Speaking up to a boss or rejecting an ethically dubious task involves both personal and professional risk. From the intern’s perspective, Susan Kim risked losing her internship, being labeled “difficult,” or damaging relationships with supervisors who could influence her future reputation and career. Yet complying also carried significant moral and reputational risk: she could compromise her integrity, harm the company’s credibility, and endanger her standing with her university if her misrepresentation were exposed. Essentially: silence risked long-term trust and self-respect; speaking up risked short-term stability and opportunity.
Using the framework from “How to Speak Up When It Matters,” Susan (or someone else in her position) can apply the three step plan.
1. Recognize the difficulty and worth of speaking up. Speaking up feels threatening because it challenges authority and social harmony— especially across cultures with her more traditional boss, and especially when you’re at the bottom of the ladder and don’t have much credibility as an intern — but it affirms one’s values and sets a precedent for ethical leadership. It could also help avoid risks to credibility if exposed.
2. Reduce the social threat. Susan could lessen defensiveness by framing her concern around shared goals, such as protecting Zantech’s reputation or ensuring compliance. For example: “I worry that if competitors or even universities discover we’re misrepresenting affiliations, it could damage our credibility.” This aligns her objection with company interests rather than personal judgment or a moral high horse.
3. Make a plan. She could first consult Emma, the intern program manager, for confidential guidance, or take the initiative to propose and then deliver results based on viable alternatives like gathering information through public sources, client interviews, or analyst reports, as one expert suggested.
