249 - Ethical Issue: Papers on Airplane

#249 - - - November 13, 2002 - - - 44,298 Readers
*** Elliott Masie's TechLearn TRENDS ***
Training, e-Learning and Collaboration Updates
Published by The MASIE Center www.masie.com

1. Ethical Issue? Papers on Airplane
2. TechLearn Content Posted: 140 Hours of Free Sessions
3. e-Learning CONSORTIUM Open for Membership

1. Ethical Issue? Papers on Airplane: I need your help with a tricky
ethical issue. On Sunday, I found a pile of papers in the seat pocket on an airplane ride. It was a PowerPoint Presentation ripped in quarters. I glanced at one or two pieces and quickly discovered that it was a Confidential Report by one of the largest consulting organizations, outlining a key business decision they are considering. Clearly, this was left by a senior manager after the plane's last leg. I stopped looking at the content, but was struck by what I should do about it. I took the papers, put them in my briefcase. Now, what should I do:

a. Send them to the CEO of the company?
b. Try to find out who the passenger was and send it to them?
c. Do nothing, just shred them and forget about it?
d. Paste the pieces together and read them? (No, just kidding!)

This is an interesting ethical issue and another reason to watch what you read on airplanes. Help me out. I want to decide by the end of today. If you have an opinion, please send me a note to emasie@masie.com

2. TechLearn Content Posted: 140 Hours of Free Sessions - We are proud to announce that over 140 hours of video and audio from the recent TechLearn Conference, along with dozens of slide presentations are now freely available at http://www.techlearn.com

3. e-Learning CONSORTIUM Open for Membership: We are accepting a limited
number of new memberships in our e-Learning CONSORTIUM. This is a small
collaborative of major corporations implementing or developing e-Learning.
We meet, collaborate and share best practices throughout the year. This
year's activities are detailed in the CONSORTIUM brochure available at
http://www.masie.com/masie/Consortiumbrochure.pdf or at
www.masie.com/consortium

250 - Recipes as e-Learning Model; Ethics Question: What I Did

#250 - - - November 20, 2002 - - - 44,315 Readers
*** Elliott Masie's TechLearn TRENDS ***
Training, e-Learning and Collaboration Updates
Published by The MASIE Center www.masie.com

1. Recipes as e-Learning Model
2. Ethics Question: What I Did

1. Recipes as e-Learning Model: Cooking brings out the learner in me!
Recently, I have taken up cooking as a result of a new ktichen that we built in our house. I've been on a campaign to improve my cooking skills and to learn how to prepare a wider set of meals. As you might guess, part of this process has engaged the internet. On-line recipes have triggered some interesting thoughts about e-Learning models.

Go to one of the on-line recipe sites. http://www.allrecipes.com is a good example. I found a most compelling model for learning in this area:

- I pick a "learning objective", in this world it is a type of dish that I would like to cook. I search on the name of dish, type of cuisine or even key ingredient.
- I receive a list of ingredients, a step by step cooking process, some tips and techniques and even the ability to scale the receipe for diverse numbers of people.
- Most importantly, I have access to CONTEXT, which is reflected in the ratings of other people of the posted receipes. I can even look at the
history of those raters, to place their views in perspective. Most
importantly are their suggestions for changes to the recipe.
- Hmmmmmmmmm! Sounds a lot like e-Learning to me.

Now, I would have love to have more pictures at each step in the process.
And, someday there will be an attached device that would help with taste or smell. But, this is an interesting model for on-going e-Learning in an single arena. Think of how you might apply this to knowledge domains in your own organization.

2. Ethics Question on Found Presentation: What I Did! Last week, I shared my ethical quandary about what to do with a confidential document that
someone left in the seat pocket of the airplane. You responded with
almost 1,000 very interesting and thought provoking emails. The split
was:

Shred It and Forget It: 45%
Send It to the CEO: 28%
Try to Locate the Passenger: 20%
Read It (Just Kidding!): 3%
(Plus 3% said: Blame the Airline for Poor Cleaning!)

As the responses came in, my thinking about what I was going to do kept changing a bit... and you sent great perspectives my way to consider.
Here is what I did:

1) I started by SHREDDING the Document. In fact, I videotaped the shredding of the document, in case there was ever a legal issue.
2) Next, I contacted the Airline to ask if they would pass on a note. The Airline was quite helpful in considering it, but it really did pose a
confidentiality issue for them. So, that was not an option.
3) I considered contacting the CEO, but I did not know how to have the first 120 seconds of the conversation. Plus, I did not want to get this passenger fired. (Since, I must admit I have done the same once or twice in the past). Plus, I wanted the dialogue to be about making this a Learning Moment for that company.
4) So, I targeted the senior HR Manager for the company. I thought this person would take a different tack and there was an outside chance that knew me (and therefore didn't think I was trying to blackmail the company).
5) And, Wheww! That is what worked out. I talked to the Executive HR Manager, who had heard me give a speech at an HR Conference, and I shared with him the situation and context. He asked if he could find out enough information to coach the individual directly, but I told him that I was not comfortable with that. He was understanding and was committed to turning this into a learning experience for their senior executives. So, the matter is in the right hands.

I learned quite a few things along the way, on a personal level:

- The phrase CONFIDENTIAL on a document is totally fuzzy in the civilian world. The TRENDS readers who were from the military suggested that corporate security operationalize what phrases like CONFiDENTIAL mean for document handling (eg. only destroy at work and make no copies).
- Asking for wide spread input on an ethical issue really was challenging in how to process the information. But, it was a powerful experience.
- If managers were all in a Community of Practice, these types of issues can be dialogued in real time.
- Airlines should put a small 1/4 inch sticker on every seat pocket that says, Please Do NOT Place Garbage here.
- If you want to see a sample of the responses to this question, look at http://www.masie.com/ethics1/

Thanks for your input!