Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Mentorship: A Story from the Classroom

In the realm of career development and mentorship, ethical dilemmas can often lurk in unexpected corners. Recently, I stumbled upon a light-hearted yet revealing story shared by a mentor who volunteered to assist a group of high school students participating in a Junior Achievement program. The intention was noble: to help students establish and operate a small business for a few months. However, the journey took an amusing turn that opened the door to a discussion about ethics in a mentoring role.

The students decided to create and sell fruit baskets, diving into the realities of entrepreneurship by sourcing bulk fruit and packaging it for local customers. Yet, they hit a significant hurdle imposed by Junior Achievement’s guidelines: they were prohibited from taking on any debt. While this rule aimed to ensure fiscal responsibility, it proved impractical. The team found themselves caught in a conundrum—how could they purchase fruit for the baskets without any upfront capital?

To navigate this issue without violating the rule, they devised a workaround: they required customers to prepay for their fruit baskets. This strategy effectively allowed the team to secure the necessary funds while sidestepping the debt restriction. From an operational standpoint, it was a clever solution.

However, as the project unfolded, an amusingly unethical twist emerged. The mentors were responsible for guiding the students in producing weekly financial reports that were to be submitted to the Junior Achievement office for evaluation. In anticipation of potential scrutiny, the mentors faced a dilemma: if they accurately reported their cash collections, they risked a stern reprimand. Yet, they needed some system to track who had paid and who still awaited their baskets.

In an unintentional lapse of ethics, they maintained two sets of books—one for their internal records and another, sanitized version, for official submission. To complicate matters further, the students they were mentoring became unwitting accomplices, engaging in the dual Bookkeeping system.

After several weeks of operating in this manner, the mentors had a moment of realization. They chuckled at the situation and decided that since their approach was effective and the program was nearing its conclusion, they would continue on this path. This reallocation of ethics raises an essential question: at what point does a creative solution cross the line into unprincipled behavior?

Though their motivation was likely not rooted in malice, the scenario poignantly illustrates the complexities of ethics in mentorship and career development. The story serves as a mirror