Behavior In Bowen Mccoy's The Parable Of The Sadhu

The Parable of the Sadhu is about Bowen McCoy, his friend Stephen, and other fellow backpackers from New Zealand, Switzerland, and Japan being presented with an ethical dilemma whilst on their sabbatical program. All of them had to cross an 18,000 foot pass over a crest to be able to reach Muklinath. All of them needed to climb over a steep part of their climb, and they departed at 3:30 am before the sun rose and melted the steps cut in the ice. At 15,500 feet into the climb, McCoy and Stephen rested to recuperate. Suddenly, one of the backpackers from New Zealand found a naked and weak, but alive, Indian holy man (Sadhu) with hypothermia. Everybody in the group contributed to assisting and nursing the Sadhu; however, nobody ensured the safety …show more content…
In accordance to page 173 in the textbook, while McCoy argued with Stephen that everybody in the group, including McCoy himself, did everything they could for the Sadhu, “[McCoy] felt and continues to feel guilt about the sadhu.” Mainly because the group is unsure as to whether or not the Sadhu lived or died, McCoy feels like he contributed to killing the Sadhu as he chose not to help the Sadhu more than he …show more content…
In the scenario, Sherpa is indicated to have been the leader. Sherpa did not appear to have explicitly said anything to the group; however, it is indicated in the response from McCoy that “we had our own well-being to worry about. Our Sherpa guides were unwilling to jeopardize us or the porters for the sadhu. No one else on the mountain was willing to commit himself beyond certain self-imposed limits (p. 173).” The New Zealander was the first to voice his view / mission that “Look, I’ve done what I can. You have porters and Sherpa guides. You care for him. We’re going on! (p. 172)” After this, all of the backpackers follow this view and cared for the Sudhu until they could not due to the fact that the sun will melt the snow or pathway to their destination. At the face of a problem, all of the backpackers helped; however, they had to continue on and complete their mission. Additionally, based on the Sherpa’s actions, their perspective is also the same such that while they do assist in tending for the Sudhu, the group’s objective is to successfully complete their trip. On page 115 of the textbook, “the organization’s values often have a greater influence on decisions than a person’s own values. Ethical decisions in the workplace are made jointly, in work groups or other organizational