Ethical Trade-offs in Entrepreneurship
A 60-minute session on the small compromises that come with running a business, and with buying from one: the bribe to move a file, the cash price with no bill, the unpaid intern, the cousin on the payroll, the corner shop against the app. Is cutting a corner sometimes the only way to survive, or does every shortcut cost somebody? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
When you're buying something, which is more true for you: you go wherever it's cheapest, or you'll pay a bit more to buy from someone you trust?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Paying A Small Bribe
Your shop is ready to open. One last licence is stuck. A clerk hints that ₹5,000 would make the file move today.
- 2
Paying Cash Without A Bill
You're buying a new fridge. The shopkeeper leans in and says, “Cash, no bill? Then I can give you a better price.”
- 3
Selling Things People Don't Need
You work in sales. Your target is due on Friday. The family in front of you can't really afford it, but they're scared their child will fall behind.
- 4
Working For Free
A startup offers you an internship. No pay for the first three months. “Think of the experience,” they say.
- 5
Working Seventy Hours A Week
Your boss works till midnight and expects you to answer his messages. He says this is how great companies are built.
- 6
Hiring Friends And Family
Your cousin needs a job. You run a small business. Your mother says, “Who will you trust, if not family?”
- 7
Risking Your Family's Savings
You want to quit your safe job and start something of your own. To do it, you'll need the money your parents saved for their old age.
- 8
The Corner Shop Vs Apps
Your local shopkeeper knows your name and gives you credit till the end of the month. But the app is faster and a little cheaper.
- 9
Ordering Delivery In The Rain
It's pouring outside. The roads are flooded. You're craving something, and the app says it will be with you in ten minutes.
- 10
Five-Star Reviews From Friends
Your friend just opened a café. She messages everyone: “Please leave us a five-star review!” You've never actually eaten there.
- 11
Letting Staff Go To Survive
Your small business is losing money. If you let three people go, the rest might keep their jobs. One of them has worked for you for ten years.
- 12
Why Profit Comes First
A businessman says, “My job is to make money and pay salaries. Being a good person is what I do in my own time.”
The line to leave with
Which of the shortcuts you criticised today would you take yourself, if it were your shop, your staff and your family's money on the line?
More boards,more ways in.
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