Your company has a very strict policy against taking office supplies for personal use. One day, you promise your boss you’ll work late to finish a report due the next morning. Your partner calls, frantic that she has run out of some supplies to complete her own project, and, stuck at home with a sick child, asks you to stop to pick them up on your way home. But the store will be closed by the time you leave the office. The easiest solution would be to quietly take the supplies from the office supply room, allowing you to stay at work past the store closing time and meet your partner’s needs, but it would be against company rules. What do you do? Why?
Question: After being terminated, a former employee sues for wrongful dismissal. She settles out of court with the company, and one of the conditions of the settlement is that she is to get a positive reference letter. As her manager, you are asked to provide the letter, even though you were not happy with her work. What do you do? What are the ethical implications?