Ethical Dilemma

This week, I am to write concerning an ethical dilemma I had in a work experience. My dilemma happened as I worked for a home security company, as a sales representative in Georgia. I got to the city with the group, and learned that we lacked the proper city licensing required for selling door-to-door in that particular city. So we decided to roll from city to city selling where we could without licensing and also where we could obtain it quickly. We did, however, run into significant problems when we ran out of places to sell. Eventually, our manager was putting us in places where we knew we shouldn't be selling. Even after police asked us to leave, most of the reps were determined to stay, since they specifically weren't asked personally to leave the area. I had a problem with this. My conflicting values were that I was not one to give up. I am a hard worker and don't want to give excuses for not performing or doing my best. However, I am also devoted to honesty and following the rules. Therefore, I didn't feel comfortable selling where we weren't licensed or where we had been asked to leave. It came to a point where I felt I couldn't continue working, given this ethical conflict. I called my father for advice, and I determined that if there were no changes, I would take action and leave the job based on this issue. Luckily, I wasn't faced with that decision, in that within the next two days, or so, we received instruction from the office to move to a different office location entirely. I felt a sense of ethical accomplishment, however, that I was able to make a decision based on my values, and not based on the economic consequences involved in the decision.

In situations like these, one may find true character. I found that I could stand up for what was right. This experience gave me much needed confidence to move forward with my professional career. That's how I handled the ethical dilemma, not really from the outside this time, but from where it mattered: from my values on the inside.