stealing on Flickr! by lovelypetal
One of my favorite things about personal finance is that it’s not all about numbers. When people and emotions are involved, there’s not usually a black and white answer. Ethics are also Everybody has their own rules and inner thought police that tell them what’s OK and what’s not. Below, I’ve listed some possible ethical gray lines along with my own thoughts.
1. Sneaking food into movie theaters – Yeah, I know the sign says not to. But I do it anyway. I’m sorry, but there’s no way I’m paying $10 for a small popcorn and Coke.
2. Being given free stuff – You have a friend who works at a local resturant. When you come in, she gives you free drinks and dessert. None of this is authorized by a manager. Is she stealing or are you? Does it matter? Should you make her charge you?
3. Ordering water, but getting pop – This one drives me crazy! I have a friend who always says “just water” when we’re at a fast food place. Then he proceeds to the pop dispenser and gets Mountain Dew or lemonade. To me, this is 100% stealing. He doesn’t get it.
4. Using company resources (ink, fax) for personal business – Some companies don’t have a problem with this while others specifically forbid it. I’m somewhere in the middle. A few printed pages here and there or sending a fax every now and then? No problem. Photocopying hundreds of posters of your lost dog? Abusing company property.
What are your thoughts? When have you crossed an ethical boundary?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, here’s my opinion:
“1. Sneaking food into movie theaters – Yeah, I know the sign says not to. But I do it anyway. I’m sorry, but there’s no way I’m paying $10 for a small popcorn and Coke.”
Not unethical. It might be against their rules, but I don’t think it’s *wrong*. Not buying something is not wrong. If you were forced to buy their food, it would be a form of slavery. It’s up to them to catch you, if they can
“2. Being given free stuff – You have a friend who works at a local resturant. When you come in, she gives you free drinks and dessert. None of this is authorized by a manager. Is she stealing or are you? Does it matter? Should you make her charge you?”
Unethical. She’s stealing from the owner without their permission. Taking something for free isn’t the same thing as not buying something (as the above case was).
“3. Ordering water, but getting pop – This one drives me crazy! I have a friend who always says “just water” when we’re at a fast food place. Then he proceeds to the pop dispenser and gets Mountain Dew or lemonade. To me, this is 100% stealing. He doesn’t get it.”
Haha. I guess this is a really minor form of stealing, agreed.
“4. Using company resources (ink, fax) for personal business – Some companies don’t have a problem with this while others specifically forbid it. I’m somewhere in the middle. A few printed pages here and there or sending a fax every now and then? No problem. Photocopying hundreds of posters of your lost dog? Abusing company property.”
Most people have common sense here, I hope. Is what you’re doing harmful to the company? Then you shouldn’t do it. Although technically one fax could be construed as harm if for non-company uses, it’s also part of the unwritten rules that an employee gets some personal use of the equipment. Any company that enforced this too strictly would have unhappy employees, so there is usually a middle ground there.
Haha, we agree pretty much. I will say though, it’s hard to resist when someone says you can have dessert…for free!