Case Scenario: REALITY CHECK: Who Makes the Rules? Mr. Jones was trying to get home from a long trip to see his ailing wife. Mrs. Jones had been ill for several years, suffering a great deal of pain. His flight was to leave at 7:00 PM. Upon arrival at the airport in New York at 4:30 PM, he inquired at the ticket counter, "Is there an earlier flight that I can take to Washington?" The counter agent responded, "There is plenty of room on the 5:00 PM flight, but you will have pay a $200 change fee." The passenger inquired, "Could you please waive the change fee? I need to get home to my ailing wife." The ticket agent responded, "Sorry, your ticket does not allow me to make the change. You can, however, try at the gate." The passenger made a second attempt at the gate to get on an earlier flight, but the manager at the gate was unwilling to authorize the change, saying, "I don't make the rules." Mr. Jones decided to give it one more try. He called the airline's customer service center. The customer service agent responded to Mr. Jones's plea: "We cannot overrule the agent at the gate. Sorry, you just got the wrong supervisor. He is going by the book.
1. Should rules be broken for a higher good? Discuss your answer.
2. Do the rules seem to be consistently or inconsistently applied in this reality check? Discuss your answer.