¶ … Ethical Situation
Asked by Friends to Overlook Shoplifting in a Store
Like many students, to supplement my income I worked in a jewelry store in a local mall. The store did exceptionally good business during the holiday season with many married couples choosing to get their wedding bands just before the holidays or right after. There was often a rush of customers during the big sales the Friday after Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season which unfortunately met more customers would try to walk out with expensive merchandise without first paying. One of my friends came into the store and asked to see a gold necklace worth over $500. It was 14K gold and had a very unique design which made it immediately recognizable. My friend wanted to get it for his girlfriend, but did not have the money. Their efforts to get the necklace made me face a very difficult ethical situation.
As he is also a student I realized he didn't have the funds, most likely, to buy the most expensive gold items in the store, which were up front need the mall entrance to attract buyers. As we talked and I showed him the different necklaces and other items, I could see him looking around and asking if he could see how it would look in the daylight closer to the mall entrance. I said no, because that would nearly be out of the store and while I trusted him, it would not look very good to my boss to see a $500 necklace so close to the opening to the mall where someone could just grab it and run. I began to get nervous and asked my friend to bring it back. He didn't. I then said he had to quite playing around and bring it back to the counter. At first he resisted and then started…
