Margaret does landscaping design for businesses. Because of her experience, she always has a general idea of how much something will cost and will share that number with potential clients, but she has an assistant price everything out just to be sure. She has just received her assistant's price quote for an extremely important project, and it is much higher than the amount she told the client. However, she knows that if she introduces the increased price gradually over the course of the project by saying things like "The rental fee on the backhoe was higher than expected" and "That load of rock cost an additional $500 because...," the client will pay for it. When the client asks if her original estimate was accurate, Margaret says yes. This is an example of
A) a lie of omission.
B) a lie of commission.
C) an ethical lie.
D) ethically de-emphasizing the negative.
E) following Aristotelian ethics.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Margaret is intentionally providing false information to the client by saying that her original estimate was accurate, even though she knows it is not. This is a lie of commission. It is not ethical to intentionally deceive clients in this way, and it can damage the trust and reputation of both Margaret and her business.

Margaret Does Landscaping Design for Businesses