Assignment: The Litter Dilemma
The Scenario
Picture this: You and your friends are enjoying a fun picnic in your local park on a beautiful sunny afternoon. After finishing your lunch, you look around and notice that the area around you is covered in litter — empty chip bags, plastic bottles, and food wrappers scattered across the grass and near the pathway.
You know that littering is harmful to the environment and creates an unpleasant experience for others who use the park. You also know that you and your friends did not create most of this mess.
You are faced with a dilemma: do you ignore the litter and enjoy the rest of your afternoon, or do you take action and clean it up?
Your Assignment
Think carefully about this situation. This is an ethical dilemma — a situation where there is no single easy answer, and where your values and sense of responsibility are tested.
Answer the following questions:
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What would you do? Would you ignore the litter, clean it up, or take some middle ground? Explain your decision clearly.
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What are the consequences of your choice? Think about the short-term and long-term impact on:
- The environment
- Your community
- Other people who use the park
- Yourself and your sense of responsibility
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How does this connect to entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurs often face ethical dilemmas — moments where the easiest path is not the most responsible one. What lessons from this scenario apply to how you would run your own project or business?
What to Think About
Consider these questions as you form your response:
- Is it enough to just avoid making things worse? Or do you have a responsibility to make things better?
- What would happen if everyone made the same choice you are making?
- How does taking (or not taking) action reflect on your character and your leadership?
- What is the difference between personal responsibility and collective responsibility?
How to Submit
Write your response in the submission box. There is no right or wrong answer here — what matters is how thoughtfully you think through the problem and how clearly you explain your reasoning.
Aim for 3–5 paragraphs.
After you have written your response, look at the examples from Aisha, Jacob, and Jenny to see how three different people approached this same dilemma.