1. ¹Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, E-mail: goldent@rpi.edu
2. ²University of Connecticut at Stamford, E-mail: Kathleen.Dechant@business.uconn.edu

^*Timothy D. Golden, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). His current research interests include telework and other forms of virtual work, work-family conflict, dispersed leadership, and managerial ethics. His research has appeared recently in a number of journals, including the Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, and others. Email: goldent@rpi.edu

^†Kathleen Dechant, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Connecticut, Stamford. She received her degree from Columbia University. Dr. Dechant teaches organizational behavior as well as managerial ethics at the MBA level. Most recently, she was the Director of the Eastern Academy of Management International Programs. Her current research and publications have been in the areas of ethics, female entrepreneurship in the Middle East, and team learning. Email: Kathleen.Dechant@business.uconn.edu

Abstract

With the series of ethics scandals over the last decade, more and more companies have created, updated, or clarified their corporate codes of conduct. Yet even though tougher and more detailed guidelines are in place, managers often find themselves questioning the validity and application of some rules in certain situations. In particular, when managers experience a disconnect between company rules and what is actually occurring on the job, they are faced with the choice of whether or not to adhere to the rules, or bend or break them. This inbasket exercise simulates a day in the life of a corporate manager who faces such a challenge, and provides participants with the opportunity to experience real-world ethical dilemmas and to assess their own views in relation to them. It is designed primarily for use with graduate students or upper-division undergraduates.