The Leadership Training Activity Book: 50 Exercises

MATERIALS

Handout 24.1: How to Make Ethical Decisions

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

 Flipcharts and markers

 Large poster-size version of model

ROOM SET-UP

Arrange tables and chairs in a semicircle

Comments

Ask people to discuss ethical dilemmas with which they are familiar so the model can

be applied to real-life situations. Send out a few assignments in advance, such as:

 Identify 3 to 5 personal standards you live by. (Review your list of values to

help you.) Identify any written or unwritten standards your company lives by.

 Identify a time at work when you felt as if your ethical standards were

threatened or compromised.

 Contact your trainer in advance if you are currently facing an ethical dilemma

that you are willing to talk about in the workshop.

VARIATION

Instead of using examples from participants, write a case study or select one from a

published source (such as the one here) to use for the activity.

RESOURCE

Dalke, David, and Anderstar, Sheryl. Balancing Personal and Professional Ethics.Amherst

MA: HRD Press, 1995.

Trainer’s Notes for Activity 24

STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE

Step 1: Introduce the topic by summarizing various highly publicized breaches of

ethics (such as the Enron scandal) or an ethical dilemma you have

personally faced. You could also invite a guest who tells an ethical story

that will set the stage for this activity.

Step 2: Define “ethics” by asking participants to explain what the word means to

them. List their answers on the flipchart. They are likely to mention

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