Jeffrey L. Seglin's Blog, page 58

When a company's ethics violate your own, take your business elsewhere

If you sour on the company but still care about some of its employees and value the service they provide, should you stay or should you go?
About two years ago, S.W.'s locally-owned bank in the Midwest was acquired by a much larger bank. Upon completion of the acquisition, the local bank's CEO received a golden parachute payment of roughly $18 million.
"I have no problem with this in theory," writes S.W., since "such payments are designed to assure the CEOs focus on their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders" during an acquisition. S.W. believes it's only fair that if the sale of a company increases shareholder value but results in the acquired company's CEO losing his or her job, "there should be some incentive for the CEO to proceed with the acquisition even if it comes at the expense of losing his or her job."
However, in the case of S.W.'s locally-owned bank, the CEO who pocketed the $18 million was given the top job at the acquiring bank -- and kept the golden parachute payment.
"He won twice," writes S.W. "I regard this as unethical and profligate. Neither behavior deserves my continuing patronage."
But S.W. has a dilemma. The two local bankers with whom he does most of his commercial and personal business remained with the merged bank and he likes working with both of them.
"They continue to treat me very well, though they are hampered by new policies and procedures," he writes. "I feel loyalty toward them individually but not towards their employer, the new bank."
S.W. has shared his feelings with the two bankers, who've told him that the issue of the CEO's golden parachute has been raised by many other customers, as well. Aside from keeping their jobs, the two bankers received no financial benefit from the acquisition.
"They feel my pain," writes S.W.
He's told both bankers that this issue continues to gnaw at him and might compel him to leave the bank. If he does so, however, he worries that his action would be disproportionately felt by his local bankers since he suspects their compensation is based in part on maintaining a quote of customers.
"Do I stay or do I go?" he asks.
While S.W.'s sense of loyalty to these two bankers is admirable, if he truly believes that the management of his bank behaved unethically and that the golden parachute payout to a CEO who kept his job at the merged bank represents profligate behavior, the right thing is to shop around for a new bank.
There are likely good employees at many companies whose values don't mirror those of customers. If these values are so abhorrent that S.W. doesn't want to reward the bank with his business, he should move on.
In his book Integrity (Basic Books, 1996), Stephen Carter argues that showing integrity requires three steps: discernment of the issue, action based on that discernment, and then articulation of that action. If S.W. wants to leave with integrity, the right thing is for him to let the bank's management know precisely why he's leaving and then to take his business elsewhere. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

How much should you spend to keep a pet alive?

C.K., a reader from Madison, Wis., writes that she loves her dog and cats, each of which has been "a source of great comfort and love" for her and her family. Now, however, her pets are growing old and she wonders how to decide when it's time to "let them die in peace or put them to sleep."
"Technically," C.K. writes, "our veterinarian can give us many medical supplies that will help them stay alive for a few more years. Unfortunately, these items also cost a great deal of money. How do we take care of our pets without wiping out our savings? Where do we draw the line without betraying (them)?"
Choosing when it's time to euthanize a pet can be harrowing. The American Humane Association provides some useful advice on deciding when a pet's quality of life has diminished enough that the time has come. The first step, according to the AHA, is to consult your pet's veterinarian, who can help assess the situation.
Writing on the website, Dr. Andy Roark, a South Carolina veterinarian, advises to make a list of the top five things your pet loves to do. If the animal "can no longer do three or more of them, quality of life has been impacted to a level where many veterinarians would recommend euthanasia."
But C.K.'s question goes beyond diminished quality of life issues. She seems to want to know what the right thing to do is when it's possible to provide medical care for an aging pet whose quality of life remains good, but the cost of keeping the pet alive presents a financial hardship for the owner(s).
When you adopt a pet, you do take on a financial commitment that includes day-to-day feeding, toys and accessories, and health care that can lead to sizeable veterinary bills. No one should be expected to be bankrupted to care for a pet, but ownership requires a clear sense of the costs involved.
There are agencies, such as the Fuzzy Pet Foundation, a Southern California nonprofit founded by Sheila Choi (a former student of mine), dedicated to rescuing pets that have been abandoned by their owners.
But C.K. doesn't want to abandon the pets she loves. The right thing for pet owners to do when facing financial hardship over veterinary bills is to seek assistance. Animal shelters and veterinary schools in some areas provide low-cost care. The Humane Society of America offers a list of national and state organizations (including those in Wisconsin) that can provide financial assistance. RedRoveralso has links to resources in the U.S. and Canada that provide emergency assistance to pet owners.
When an owner brings a pet into his or her family, the right thing to do is to care for the pet throughout its life, work closely with a vet to address the pet's quality of life issues, and, if necessary, seek help from agencies that exist to provide emergency support for pets and owners in need. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

As textbook prices climb, re-selling review copies seems suspect

Instructors on college campuses often request review copies of textbooks from publishers. The idea behind this is to give instructors a chance to consider several different texts to find the best fit for the course he or she is going to teach.
But sometimes, instructors who request such review copies have no intention of using them for courses.
A faculty member at a Southern college writes that faculty at his school "openly" sell the textbooks they receive as review copies for a tidy profit to used book buyers who prowl the campus.
"Some of these books are ordered and never opened," he writes, "which leads me to suspect that it's part of a scheme that defrauds textbook publishers and possibly drives up the cost of publishing textbooks."
Still, the faculty member wonders if being able to buy such re-sold review copies online at a significant discount might partially address how overwhelmed many college students are by the hidden costs of higher education, such as textbooks.
"Isn't this actually an altruistic, ethical practice on the part of their instructors?" he asks. "Or should we be concerned instead that this is a fraudulent practice by those instructors, who should know they are modeling a deceptive behavior to their students?"
Adding to the issue, the faculty member writes is that occasionally publishers will promote textbooks by mailing copies to whole departments.
"Are faculty obligated to return these unsolicited books when it's more convenient (and profitable) to just sell them to buyers?" he asks.
About five years ago, I posed a question on the blog for this column asking readers whether it was OK for a professor to sell a copy of a textbook he or she had received as a free review copy. It turned out to be among the top-read blog posts ever. Perhaps the issue hits a nerve because college costs are so high and textbook prices can be staggering.
If an instructor requests a review copy of a text for possible use in a course, but he or she has no intention of using the book for that course, that's deceptive and wrong. If, in requesting a review copy of a book, an instructor agrees with the publisher that he or she will not re-sell the book, then the right thing is to honor that commitment.
If, however, books are sent to an instructor unsolicited by a publisher, and no agreement is made not to re-sell them, then technically, the department members may be within their right to do what they want with the texts.
It would seem that a forward-thinking department might find a way to use any proceeds from the sale of review copies books to help defray the costs of textbooks for their students.
Even if the textbooks referred to in the reader's questions are not being used for classes, if a pool were created in which any proceeds could be deposited, those funds might be used to subsidize the cost of textbooks actually required for courses.
The right thing, however, is not to behave fraudulently and misrepresent the true reason for requesting a review copy. If an instructor has no intention of considering a book for use in class and instead simply plans to re-sell the copy, it's wrong. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Share your own stories of good deeds -- and missed opportunities to do the right thing

A tragic story hit the news waves in Boston last week. A woman who'd apparently been texting on the subway platform while waiting for a train was struck and killed by the train. As some passengers rushed to see what had happened, the spotted her cell phone, clad in its orange case, on the platform.
Shortly after, local television newscasts began running video footage of a man placing his foot on top of the woman's phone. He pauses, looks around, then leans down to pick up the phone. A subway police officer interviewed in the video describes the man's behavior as "reprehensible."
A day after the footage ran, the man turned himself (and the phone) in and was charged with stealing the victim's cell phone. He was released on personal recognize after his lawyer insisted there was "no criminal intent" in his actions. As the woman's family mourns her death, the young man awaits trial.
While character may be what psychiatrist Robert Coles described in The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination (Houghton Mifflin, 1989) as, "how you behave when no one is looking," the incident on the subway platform suggests that the instances when no one is looking are growing fewer.
On the same day the offender appeared in court, The Metro Independent, an online newspaper in Collinsville, Ill., ran a storyspotlighting the Collinsville High School Character Education Students of the Month. One honoree was cited because he'd found a lost cell phone at his school and turned it in to the school office. The story singled out the young man because while "several students have discovered their phones were misplaced ... few have been returned to their owners."
The student was not alone in his honesty. A fellow CHS pupil was honored because after learning about a stolen cell phone, "he searched for, found, and returned" it after spotting the device in his classroom. Still another student found $2 in the school cafeteria. Rather than pocket what might have seemed a trivial amount, she turned the money in to a CHS staff member.
The actions of these three students stand in stark contrast to the alleged actions of the young man on the Boston subway platform.
Of course, not all examples of young people doing the right thing are limited to Collinsville, Ill. I'd like to hear your stories.
Was there a time in your past when you chose to do the right thing regardless of whether you got credit for your actions? Have there been moments when you could have done the right thing and still regret not doing so?
In the past, when I've asked readers to share their stories, the response has offered a wonderful window into the types of ethical decisions people face every day. Provide as much detail as possible, but please keep your submission to no more than 300 words. I will run some of these stories in an upcoming column. Include your name, address and telephone number, and submit your story to rightthing@comcast.net. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 

(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

You can establish a fair gift policy without laying an egg

Reader JLK, a teacher at a small regional public university, is wrestling with eggs.
Many of his students are older or non-traditional students who commute rather than live on campus. Many did not enroll in college right after completing high school. Some travel from rural communities, including farms.
One "very high-achieving" student is a 50-something mother who raises chickens and other animals and grows fruits and vegetables, some of which she shares with friends and neighbors. She recently began bringing cartons of eggs to campus to give to her professors. Her first intended recipient declined the gift and told JLK he was concerned that it would be unethical for him to accept such gifts from a student in his class.
"The eggs wound up in a shared refrigerator in the department's break room, with a note atop the carton that they were free to any takers," writes JLK. Another three dozen eggs have appeared since, JLK writes, all in cartons, all marked in the same way.
"The student has told her professors she simply has too many eggs and must give them away," writes JLK. The student's work is "top-notch," he writes, "so it doesn't appear she's trying to buy a better grade."
JLK wants to know what's so unethical about accepting a perishable gift such as farm-fresh eggs from a student who appears to have no ulterior motive.
There's nothing wrong with accepting perishable gifts if the policy is consistent and made clear to all students and faculty. There's a difference between accepting a carton of eggs and a truckload full of chickens, so if gifts, perishable or otherwise, are permitted, then it should be made clear what kinds of gifts are allowed and how much is permitted.
Setting such parameters can be a challenge. At some point, some might argue that it's just quibbling when it comes to deciding what value of gift is acceptable.
What's also challenging is to decide which students can give gifts and which can't. JLK seems to suggest that because the egg giver is an exemplary student, she stands to gain nothing from giving such gifts to her teachers. Does this mean that sub-par students should be forbidden from giving gifts because they stand to gain? That hardly seems right, nor enforceable, given how quickly some students can go from performing well to performing not so well in class.
A more consistent approach would simply be for teachers to not take gifts from students currently enrolled in their classes. Setting such a policy erases any doubts about whether or not a gift influenced a grade.
Ultimately, the right thing is for the faculty to be consistent and clear about whether gifts of any kind from students to teachers are acceptable. If the egg giver "simply has too many eggs," many of her fellow students might be willing to take them off her hands! 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglinDo you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNECONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Noble offer to repair damaged laptop backfires

Several weeks ago, H.T., a reader from New England, arrived at her gym and "created a disaster."
The gym is a large open space. On one side is a common area for members with a large table and cubicles for gym members to store their belongings. When H.T. was walking over to put her things in a cubicle, she bumped into the table, causing a full water bottle with no cap to tip over. The water pooled under the bottle owner's laptop, which was also sitting on the table.
H.T. quickly lifted the laptop off the table and shouted, "Whose laptop is this?" The owner ran over. H.T. writes that she apologized "profusely" and told the owner that if she'd "messed up" the laptop she'd do whatever she could to get it fixed.
The next day, H.T. received an email from the laptop owner indicating that a computer store had quoted $170 to retrieve the data from the computer, plus another $1,200 to either repair the old laptop or replace it with a new one.
"In my wildest dreams, I never expected my offer to fix the situation would leave me with a bill of well over $1,000," H.T. writes. "Maybe I'm naive, but I thought maybe a couple hundred dollars (for repairs)." While H.T. was still willing to cover the data recovery costs, she stressed that it was the owner's responsibility to keep her personal belongings safe.
"An unattended laptop in a public space with an open water bottle beside it is an accident waiting to happen." Therefore, H.T. doesn't believe she should be financial responsible for buying the owner a new computer.
"Am I right?" she asks.
H.T. is right that the owner was irresponsible for not taking better care of her laptop. It's great that users trust fellow gym members enough to leave their laptops unattended, but leaving an opened water bottle next to her laptop was careless and the owner could have been held responsible for any damage that resulted.
Except, of course, that the person who nudged the table offered to accept responsibility for the damage. The right thing to do is for H.T. to honor her commitment. However, she shouldn't do so without first getting some kind of proof from the laptop owner that the machine needed to be replaced. H.T. should not take the owner's word for it that a new laptop was the only solution.
It's also perfectly reasonable for H.T. to be honest with the laptop owner and tell her she had no idea the repair costs would be so high, and see if the owner would be willing to let H.T. pay for the data retrieval only.
While it was noble of H.T. to offer to make things right once the damage was done -- when she could have easily turned a blind eye and walked away from the spill -- it would have been equally fine for her to set a limit on how much she was willing to help. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNECONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Lawyer deserves payment for services rendered

How far should you go to get money owed you? A California lawyer is grappling with just this issue. A client was chronically slow to pay, the lawyer writes, but until a court ruling went against her, she was always appreciative of the lawyer's work.
Recently, however, the client wrote the lawyer a check that the bank tagged as NSF (non-sufficient funds). The client "made it clear she finds my services unworthy of payment," writes the lawyer. Going forward, another lawyer will represent the client.
This client had never protested any previous bills, the lawyer noted.
"I made no legal or professional errors whatsoever," she recalled. The lawyer further pointed out that she had 30 years of experience and was honest to the point of having been called a "saint" who was "too ethical to practice law."
Since she's been replaced on this case, the lawyer says she "must decide if I should seek remedies for the NSF check."
If the client felt the lawyer was not doing a good job, she should have replaced her earlier. Perhaps she had been satisfied until the undesirable ruling caused her to doubt her lawyer's performance. Even if that's the case -- though there's no clear indication of this -- the client should not have intentionally written a bad check.
So, what is the right thing for the lawyer to do? Should she go after the money she's owed? Of course, she should. Whether or how soon she'll recoup the payment is another question, but she should not let the matter lie.
Any time we hire a professional to provide services for us, we have every right to question whether or not those services were delivered satisfactorily. If we hire a contractor to install new windows and find that the windows don't open correctly, for example, it's perfectly reasonable to withhold payment and demand that the contractor do the job correctly. What's not OK is to deem the work unacceptable, then write a bad check to signal our displeasure.
In this case, there's no indication that the client received anything but responsible and professional representation. The client never took issue with anything and, while she paid slowly, she did cover her bills. To suggest to her lawyer now that she wrote the bad check to indicate she was dissatisfied is simply wrong.
The right thing for the lawyer to do is seek whatever remedies she must to compel her former client to pay. Fortunately, she happens to know a good lawyer who can help her! 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNECONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Pointing out errors can be a big mistake

It's smart to go prepared to a job interview. Doing some research on the company, its work and its employees before you arrive can pay big dividends. In addition to demonstrating your initiative, you'll be armed with something to talk about and lessen the chance of awkward silences.
As he prepared for a recent job interview, M.N., a reader from Boston, Mass., took the time to do some background research on the people he'd been told would be part of the discussion. Fortunately for M.N., his prospective employer's website featured short biographies for many of those on the list.
When M.N. came to the biography for one senior employee, he was initially impressed by her substantial accomplishments, but then spotted a typographical error.
M.N. wanted to appear knowledgeable during his interview, but didn't want to come off as critical or pedantic. He wanted, like most job candidates, to be liked. Correcting typos, he thought, might not be a likeable move.
M.N. did wonder if the executive had written her own bio. If not, wouldn't she appreciate knowing about the mistake so it could be corrected? Also, whether his comment would be appreciated or not, did he have an obligation to point out the error?
In his book, Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guideto Doing the Right Thing (Harvard Business Press, 2002), Joseph Badaracco suggests there's no need to call attention to every issue, but certainly, an error on a company's website should be addressed.
So what's the right thing for M.N. to do?
First and foremost, he should focus on the job interview. He should find out as much about the company and its employees as possible to assess whether it's a place he wants to work if offered the job. And he should present himself and his qualifications so those interviewing him can make an informed decision.
If M.N. establishes a good rapport with the person whose bio has the typo, he might mention in a follow-up thank you email that he noticed the problem. That's likely what I'd do. But again, he's under no ethical obligation to take this step.
If M.N. doesn't get the job, while the temptation might be to respond with a churlish, "Thanks a lot and by the way, there's a typo in so-and-so's bio," he should fight the urge. While he's not obligated to point out the error, he shouldn't use it as a bludgeon if things don't go his way. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications programat  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNECONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Should you help those who don't help you?

About four years ago, L.S., was considering a career change. He liked his job, but internal politics had taken their toll and, after a decade at the same job, he decided it was time to consider other options.
Once he decided what he wanted to do next, he sought the advice of friends, current and former colleagues, and others who with some experience in the field. One former colleague in particular was among those with whom he wanted to chat. She'd left their company a few years earlier and had successfully carved out a new career path in the field L.S. hoped to enter.
L.S. emailed this former colleague, with whom he'd been friendly when they worked together. She acknowledged receipt of his email and promised to set up a time to speak. Weeks passed, and L.S. heard nothing. He followed up with another email, and this time received no response. After a few more failed attempts to seek the woman's advice, L.S. gave up and moved on.
A few months later, L.S. was offered a new position. He's managed to make the transition well and is thriving in his new position.
There are many reasons L.S.'s former colleague might not have responded. She could have been consumed with her own work and simply did not have time. He may have misinterpreted how close they'd been when they worked together. She might not have understood how urgent L.S.'s request for help had been. Or she simply might have forgotten to respond. The right thing would have been for her to let L.S. know she didn't have time to talk.
Four years later, L.S. found himself in a curious position after receiving an email from the former colleague. She filled him in a bit on what she'd been doing for the past several years professionally, closing by telling him she was planning to apply for a position at the company where L.S. now worked. She wondered if he might consider speaking with her and writing a reference.
No mention was made in the message about her failure to respond to his request for help four years before. While she'd clearly knew where he was working, she didn't ask how his career shift had gone or how he was faring in his new job.
L.S. now wonders what is the right thing for him to do. Should he treat his former colleague as she had treated him and ignore her request for help? Should he indicate he's busy and maybe they can talk later and then never make the time?
Ultimately, the decision for L.S. proved simple. He responded by telling her he'd be glad to talk with her about her interest in his company. He knew the right thing to do was behave in the manner he wished she had four years earlier. He was right to stay true to what he deemed appropriate, rather than let his former colleague's earlier actions define his own. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications programat  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNECONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Slow down and count your money at the ATM

It happens to the best of us. We're busy, trying to juggle a dozen different errands, checking email on our cell phones, attempting to get to our next appointment on time. Ultimately, we lose track of something or other.
For a reader in Charlotte, N.C., forgetfulness came with a stinging price. After going to an ATM to withdrawal some cash, she drove off without the money.The trouble with cash withdrawals is that once the money is withdrawn, it can be challenging to prove it was yours if you leave it behind.
The cash, of course, disappeared, apparently taken by a subsequent customer. The reader contacted a representative of the bank, who said an investigation would be launched. However, the rep didn't hold out much hope that the cash would be recovered. In the interim, awaiting the results of the investigation, the reader was out the funds she forgot.
Concerned about the reader's loss and subsequent aggravation, a friend, P.B., writes to ask what the right thing to do is when you discover money left behind in an ATM.
"My recommendation is to return the money to the financial operation, to be returned to the customer," writes P.B.
There's no question that P.B. is right. If you find cash left in an ATM, there's certainly more chance of locating the rightful owner than if you found some money blowing around on a wooded trail or in a vacant parking lot. The security camera is likely to have captured the transaction that occurred just before you arrived at the ATM. Tempting as it might be to pocket the funds, the right thing to do is to turn the cash in to the financial institution.
There's no question that returning cash to the bank that's wrongly dispensed by an ATM is the right thing to do. There's also no question that if a financial institution incorrectly credits you with too much money on your bank statement, you should point out the error. Since you might get caught pocketing money left behind by a previous ATM customer, the right thing to do is attempt to return it to the rightful owner.
Ultimately, however, the responsibility for being mindful of her cash falls on P.B.'s friend, not the financial institution. While the person who took the money was wrong, the reader bears responsibility for not paying attention to what she was doing.
Whoever took the money should return it, but P.B.'s friend should take responsibility for not paying attention at the ATM -- a mistake she's unlikely to make again. 
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of  The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business and The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart, is a lecturer in public policy and director of the communications programat  Harvard's Kennedy School . 
Follow him on Twitter: @jseglin 
Do you have ethical questions that you need answered? Send them to rightthing@comcast.net. 
(c) 2014 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNECONTENT AGENCY, LLC.