I saw an unethical situation and it was unethical because lies were told in order to receive donations from community members and various businesses and organizations. Each year my family and I donate to the United Way Sharing Tree. This has been a yearly tradition for us for several years. Each member of the family picks a tag from the tree and we make a family day of shopping to purchase the items listed. I was once asked by a former employer if I would create “fake stories” and submit them to the United Way as part of the Sharing Tree. Since I was well aware of the charity I asked why the stories were fake and who would be receiving these items that were donated. The answer that I received was “they are for various clients in need, employees who are in need, and employees who deserve recognition for picking up extra shifts and going above and beyond.” I was completely shocked when I was asked to complete this task and even more shocked to know that they had been doing this for years. Some of the “stories” that were created from previous years were “single mom of 3 in need of household products, or college student in need of gas cards.” I can’t say that every tag was false because we did have employees who really were in need. However out of the 120 tags created, 75% were fake stories. The families or individuals who participate in the sharing tree are being tricked and lied to because they believe they are donating to that single mom in need of household supplies. This task went against everything I believed in. I knew it wasn’t an illegal act but it certainly wasn’t ethical or moral. Being a new employee and given instruction by my supervisor, I had to make a decision on whether to follow orders or refuse. Since I felt this was completely wrong and went against my morals and principals, I chose not to complete this task and handed it back to my supervisor. Unfortunately the task was carried out by another employee so community members and businesses were still deceived in thinking they were donating to a specific person’s need. The other issue that came about with these made up tags was when the items began coming into the office. Since over 100 tags were made and hung on the sharing tree, there was an overabundance of items coming into the office on a daily basis. And since the majority of those tags were made up of fake stories, no one was relying on specific items to be delivered. Those items that would go to various employees for “appreciation” gifts or as an incentive to work an extra shift were never properly logged as to what was actually received. Since the items weren’t logged in then there would be no recording of logging them out. How do you know someone hasn’t stolen a gas card or Meijer gift card for themselves? Since there was never any record of receiving them there would be no way to prove the theft. Being a person that donates to this charity, I would be very upset knowing that my donation didn’t go to the person listed on the tag but rather to a business in order for them to give to their employee for recognition. Witnessing something unethical isn’t always something that is illegal, although it would make the situation easier to report. This issue involving the Sharing Tree was, in my opinion, unethical because it went against my own principles and moral character. I know that I wouldn’t have felt good about myself if I would have followed my supervisor’s direction and I would have had to live with my poor decision.