by an organization’s leadership, a highly ethical organization can be built and maintained.
These twelve principles are:
