Ethical Decision Situations

Developing Leaders

Resource Library

Ethical Decision Situations

(SJT) - Situational Judgement Test: Below you will find twelve separate situations that were originally designed for the junior officer audience across all services. Each scene will promote facilitated discussions on several different topics such as, character, morals and trust.

Directions: Click on the situation below that you wish to watch. After the situation is complete, scroll down to see possible actions you could take.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

If you were LT Cain, what would you do?

Be respectful of the crew to provide an example of a better way of behaving.
When the pilot isn't within earshot, inform the crew that you don't approve of his behavior and that you wouldn't act the way he is acting.
After the flight, tell the O-4 that the way he talked to the crew was not professional.
After the flight, tell the O-4 that if you see that kind of behavior again, you will report it.
After the flight, tell the O-4 that he was not following the Commandant's guiding principle of treating people with respect.
Follow the pilot's example when you interact with the crew.
After the flight, explain to the O-4 how his treatment of the crew affected morale.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What action would you take if you were Captain McCowan?

Tell the officer you think it would be best if he discontinue comments on this matter.
Explain to the officer that some might construe his defense as representing official views of the service, which could create the appearance of impropriety.
Make an anonymous post on the site to try to get the officer to stop commenting on the case.
Talk to the officer to criticize his opinion.
Report the officer's actions to his supervisor.
Report the issue to the XO so the command can deal with it.
Tell the officer you appreciate his defense of a unit officer, but you wonder how others might perceive his defense if they discovered he was at the same unit as the accused officer.
Tell the officer to stop blogging on the case, as it makes your service look bad.
Ask the officer to remove all of his blogs related to this case.
Tell the officer that there is no need to continue to talk about this matter because it has been investigated and adjudicated.
Do not get involved in what the officer does online during his personal time on his own computer.
Tell the officer you saw his response on the blog and believe he was right to defend the officer, as the matter was investigated and dismissed.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

If you were the Co-pilot, what would you do?

Report the problem to the Operations Officer.
Tell the pilot that you will not allow the aircraft to leave until he has gotten a maintenance release and an operations release.
Go with the pilot and keep his secret.
Go with the pilot. After landing in the next airport, report the situation to the Safety Officer.
Refuse to depart on the flight unless proper reporting occurs.
Tell the pilot to call the Operations Officer to discuss the problem.
Report the incident up the chain of command.
Tell the pilot to report the issue to the CO now or else you will.
Tell the pilot you will not fly until the aircraft is cleared by maintenance.
Go along with the pilot's plan and do not tell anyone else what happened, but if asked, tell the truth.
Go along with the pilot but inform the CO of the situation when you get back.
Tell the pilot you will not keep this a secret.
Advise the pilot of proper reporting procedures.
Tell the pilot that you won't say anything as long as he flies straight back to the air station and makes sure the aircraft is fixed right away.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What do you want to do?

State that you do not feel comfortable taking part in this meeting.
Make an excuse to leave the room.
Ask the assistant operations officer to talk in private and point out that this is unprofessional and insubordinate.
Listen to what others have to say during the meeting but do not offer any information.
Talk to the operations officer after the meeting to tell him about the assistant operations officer's attempts to discredit him.
State that you have nothing negative to say about the operations officer.
State that the assistant operations officer should use the proper channels to evaluate an officer's performance instead of this type of meeting.
Inform the assistant operations officer that what she is doing is not in alignment with the Commander's principles or Core Values.
Think of negative performance examples involving the operations officer that you can share with the group.
Report the assistant operations officer's behavior to your CO.
Tell the assistant operations officer that you will think about her question and get back to her later.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What would you do if you were Kimberly?

Leave the party.
Tell the officers their behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the future.
Talk to the senior officer in the group, telling him that if he does not take action, you will.
Warn the officers to stop using marijuana immediately or you will contact the appropriate authorities.
Report the activity to local authorities.
Tell the officers who are using marijuana that if they leave the party now, you will forget what you saw.
Explain to each of the officers involved that their conduct is directly contrary to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and that you have no choice but to report them.
Report the names of all the officers who were using marijuana to your CO.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

If you were Lieutenant Commander Phillips, what would you do?

Send the crew on the mission without the co-pilot.
Do not send the crew on the mission.
Try to convince the co-pilot to go on the mission.
Contact the CO and District Command Center to request an asset from another unit that can go on the mission.
Call other military, police, air traffic monitoring, and air med-evac units to request help for the mission.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What would you do if you were Captain Fowler?

Counsel the Officer to talk to medical about his issues with depression.
Tell the Officer he needs to seek medical evaluation and treatment or else you will refer him for evaluation.
Listen to the Officer and wish him good luck with retirement.
Tell your peers that the Officer has problems.
Suggest to your supervisor that the Officer be watched carefully because of his treatment for depression.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What would you do if you were Captain Jenkins?

Try to convince the junior officers to help the XO with his job to appease him.
Ask the XO how you can help with the situation.
Leave an anonymous note about the situation for the CO.
Wait for the CO to ask for your input on the situation and then explain what you know.
Coach the junior officers on how to handle their tasks to avoid the XO's criticism.
Tell the junior officers to document instances when the XO unfairly accuses them in case they need to report his behavior in the future.
Tell the junior officers to do their jobs so well that they do not give the XO an excuse to make accusations.
Talk with the XO to help him face the demands of his job.
Tell the XO that if he does not stop blaming others for his mistakes, you will report him to your CO.
Help the XO by making sure all the paperwork going to him is signature-ready.
Stay out of the XO's sights so he doesn't start making unfair accusations about you, too.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What do you want to do?

Ask other Company Commanders if they are observing similar behavior from the CO to determine whether you can all approach him as a group and ask for a change.
Confront the CO one more time about changing his behavior before you accept his way of running the unit.
Tell your team to work out their issues directly with the CO.
Report the CO's actions to his supervisor.
Ask the CO for a meeting to propose a mitigation plan.
Tell your team you talked with the CO about your concerns, but he wants procedures to continue his way, so they will.
Tell your team to follow your assignments only and to ignore those of the CO.
Tell your team to obey the CO's direct orders but to let you know if they have any problems carrying them out.
Tell your team members to advise you if the CO asks them to do anything that causes conflicts or compliance issues.
Do not say anything else and hope that your conversation with the CO will change his behavior.
Discuss your frustrations with people who know the CO's superior Officer.
Tell the CO you will report him up the chain of command if he does not begin to respect your authority.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

How would you answer the instructor's question?

Admit that you had one beer at dinner.
Say you did not drink. Later, explain to the XO that your one beer slipped your mind.
Say you did not drink the night before
Take the head trainer aside and explain that you had only one beer and would like to proceed with the class.
Admit your mistake and tell the training team they must return the following day.
Take the head instructor aside, tell him about your drink, and ask him to allow you to excuse yourself from the training for an unrelated reason.
Admit you accidentally had a drink with dinner and will not be able to participate in the training that day.
I do not understand this situation.
Admit that you had one beer at dinner.
Say you did not drink. Later, explain to the XO that your one beer slipped your mind.
Say you did not drink the night before.
Take the head trainer aside and explain that you had only one beer and would like to proceed with the class.
Admit your mistake and tell the training team they must return the following day.
Take the head instructor aside, tell him about your drink, and ask him to allow you to excuse yourself from the training for an unrelated reason.
Admit you accidently had a drink with dinner and will not be able to participate in the training that day.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What would you do if you were Captain Stevens?

Give the document to the O-6 and explain the situation.
Return only the book to the O-6 and do not mention the document.
Return the book with the document inside to the O-6 but do not mention finding the document.
Report the incident to the Classified Materials Control Officer.
Bring the document back to the O-6 and explain that you found it in the book.
I do not understand this situation.

Select the image to watch the video situation, when it is complete review the questions below to see possible actions you could take.

Question

What would you do if you were Captain Williamson?

Soften the evaluation to appease the LTC, but still come to the same conclusion.
Resubmit the team's original evaluation, explaining how your results were determined.
Alter your recommendations slightly to make them less critical of the simulator design.
Ask the LTC if the entire team can address him to explain the team's findings.
Report the LTC's requests to his Superior.
Ask the LTC what he is looking for so you can complete the evaluation as he desires.
Return a new report with the same recommendation as well as justification to support it.
Report that your evaluation has not changed, but note that the panel may lack sufficient expertise, so additional expert review should be secured in case the panel has missed something.
State that your evaluation has not changed and that the LTC can employ additional technical experts if he wants to verify your team's findings.
I do not understand this situation.