Peter G. Northouse
Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Case Notes
Chapter 12: Addressing Ethics in Leadership
Case 12.1: The Write Choice
Case Summary
This case study outlines the ethical decision-making process that leaders (in this case, a
professor) must make when faced with dilemmas aligned with following policy. In this case, a
student, Kelly, openly plagiarized a brochure from a community agency in order to meet
requirements for an assignment. The professor in this case, Professor Ramirez, is left with an
ethical dilemma as whether or not to report Kelly for plagiarism, which could have a significant
impact on her ability to obtain employment (which Professor Ramirez has already recommended
her for), and to graduate from community college.
Instead of following policy, Professor Ramirez instead decides to have a one-on-one
conversation with Kelly, to determine the extent of her plagiarism. Due to circumstances beyond
Case Analysis
This case study presents a scenario where ethical values, actions, honesty, and character
conflict with institutional roles in regulations. In this scenario, Kelly, the student in question,
clearly breached an institutional policy. However, the seriousness of the policy could have had
very severe consequences on Kelly’s future, preventing her from securing employment post–
graduation and requiring her to repeat the course after a semester suspension.
Knowing what the consequences were by reporting Kelly’s plagiarism to the community college,
Professor Ramirez decided to approach her in a one-on-one environment to assess the
Peter G. Northouse
Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
led to her grade ending up with a “B” in the course, instead of allowing her to redo the
assignment.
Sample Answers to Case Questions
1. Even though Professor Ramirez deviated from the college’s policy regarding plagiarism, do
you feel she acted ethically?
2. If you were a student in this class and learned Professor Ramirez made an exception for this
student, would you think she acted ethically? Explain.
3. In Table 11.1 the Six Pillars of Character are detailed. Which of these six pillars did
Professor Ramirez display in consideration for her student, and how?
Professor Ramirez displayed trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, and caring for her
student, Kelly.
Professor Ramirez displayed trustworthiness by being honest with her and discussing with her
the plagiarism before turning her in. She took her words at face value and arrived at a
4. Professor Ramirez’s actions ultimately brought into question whether or not the ends justify
the means. Do you feel that her leniency in this case made her a stronger or more ethical leader?
Explain.
It could be argued that Professor Ramirez was a weaker ethical leader by not ultimately