The subject we've been studying this week is honest and business ethics. This weeks readings and videos have made me take a long look at myself. I've always considered myself to be an honest person. I think I've done pretty well at being honest. I've never cheated on a test. I've always given back change when a cashier rung me up incorrectly, even when I had to go out of my way to correct whatever mistake was made.
Lately I have struggled with a dilemma however. I bought a couple of new cell phones a few months back. As part of a promotion I was given 2 gift cards. However the process turned out to be a big disaster. The phone lines weren't set up properly, and I felt that I had been purposefully short-changed by the commission-based salesman just to "get the sale". I tried multiple ways to correct this problem however we were repeatedly told, "Sorry, this can't be fixed." So, after several days, I returned the phones for a full refund. When I returned the phones I forgot to give back the gift cards. Months later I found them in my closet. We tried to return them, however the attendant there did not know what to do with the cards or how to check them back into his system.
So for a few months these gift cards (basically free money) have been sitting in my closet. We tried unsuccessfully to return them. The temptation that I have is to keep them and use them "for my trouble". The whole situation turned out to be a big waste of time and stress for me and my wife, it feels like justice that we should be compensated in some way for all our time that these people wasted. We tried to return them, but the store wouldn't take them back. Shredding them feels like taking cash and cutting it up with scissors.
A big part of me still feels uneasy about using these gift cards. As I read about honesty and business ethics, this was the issue that continually came to mind for me. I otherwise have a clear conscience. I think to have a completely clear conscience I'll have to get rid of these cards somehow. As fun as it would be to spend this money, I don't feel it'll be worth it for me in the long run.
The other things that impressed me was the importance of finding a business partner with absolute integrity and upstanding business ethics. It makes complete sense. I wouldn't want to go into business with someone who wasn't completely honest. How do I find someone like that? It seems that most of my friends are employees and happy to work for someone else. How can I find like-minded people that want to take some calculated risks by branching out into a business? How can I find like-minded people who have integrity. Maybe we'll cover that in the upcoming weeks. Maybe there are classmates here at BYU-I Pathways Bus 110 course who would be interested in teaming up with me. I'll have to keep searching.
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