Moral problems at work and in everyday life

1. A common conflict experienced by salespeople is a dissatisfied customer who feels personally

defrauded by an individual salesperson. For example, if a car salesman sells a used car without a
performance guarantee or warranty and the car breaks down on the buyer, the buyer may
return to angrily confront the salesperson and demand a refund. (3A, if this complies with
company rules)
2. A married couple gets divorced, because the two partners do not get on with each other
anymore. They both find it is better to follow their own ways. (2A, since they accept each other’s
diverging interests)
3. Above and beyond their fixed salary, sales persons receive a bonus at the end of the year,
depending linearly on their achieved sales volume. (1C, equity)
4. As it is Christmas, staff have decided to start collecting money for poor people suffering from
draught. (1C, caring)
5. Claire enjoys a Saturday afternoon shopping in town and finds a nice dress in one of her
favourite stores. However, since she isn’t sure whether she might find a better (or cheaper) one
elsewhere, she asks whether they could set the dress aside for an hour or so. (2A, insofar as
Claire is pursuing her own interest; 2B, if this is to be understood as a deal between the shop-
assistant and Claire)
6. Compliance management has implemented a whistleblowing-rule to support the anti-
corruption-campaign in the company and develop corporate culture. However, most staff
consider such telling on others as bad manners. (Conflict at 3A [Loyalty toward group and
toward company)]  cultural rules of decency have to be implemented: 3B)
7. Consider the gift exchange game in terms of morality. (2C, trust)
8. David decides to quit his job, because he feels he cannot work the way he likes, and he does not
like how it is organized, either.(2C, since he cannot be a (good) role-occupant in that company in
terms of 3A. And this is what he would also accept from his colleagues, if they wanted to change
jobs.)
9. Employees may feel bullied or pushed by more authoritarian managers, or may perceive a lack
of guidance from more hands-off managers. (This relates to general expectations towards
people in certain roles. If they decide to quit, it is 2C as in the previous case. If they want to
change the culture or reinforce the culture that managers fail to practice, this is 3B. If it is meant
as criticizing authorities for unfairness, it can even be understood as 4A. The difference is that
under the 2C-perspecitve one does not judge the managers’ behaviour as generally unfair, only
that one does not like it.)
10. Four employees working in a local authority are working on their computers filling forms and
producing other paper work. They all have to print out work. However, there is only one printer
outside in the corridor. And some have huge piles of paper to print. (As long as this can be
solved in a harmonious and friendly way, it can be dealt with at Stage 1C, allotting more time for
those with the biggest piles. Otherwise it becomes a conflict of interest, 2A, which requires
some kind of contract to regulate how the resource is used 2B).
11. Good jobs are scarce. Applicants are competing over the best offers on the job-market. (2A)
12. Imagine you are standing on a platform at Frankfurt central railway station. As the train arrives
and the doors open, you, like all of the other travellers, are rushing in, trying to capture one of
the seats. (Basically, this sounds like hawk-dove-property and Stage 1A. However, here we are in
a larger context, where agents compete with each other and do not feel much mutual
compassion, as among people who know each other. Hence, there is a conflict of interest in
terms of Stage 2A, and since it is a real social problem, not one among single individuals, it
Moral problems at work and in everyday life

cannot be solved at Stage 2, but would need some kind of culture of queuing [3B] as they have it
in the UK, but which we do not (yet) have in Germany.)
13. Imagine a minority employee in a team setting who feels that s/he is consistently assigned the
most menial work tasks in the group. (This person is obviously not integrated in a group in terms
of 3A, and would have to claim respect in terms of 2C from the others. If they fail to respect the
minority employee, we have a conflict of interest.)
14. Imagine you have to move to study at your preferred university (or to work with a preferred
company) while leaving your boyfriend/girlfriend behind. (If one considers the other’s point of
view, this takes 2C. If one thinks in terms of the partnership and what is to be done from the
point of view of the couple, this would aim at a common view in terms of 3A, i.e. what is best for
the couple rather than for individuals.)
15. No employee likes to receive a negative performance review, but giving negative feedback in a
review can be unavoidable based on the employee's own actions during the review period.
Employees may become angry over not receiving expected pay rises, promotions or other
performance-related incentives. (If one feels treated unjustly, this is a case of inequity, 1C, as
long as the procedures as such are accepted)
16. On the Christmas market people are queuing up for the traditional Glühwein. Some try to skip
the queue, which is echoed with furious comments by the waiting crowd. (Here we have a
violation of a general rule of decency, 3B)
17. Sometimes, employees may feel that managers do not set fair rules and favour certain
individuals or groups in the company. (This is a problem of unfairness on the part of the
authorities that have to settle conflicts in a company (which functions like a small society). One
could criticise it on basis of what is generally expected from managers – i.e. not to indulge in
ingroup favouritism and the like. 3B. Or, if they are to set the rules and it is just that one does
not find the rules fair, even though they comply with general culture, this leads to 4A, e.g. how
you would like the company to be governed.)
18. The examinations office has decided that handicapped students get more time for their exam
papers with the extra time being determined according to their specific handicap. (1C,
accounting for inequity and caring for special needs.)