
The Lifeboat Game
Here is a "game" I use to start my Business Ethics course at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. An ocean liner has hit an iceberg. A small lifeboat has launched and is now on its own. It is uncertain when help will come, or how far away land is. The lifeboat has 10 people in it, but can only hold six. You have 15 minutes to decide which four passengers to throw overboard. If you fail, the boat swamps, and all 10 passengers drown. Whom do you throw ov