Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue.

Facts: 

• Jack is American and works in Kenya. 
• Jack works with children. 
• A staff member at the youth center picked up all the gifts. 
• Four kids did not receive a gift.
• The youth center staff members do not see a problem with the situation
• Jack feels awkward about the situation
• Kids who did not receive a present were given a hat
• Jack may or may not have disposable income

Issue:

• Jack is an outsider, so he may not feel right to get too involved 
• The youth center may get upset if they feel like Jack is undermining their authority or making them look bad if he then buys the kids presents
• Children were left out causing them to potentially feel ostracized 
• Creates tension between the children at the center

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• Jack
• Children at youth center who did not receive a gift
• Youth center staff

Step 3: Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders

• Jack thinks that there is a problem: the four children didn’t receive gifts. Jack has the motivation to fix the problem or mend it in some way to ensure there is no issue with how he had acted.
• Children who did not receive a gift. They do not have the motivation to fix the problem but they may be struggling with feeling left out or not appreciated.
• Children who received a gift: may feel bad for the kids who did not receive gifts if they are friends
• The youth center staff are in charge of distributing the gifts: They have the motivation from paying parents to keep the kids happy but it seems as though they are disregarding this motivation

Step 4: Formulate at least three alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide

1. Hold another ceremony for the four kids who did not receive gifts originally and they receive cooler gifts for being so patient.
   1. Ethical Principle: the children feel happy and not left out anymore. 
   2. Pro: The children do not feel left out anymore.
   3. Con: The other children may feel worse because they ended up receiving worse gifts than those four children and may not feel as special, Jack will have to pay for the gifts
2. Apologize sincerely to the children for not having a gift for them. 
   1. Ethical Principle: It is not clear if children will accept this apology and move on or if they will continue to be upset that they did not receive a gift
   2. Pro: Children will know that it was nothing that they did, and was just because they ran out of gifts
   3. Con: the children are still upset because they did not receive a gift.
3. Take all of the gifts back, get gifts for everyone, and do the ceremony again.
   1. Ethical Principle: Keeping the outliers from being made fun of or bullied due to not having a gift. Having all the kids have equal privilege.
   2. Pro: Everyone (along with the kids that don’t get the gifts) feels “special” and receives gifts.
   3. Con: some of the other kids might complain about having their gifts taken away, the staff of the children’s center would have to redo the ceremony, the kids who have their gifts taken may blame it on the kids who did not receive present at first
4. Jack wears a black hat to school the next day and compliments all of the kids who wear their hat/encourage them to wear it
   1. Ethical Principle: Helps the kids who did not receive hats feel included because they are praised for wearing the hat, will not feel forgotten
   2. Pros: Solution does not cost money because no new gifts are bought, the kids who did not receive a gift will feel included now, does not put jacks reputation with his coworkers at risk 
   3. Cons: Kids who did not receive the hat may feel left out now that jack is saying it is cool to wear the hat, Kids may care more about just getting a cool gift than feeling included

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection

 

• Funding sources to purchase more gifts
• Donors for the youth center
• School psychologist to understand how this would affect the children
• Children’s parents to get their input 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. Explain reasoning and justify. Discuss your stance vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in the class.

The best solution is where Jack wears a black hat to school to help the children feel included who did not receive a gift. He may need to buy a black hat if he does not have one already, but this is a lot less expensive than if he were to buy all the children gifts again. He would then compliment all the kids who wore it, and encourage those who are not wearing it to put their hat on. Assuming that Jack has a good reputation amongst the children, then his approval will help to make the kids who did not receive a gift feel more included. One issue with this plan would be if the children do not look up to Jack. In this case, him wearing the hat would not mean anything. But still if he compliments the children who are wearing the hat, it is inevitable that this will make them feel at least a little bit appreciated just because they are kind words. In the long run this will also teach the children to make the best of whatever situation they are given. If the children acted upset and then got a whole new ceremony to receive gifts, that might reinforce the idea that if they act upset then they will get their way. The proposed solution is a more subtle way of making sure that the children do not feel left out, while also not rewarding bad behavior. An additional long-term benefit of this approach is that it saves Jack’s reputation with his coworkers. They will not care if he just wears a black hat to school, and compliments the kids who are wearing it. On the other hand, if Jack were to go out and buy the kids new cooler gifts the other employees may feel that Jack overstepped. This solution provides a balance of saving Jack’s reputation with the children and his co-workers. 

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture. Explain the impact of your proposed solution on the venture’s technology, economic, social and environmental aspects.

Technology: There is no technology involved with this solution.

Economics: The proposed solution will cost less compared to others because the only expense is a hat. The other solutions involved purchasing many new gifts or even the production of an entire ceremony.

Social: This solution helps the kids who only received a hat to feel more included, and not like an outsider. It also does not jeopardize Jack’s relationship with his coworkers. The other co-workers may feel like it makes them look bad if Jack buys all of the kids gifts. 

Environmental: This solution is more environmentally friendly because Jack only needs to buy one hat, as opposed to if he bought all the kids new gifts and put on a ceremony. This would create a lot more waste.