Lessons in Ethics: A Humorous Tale from the Junior Achievement Experience

In the realm of business mentorship, ethical dilemmas can sometimes creep in unexpectedly. Reflecting on a past experience, I recall a rather amusing situation that raised eyebrows during my time volunteering with a group of high school students in a Junior Achievement program.

Our team of associates, enthusiastic about guiding the next generation, helped high school students establish a small business over the course of a few months. The chosen venture? Selling fruit baskets to the local community. While the concept seemed straightforward, we quickly encountered a significant hurdle: Junior Achievement’s stringent guidelines prohibited taking on any debt. This regulation, aimed at safeguarding the organization, became a considerable challenge in practice.

The crux of the issue lay in the inability to create liabilities. In essence, we were tasked with buying fruit to fill these baskets without any upfront funds. The quandary was clear: How do we procure the necessary inventory without incurring any financial obligations? After much brainstorming, we settled on a rather unconventional solution: we asked customers to prepay for their fruit baskets. This allowed us to collect funds at the point of sale, which we would then use to deliver baskets in the coming weeks.

On the surface, this approach seemed like a pragmatic solution. However, here’s where the ethical conundrum arose. Part of our responsibility included preparing detailed weekly financial reports to submit to the Junior Achievement office. If we were to accurately reflect our cash collections and deferred revenue, it would undoubtedly raise alarms among the program administrators. To navigate this uncomfortable scenario, we unwittingly created two sets of financial records: one for our internal use and another for official submission.

As we engaged the students in the lessons of business management, they became aware of our dual Bookkeeping approach. We established a “real” set of records for our understanding, while the second version contained numbers that would appease the auditors at the regional office. It wasn’t long before the weight of our realization set in; maintaining two sets of books felt inherently wrong, yet it had been quite effective for our project thus far.

Ultimately, the last few weeks of our project continued without alteration. The ethical implications lingered in the background, overshadowed by the successful venture we orchestrated with the students. This experience serves as a lighthearted reminder that even in business education, complexities abound, and decisions can sometimes lead us down unexpected paths. As we reflect on this story, it’s crucial to strive for transparency