Ethics Log Essay

I was out shopping with a friend and saw something that struck me as very unethical. We were eating at the mall and the manager at one of the fast food places at the food court was given extra money then was due by a customer that was directly ahead of my friend in line. Instead of giving the lady back the extra money he pocketed the money. I know that we are in a financially hard time, but still the man should have told the women that she gave him too much money instead of pocketing the difference. It made me promptly decide to eat at a different place that day. September 15, 2008: I was struck today by something that made me have faith in other people. A man was rushing to leave a store and his wallet dropped out of his pocket. Two teenagers were standing around and watching the people going in and out and they both saw what happened. One of them walked over and picked up the wallet. I thought that the kid was going to pocket the money in the wallet, but instead he walked over to where the man was still putting groceries into his car. He handed the man his wallet and told him that he saw it fall out of his pocket. The man thanked him and offered him a reward. The kid shook his head and said a reward wasn’t necessary. Most of the time teenagers are given a bad name, but seeing that kid be as honest as he was made me feel good knowing that our future are the hands of kids like that. September 22, 2008: I was taking my mother to the doctor and I saw something that seemed to me to be very unethical. Two nurses were waiting for the elevator and they were discussing patients, using the first names of those patients. No one else was around the elevator, so these two women must have thought they were alone. I couldn’t believe my ears, because they were talking in very load tones and telling each other about the details of each patient. I know that doctors are held to strict ethical standards and I thought nurses were too. Anyone could have been listening to these two women gossiping. They finally stopped when I cleared my throat and gave them a look. September 29, 2008: I was watching the evening news and one story struck me as interesting. It was a story about a building contractor who had used substandard materials on some houses that he had built. The people who had bought these homes found mold and parts of their houses were falling down so that living in these homes were dangerous to the occupants. I have always believed that building contractors had an ethical right to use materials that would ensure a safe environment for the people that buy the finished homes. It seems this man cared more for the end dollar that he received then for the quality of building he produced. October 6, 2008: I was watching the news the other night and I saw a story about a psychologist that was being accused of having a relationship with a patient. I was appalled at this fact since psychologists are people who should realize how unethical something like that is. Doctors are in a position of authority over their patients and as such should not abuse hat authority by becoming involved with their patients. The psychologist is facing criminal charges and will probably have his license to practice psychology revoked. I was shocked and outraged by this story and it made me wonder what had to be going through the man’s head to get into such a situation as this where he ahs put his professional life and the reputation of his family in jeopardy. October 14, 2008: I was shopping this weekend and I saw something that struck me not only as ethical but as an example of the goodness in people. I was walking down the street from store to the next and in an alleyway there was a man who for all intents and purposes was homeless or he appears that way. As I was walking I had to stop and answer my cell phone and in vainly trying to find my phone everything in my bag fell out and spilled all over the sidewalk. This man, who was dirty from his head to his feet, came over and started helping me pick things up. I was in such a rush that I didn’t notice that my credit card had bounced in the shadows. I gave the man a curt thank you and was walking away when I heard the man come up behind me. I thought at first he was going to try and do something to me (we all don’t like to admit it but stereotypes sometimes linger in the back of the man about homeless people), and turned ready to hit the man when he smiled toothlessly at me and told me I had dropped my credit card. This man could have pocketed the card, but he chose to do the ethical and right thing of returning the card to me. October 20, 2008: An article that I read recently stuck me as very unethical practices. It was an article on how Treasury Secretary Paulson was utilizing his old Wall Street firm as a way to investigate the goings on of other Wall Street firms. The problem then is that it gives other people the idea that now Paulson’s old firm has their hands in the proverbial Treasury Cookie Jar. That kind of practice is not just unethical but wrong. The United States Treasury is something that has to investigate firms and by allowing a Wall Street firm to be seen as having ties in the department of Treasury gives the idea that the department of the Treasury is biased and will allow this firm to get by with everything and there will not be any repercussions. October 27, 2008: I was reading an article in the newspaper and came across a story about a court case in which the case had to be dismissed because the evidence that was collected was tainted. Apparently when he evidence was collected, it was misplaced and then found two days later. This struck me as highly unethical, since from my understanding when something like that happens it’s hard to know if it is really from the crime or if it had been planted. It also struck me as unethical because evidence should not be contaminated or last in order to make sure questions are not raised in the long run. November 3, 2008: I read in the newspaper about a new school curriculum that has been used at some schools around the nation. Building Decision Skills (BDS) that had â€Å"potentially positive effects† on students. This curriculum targets character education, strengthens critical thinking skills, builds leadership skills, and focuses on teaching students the best way to make ethical decisions as they enter the high school setting and are affected more by peer pressure. I remember my own high school days and how tough it can be when surrounded by friends that want you to make a decision that you don’t feel comfortable with. Ethical behavior after all is learning the right way to do something or the right choice to make when in a given situation. This new curriculum will help students with those kinds of situations. November 10, 2008: The newspaper had an interesting story about the Emperor’s Club and the case against the New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer and his charges for hiring prostitutes. Tania Hollander, the VIP scheduler for the club, also had to take responsibility in the unethical behavior of the attorney general. Ms. Hollander will face jail time for her part in this case, while the New York attorney general was cleared of the charges against him. The attorney for Ms. Hollander made a point of insinuating that this kind of nonsense was unethical in the least because it gives the public the idea that the New York attorney general is being given a slap on the wrist because of his position as an attorney general. Abuse of position such as this is always an unfair and unethical practice.