RESPOND TO STUDENT:

Marcus seems to use a personal value of himself, his hard work, as a means to justify stealing from his workplace. He assumes because he has worked hard, it justifies using the workplaces supplies to help his daughter in a school project instead of going ‘out of his way’ to go get the supplies for his own home. He assumes his daughter will see him as a liar (a disvalue) and will lose some respect for her father. Instead of maybe talking to his daughter about the situation and coming up with another solution, or going to the store anyway, he uses the office’s paper and ink anyway. Is stealing wrong? In this case, Marcus brings up the point that few people in the office use all of the ink and paper, and multiple boxes of ink are thrown out after some time. Is it ok to lie? When Marcus grabs the ink, he is deceiving the company by stealing the items when leaving. He is also lying to his daughter, grabbing the selected items needed from work instead of oing to the store and buying it himself. Marcus would answer the first question, “Is stealing wrong”, using the answer, it depends on the situation. He justifies his means of stealing by giving examples of all of the things he has done for the company that he feels hasn’t been rewarded in return. ‘He’s worked so hard!’, so for him, it’s ok to borrow some ink and paper to save his daughter in a school project. For the second question, “Is it ok to lie”, he would also argue the same response. In this case, his white-lie is helping his daughter finish her project, and ultimately paints himself as the hero. He says he is he;ping his daughters “educational success” by bringing her these items, whether or not the process of retrieving the items were morally right or wrong. Personally, I disagree with Marcus’s reasoning. When I think of the ethical question, is stealing ok, I will always disagree. All Marcus had to do was ask one of his bosses or higher-ups if he could take one of the ink cartillages and a pack of paper and I’m sure they’d be understanding. He could’ve also asked to use the items and replace the paper and ink later in the week just in case another person in the office needs the ink and paper. When it comes to lying, I think most of the time, lying is not ok, but it also depends on the situation. In this case, Marcus is lying to his daughter by not telling her the truth of how he retrieved the items needed. While he has justified stealing from the office, he knows it’s morally wrong which is why he continues to lie to his daughter and even to himself when trying to justify the means of stealing.