The Ethical Tightrope: Lessons from a Junior Achievement Experience

In the world of business, ethical dilemmas often test our values and decision-making abilities. Many of us encounter these situations, especially in our formative years, when we’re still figuring out the balance between ambition and integrity. A recent experience shared by an associate at a law firm sheds light on such a situation from a unique perspective—the mentoring of high school students in a Junior Achievement program.

A Fruitful Initiative

A group of enthusiastic second and third-year associates took on the role of mentors for a high school Junior Achievement team tasked with launching a small business for a few months. The concept was straightforward: create and sell fruit baskets. The students would purchase fruit in bulk, assemble the baskets, and deliver them to customers in their local community.

However, as they began to plan, the program’s guidelines revealed a significant challenge: the team was prohibited from taking on any debt. While this restriction was designed to protect the organization, it presented a practical dilemma. How could the students acquire the necessary ingredients for their business without incurring liabilities?

Navigating Uncharted Waters

Facing this obstacle, the team devised a workaround that allowed them to sell fruit baskets while technically adhering to the rules. They decided to require customers to prepay for their orders. This approach enabled them to collect funds upfront, sidestepping the issue of debt while allowing them to purchase the fruit needed for the baskets down the line.

On the surface, this strategy appeared effective. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when it was time to prepare weekly financial reports for the Junior Achievement office. The reality was that the team had to acknowledge their cash collections and the deferred revenue associated with the prepaid orders. Disclosing this information could have led to significant backlash from the organization.

The Double-Entry Dilemma

In an effort to maintain transparency with the students while complying with the program’s policies, the mentors inadvertently created two sets of financial records: one ‘real’ version that accurately depicted their operations, and another ‘cleaned up’ edition intended for submission to the Junior Achievement office.

As the mentors and students got together to reflect on their experience, it dawned on them that they were maintaining these two distinct sets of books. After some contemplation, the decision was made to continue with the status quo. They reasoned that they were close to the project’s conclusion and had been successful thus far, so why change?

Reflecting on Ethics and Learning

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