Carol H Tucker Passionate about knowledge management and organizational development, expert in loan servicing, virtual world denizen and community facilitator, and a DISNEY fan
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beladona Memorial Be warned:in this very rich environment where you can immerse yourself so completely, your emotions will become engaged -- and not everyone is cognizant of that. Among the many excellent features of SL, there is no auto-return on hearts, so be wary of where your's wanders...
Yesterday I attended the annual mandatory HR training on harassment [insert tired comments and bad jokes here], watching the same video RP as always. One of our equity partners take care of these HR things for us, so it was quite a large number of people in attendance. PBS was there as a group; we didn't have to go to the BSA training that was held earlier, so we were sitting off to the side. The group in front of us were the "rowdy element" -- you know the type: popular, too cool to listen, texting and goofing around during the admittedly boring presentation.
After the talk and video, a test was handed out. All of the tests with perfect scores were going to be passed up and would be eligible for a drawing for a prize. The questions on the three-page test were actually rather thoughtful and you had to think in order to answer correctly. Most of them were examples of problems that might crop up in the workplace and gave you choices on how you would handle it.
After everyone confirmed they were done, we were checking our own papers against the highlighted answers on the screen. On one question, the HR manager had inadvertently highlighted "false" when she meant "true". The "cool guy" in front of me fussed and fussed -- come to find out? He was marking his test by the highlighted answers rather than have answered on his own. Me? I missed one question -- instead of saying that I would report an incident to HR according to the policies and procedures of the organization, I recommended that she first talk to the person who offended her, and for what it is worth, I still think that is the right answer.
The "cool guy" turned his paper in as 100% correct and won the raffle, getting a $25 gift card for StarBucks. Lots of high-fives and laughter among his buddies and congratulations from other workers.
He cheated.
And lied.
Walked off with the prize and smirked.
For a moment, I was angry. For a moment, it reminded me of being back in school and never fitting in with the cool crowd. For a moment, I felt gypped. Then I shrugged and let it go, but I have been reflecting a lot about what that entire incident said about that very popular young man. Yes the presentation was dumb and repetitive and boring -- but the "cool guy" chose for no better reason than mockery to cheat and win. Is there a karmic balance that now needs to be restored -- has he damaged his soul? Does he ever think about his actions and how others may perceive him? Was I the only one who saw what happened? We trust him every day with vital customer information -- are we putting our customers at risk of unethical dealings? Will there be repercussions down the road as he is considered for more important positions in the organization with greater responsibility?
I was feeling pretty righteous after watching "Mr. Cool Guy" yesterday, but I am not sure that I really have the high moral ground. I have not taken the time to pick up something I dropped, leaving it litter. I have been silent when I should speak up. I know that that I do not always do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons....
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