Use the following checklist to answer the question:

Have you defined the situation fairly and accurately?

What are your intentions?

What impact will the message have?

What will do the greatest good with the least harm?

Will your decision stand the test of time?

Will it survive the public knowledge test?

Knowing that you have numerous friends throughout the company,your boss relies on you for feedback concerning employee morale and other issues affecting the staff. She recently approached you and asked you to start reporting any behavior that might violate company policies, from taking office supplies home to making personal long-distance calls. List the issues you'd like to discuss with her before you respond to her request.


I'm a little confused on this one. Could someone help?

In a nutshell, she wants you to rat on your fellow employees. You should ask er to weigh the value of catching minor theft against the value of your being a conduit of general employee thinking. SHe may see that once she uses you as an informant, your value as her "Go To" person regarding feedback from employees will disappear. (Make no mistake about it, the other employees will know who ratted them out. You won't have a friend left in the company, not even your boss, since she will nw know that you may turn her in given the opportunity.

From the checklist -


# Have you defined the situation fairly and accurately? Yes. She wants you to be her informant.
# What are your intentions? You should avoid this at all cost, since you will not only lose your value as a conduit for morale, but you will ruin morale and lose any work friends you have.
# What impact will the message have? If this means your message to her, just list the negative effects.
# What will do the greatest good with the least harm? You need to get her to see the huge downside of what she is asking, trying to lead her to the conclusion rather than drawing it for her.
# Will your decision stand the test of time? The long-term effect of her idea will hurt the company more that the saving of minor costs; thus, your way stands the test of time.
# Will it survive the public knowledge test? Not one bit. The second your role becomes public knowledge is the exact time you will become useless in that role.

Another factor to consider, perhaps not for this exercise, but in a real job situation: Why doesn't she care if you become useless in your role as bellweather and why doesn't she care that you will end up with no friends in the company? Your pink slip may be in her desk drawer, waiting for your usefullness to end.