Mini-cases from Lockheed Martin Corporation

Twenty-eight mini-cases from "Graymatters," a game from Lockheed Martin Corporation, used with permission. The game was designed to educate the employees of Lockheed Martin (and other high tech corporations that have adopted the game) about ethical norms, corporate support for coping with ethically significant problems, and corporate policy.

Each mini-case is accompanied by four candidate answers. Each of these answers has a score between -20 and +15 and a brief explanation. In some places discussion and commentary (identified as to author) have been added to on Lockheed Martin's answers and scores. Additional comments are especially where the stated explanation of a score something like "It is against company policy." (The authors of any added comments are identified.)

Suspected Dishonesty of Co-Workers toward the Company

Taking office supplies for personal use

Suspicion that a co-worker played hooky

What Can or Should a Supervisor Do or Require of Others?

Ordered to charge time improperly

Were you instructed to distort the truth?

Directed to work weekends and disguise that fact

A complaint of retribution for following procedures

Coerced contribution

Intellectual Property

A patentable device

Questions of Bribes or Conflict of Interest

A supplier offers you a discount.

Free air travel tickets

Hiring a friend

A fine line between optimism and lying

Complaints and whistle-blowing

Supervisor takes credit for another's work

Reporting financial fraud

Workplace relationships & Supervisor responsibilities

Concerns about an HIV+ Co-Worker

Giving a disappointing rating

He calls all the women "sweetie"

Tainted data

Signing off on work

Different tastes in music

Aggression from your supervisor

Handling a complaint of sexual harassment

Drug use on the job

Lying to your supervisor

Unfair workload

Being a responsible witness

Family and Life Outside of Work

When should work interfere with family plans?

Playing against the boss in sports

These twenty-eight cases were selected from the original one hundred to give a sense of the breadth of ethical matters on which an ethically pro-active high tech company seeks to educate its employees, and to minimize overlap with topics addressed in Advice from the Texas Instruments Ethics Office contained in the Center. (Where Lockheed Martin and Texas Instruments address the same questions they endorse substantially the same norms.)