Gross acts?

In spite of good education, exposure to various places, with conscious knowledge of what is good and what is bad, what is ethical and not ethical, most people indulge in small gross acts which cannot be called crimes or deadly sins.

A teacher takes some chalk or a marker home. She thinks it will not cause a big loss to the organization. A teacher should teach ethical values to her students, but when she herself indulges in such petty acts, what can it be named as?

If a teacher indulges in such acts, how many executives who stay at five-star hotels have the habit of bringing hotel items home? No one has the compunction for their acts and think that the heavy rates paid for the rooms justifies their action.

Most staff have the habit of making personal calls during work hours. Personal matters during office hours are, of course, an offense. Some staff have the habit of taking calculators, diaries and other office equipment home. Many executives take their friends to restaurants for lunch or dinner. They get the justification from the office, saying that they gave business lunches. With transportation, some office workers come to work by bus but they claim for cab fares. All these are petty acts but are they not an offense committed for our personal pleasure.

Various people indulge in gross acts like this. If we start counting such things then it would go up to the level of infinity. Such gross acts cannot be called crimes or deadly sins. But of course these are mistakes committed by all classes of people. If attention is paid to these small mistakes then bigger mistakes in the future could be cured.

UMA RAMAKRISHNAN

Jakarta