Overview

The focus of this exercise is the delicate balance between one’s right to act as he or she wishes and the effects those individual actions can have on others. Participants are asked to prepare a script that has one employee suggesting to another that while he or she enjoys the right of free speech, free expression sometimes needs to be tempered in order to avoid offending others.

Purpose

To explore the issue of the individual’s right to express controversial, religious, or political views in the workplace

To encourage appropriate expression of those views

Group Size

Any number of individuals can participate in this exercise.

Room Arrangement

Arrange seating flexible enough to accommodate a fishbowl arrangement with one small group (of five or six participants) on the inside and a ring of observers circling them. (Note: If the class size is greater than 15, have two fishbowls concurrently.)

Materials

Handout 32.1, “Chestnuts Roasting”

Method

1.Begin with a discussion of “rites” and “rights.” Use as an example college initiation rites, some of which encourage excessive drinking. While a 21-year-old has the right to drink as much as he chooses, a moral question arises: Is it right for his fraternity brothers to encourage excesses that could be injurious, if not fatal? Think of other rites that resulted in infringements of rights, such as the behaviors that led to the Tailhook scandal. Actions that one may have the right to engage in may lead to ethical pitfalls if they impinge on the rights of others to be treated respectfully and safely.

2.Distribute Handout 32.1, “Chestnuts Roasting,” and have triads work on it for 15 to 20 minutes.

3.Ask one triad to sit in the center of the room while the other participants sit on the outside of the “fishbowl” and take notes as they watch the script enacted.

4.Have the outsiders refer to their notes and share their input regarding what worked well to encourage Vincent to change his behavior or be more cautious in his remarks.

5.Debrief by asking for input from the entire group on ways to respect one person’s rights without infringing on the right of all persons in a workplace to be treated respectfully. Conclude with a reference to current events if possible and with the reminder that verbal calibrations are part of the continuous-improvement path toward ethics in the workplace.

Variation

Ask each triad for the one line from the script they felt would be most effective in circumstances such as these. Record the lines on a flipchart and encourage participants to make note of them and to use them in the future.

Although the telling of “war stories” can be a waste of instructional time, if the contributions are guided, many valuable lessons can be learned. Have triads discuss some of the worst things that have ever been said to them by a manager—statements that may have been unethical, illegal, or perhaps simply hurtful. Have them vote on the worst horror story and ask each triad to tell that story in less than 3 minutes. (Warn them in advance that you may have to interrupt to get to the point.)

Discussion

What examples can you cite of a rite or right that, if carried to an extreme, can become a wrong?

What civil rights do you feel are being or have been abrogated in America today?

If you were to champion a cause, what would it be?

Are there rights that others opposed to your cause would say you are violating?

Quotation

“In the world that is coming, if you can’t navigate differences, you’ve had it.”

–Robert Hughes

Points of Interest

As reported in the Democrat and Chronicle, mega-mogul Ted Turner addressed students at Harvard Law School in April 2001. His topic: “Our Common Future.” His remarks included these:

“But, you know, communism is an endangered species.”

“When I offend people, I apologize. I’ve apologized to just about every group around. I’ll even apologize to you.”

as well as an explanation of these earlier remarks:

“Christianity is a religion for losers.”

“The pope is an idiot.”

“The U.S. has some of the dumbest people in the world.”

“Fidel Castro is a hell of a guy.”

“The First Commandment is obsolete.”

Discuss the ethics of making remarks that we are all entitled to make. Then, lead to the “cognitive dissonance” that results when a person we are prepared to dislike shows a different, and very likeable side of his or her persona:

As the nation’s largest single landowner, Ted Turner has pledged that his 1.7 million acres will be preserved in their natural state in perpetuity.

The Turner Foundation gives $50 million annually for environmental activities.

In 1997, he contributed $1 billion to programs connected with the United Nations.

He has donated $250 million to his newly formed Nuclear Threat Initiative, dedicated to safely disposing of nuclear waste material and stopping the spread of nuclear and biological weapons.

Conclude by pointing out that the ethical realm is a difficult one to define. It reflects the confusion and contradictions of the “age of paradox” in which we live. Before we make judgments about individuals, we must obtain all the facts. Even when we have all the facts, it doesn’t necessarily mean the individual was correct in the things he or she said. The best workplaces permit and even encourage ongoing dialogs about offenses that may be innocently given but definitely taken.

HANDOUT 32.1