My last two years of high school were spent working part-time at a country club as a cart boy. One day I was told that $10,000 had been stolen from the golf shop the previous day and that all the employees would have to take a polygraph (lie detector) test that day. Being one of the few employees with keys to the shop and knowledge of the alarm code, I felt I would be a natural target for scrutiny. I wondered about the accuracy of those tests. I decided to prove my innocence by telling the truth. During the test, after answering a few simple questions, I expected to be asked one question about the missing money. Instead, I was asked if I had ever stolen anything in my life, if I had ever done drugs on the job, and if I had stolen anything from the country club. I admitted that I had taken soft drinks from the beverage cart and discarded golf balls off the used cart-actions that many people do not consider stealing. As a result, I was called into the Head Pro's office and rebuked for taking club property-I nearly lost my job. Should I have tried to cheat the lie detector test? It turns out the thief was never caught.
1. What are the ethical issues in this situation?
2. Did the club have the right to pose questions that were unrelated to the issue at hand?
3. What would you have done if you had been in this position? Why?