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Professional/Workplace Dilemma Paper

In my career as a music retail store owner and a music teacher, I was in a constant conflict between sales for the store, and ethical teaching methods. In order to describe the experience, some background information is necessary. As the sole proprietor, I had an agreement with a good friend that after all expenses are paid, she would be entitled to half for her services as a manager. Therefore, the people involved were myself, my partner (I'll call her Lynn), and my music students. My ethical issue was the ability to sell more books to my students even though I felt that they were not ready for additional book(s). My manager kept telling me that I needed to sell more to my students and I kept telling her that my students were not ready. With a background stated above, I present my argument on why this scenario created an ethical dilemma on my part.

In January of 2001, I purchased a small music retail store which I felt would fulfill my career goal of business owner, teacher, and musician. My partner and I purchased the business with money that we had saved from gigs. For one year, we did not take use any proceeds from gigs except for equipment and repairs. With a $5000 down payment and a $400 a month mortgage, Lynn and I were the proud new owners of a Music Retail Center. As the manager, Lynn spent her time learning about inventory and purchasing, and we both decided to use all profits to increase and update the inventory. Lynn's job consisted of the daily store operation and my job consisted of teaching, instrument repairs, and bookkeeping.
As the business increased, my teaching schedule consumed a great deal of my time and the business although still in the red, was well on its way to making a profit. Lynn as the manager thought that she should encourage me to sell more books to my students. In some cases, I agreed and would expand the student's repertoire to include the purchase of a new book. As time went on, Lynn was always telling me to sell a book or accessories to my students. My dilemma: as the owner of the store, from a business standpoint, I knew she was correct. As a teacher, I knew this was not ethical even though technically, I did not receive a commission for my student's purchases.
According to (Ravi, 2007) "some stores encourage (perhaps require) teachers to use the inventory during lessons, but many instructors oppose being used this way and feel it is not their

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