In the Parable of the Sadhu, which summary best captures the ethical takeaway discussed by Stephen?

• A. Ethical breakdown arises from cultural differences
• B. There is a breakdown between the individual and corporate ethics
• C. People tend to act in their own best interest
• D. All of the above

Answer: (B)

The key idea being tested is the tension between what individuals feel is right to do and what the larger organization allows or encourages. In the Parable of the Sadhu, people on the trek are moved by compassion and want to help the dying man, but the group’s decisions and the surrounding organizational pressures prevent consistent ethical action. Stephen’s point is that ethics can’t be left only to individuals acting in isolation; a company or group must align its structures, incentives, and norms so that personal moral impulses can be realized in practice. When the organization’s priorities or policies undermine or fail to support ethical action, a gap—or breakdown—forms between individual ethics and corporate ethics.

Cultural differences and self-interest surface in the story, but they aren’t the central takeaway. The stronger and more important message is this misalignment between personal moral responsibility and the organization’s ethical framework, which explains why the individual’s good intentions don’t translate into sustained ethical action.