Ethics: Choosing Between Right and Wrong

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EthicsChoosing Between Right and Wrong
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EthicsChoosing Between Right and Wrong

• Written by Sharon Mwansa
• Delaware Tech SIFE Team
• Spring 2003
• SIFE Students in Free Enterprise

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EthicsChoosing Between Right and Wrong

• Two friends want to buy themselves new
  skates. Each friend has a different idea about
  how to raise money to get the skates.
• In this book, you are to choose which idea is
  the best idea. You should remember that there is
  always an easier way of getting what you want
  however, it may not be the right way!

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Guidelines

• To get the most from this lesson, please do
  the pre-test first. Follow by reading the book
  and answering the post-test questions. We hope
  that at the end of the book, you will have
  learned what it means to be ethical, and the
  price that you must pay when you are unethical.

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Pre-Test

• What is a contractor?
• a. A person who writes contracts
• b. A person who is hired to do a job
• What is a profit?
• a. The amount earned above the cost for your
  product or service
• b. The cost to offer the product or service
• How do you calculate a profit?
• a. Profit revenues expenses
• b. Profit revenues expenses
• 4. What does it mean to be ethical?
• a. Being clever
• b. Doing the right thing

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MR. FOX LEARNS HIS LESSON

• Meet Mr. Turtle and Mr. Fox. They have been
  friends for a long time. One day we caught them
  having the following conversation

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• Mr. Turtle I want to start a business to raise
  money to buy skates, but I have no money.
• Mr. Fox What kind of business do you want to do?
• Mr. Turtle Since I have no money to set it up, I
  thought I would go down the stream and ask the
  farmer if he needs a contactor to help him
  harvest his crops.
• Mr. Fox Oh no thats a bad idea. I will not work
  to get money when all I have to do is wait for
  the farmer to go to sleep and steal his crops and
  sell them. He will not see me, and I do not have
  to work.
• What is a contactor?
• A person who is hired to do a job.
• Whose idea is the best idea?

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• The next day Mr. Turtle went to see the
  farmer. The farmer was very excited about the
  turtles idea to help him out. I can definitely
  use some help, said the farmer. I will pay you
  9 for every acre of crop you harvest, and I want
  you to help me harvest 20 acres of the crop.
• Mr. Turtle could not believe his luck,
  but he had one problem. How could he harvest the
  crop by himself? He decided to ask his friend
  Fox to help him, but Fox did not want to help him
  because he was making easy money stealing.
• How much will Mr. Turtle make for
  harvesting 20 acres at 9 per acre?

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• I know what I am going to do, said Mr.
  Turtle. I will ask the elephant to help me do
  the harvest. He is stronger and bigger, so
  harvesting will be easier for him. So Mr. Turtle
  went to see the elephant.
• Mr. Turtle Hi elephant, I have a contract to
  harvest crops for the farmer. I will pay you 3
  for every acre you help me harvest.
• Elephant Work is hard to come by. I will help
  you, but only if you pay me 4 per acre.
• Mr. Turtle That is great! We can start tomorrow.

I know what I am going to do, said Mr.
Turtle. I will ask the elephant to help me do
the harvest. He is stronger and bigger, so
harvesting will be easier for him. So Mr. Turtle
went to see the elephant. Mr. Turtle Hi
elephant, I have a contract to harvest crops for
the farmer. I will pay you 3 for every acre you
help me harvest. Elephant Work is hard to come
by. I will help you, but only if you pay me 4
per acre. Mr. Turtle That is great! We can start
tomorrow.
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• Points to remember when starting a business
• Starting a business requires planning, setting
  a price for the product or service and finding a
  place from which to operate. At the end, the
  business needs to make a profit
• Mr. Turtle planned the job and decided it
  would take 20 days to complete. He plans to
  harvest 1 acre per day.
• He plans to charge the farmer 9 per acre
  and will operate from the farmers place. At the
  end of it all, he expects to make a profit.
• 1. How much will Mr. Turtle receive at the end
  of the job?
• 2. How much will he pay the elephant?
• 3. How much profit will Mr. Turtle make?

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• Mr. Turtle and the elephant worked very hard.
  At the end of the month the farmer paid him 180,
  which is his revenue. He gave the elephant 80,
  his expense. He had 100 left for himself, the
  profit. Now he has the money to buy the skates.
  He was so excited that he went to see his friend
  Mr. Fox to tell him the good news.

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• When Mr. Turtle reached the foxs home, he
  found him with a broken leg and arm.
• Turtle What happened to you
• Fox I was doing just fine until the farmer
  realized that someone was stealing his crops and
  set a trap. I got caught in the trap and hurt
  myself. I am lucky to be alive.
• Turtle It is not right to steal. I hope that you
  have learned your lesson. I finished doing the
  harvest, and I made 100 profit. Now we can go
  and buy the skates. They cost 40 each. Since you
  are my friend, I will buy skates for you too and
  still have 20 to put in my savings account.
• Fox I should have listened to you. From now on I
  will be ethical and will not take what is not
  mine.

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Because of Mr. Turtle's wise decisions, the two
friends are able to enjoy their new equipment.
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Post-Test

• What is a contractor?
• a. A person who writes contracts.
• b. A person who is hired to do a job.
• How do you calculate a profit?
• a. Profit revenues expenses
• b. Profit revenues expenses
• What does it mean to be ethical?
• a. Being clever
• b. Doing the right thing
• How much profit did Mr. Turtle make? Calculate by
  using the formula that you chose from Question
  Number 2.
• Whose idea is the best idea to raise money, and
  why do you think so?