Case Study: A Good Team Player Topic: Leadership Involved Parties: Steven, Assis

Question

Case Study: A Good Team Player

Topic: Leadership

Involved Parties:

Steven, Assistant Department Manager

Kristin, Newly appointed supervisor of Steven's work team

Having done well as a staff accountant in the accounts payable section of a major industrial firm for several years since his graduation from college, Steven felt that he had learned much about the “ins” and “outs” of survival in an intensely bureaucratic organization. It is thus not surprising that he was relaxed and unconcerned about his circumstances at the company as he entered the employee lounge to attend the late-afternoon welcoming reception for his new supervisor.

The new manager of accounts payable, Kristin, had been transferred to Steven’s division from a similar position in another subsidiary of the company because of her proven talent for organizing and improving the efficiency of operations there. A no-nonsense type of manager, Kristin was experienced and determined to perform her new assignment with the same vigor that had brought her so much success throughout her career.

At the reception, Kristin circulated through the room, introducing herself to her new subordinates and asking each of them if they had any suggestions that would help make the payables section a better place to work. When she approached Steven, he told her about something that had been on his mind lately: that people seemed to him to gain promotions and be given opportunities to work overtime based on who liked them and not on the quality of their work. In reply, Kristin politely stated that she would do everything that she could to see that whatever it was he was referring to would have no place in the team she would lead.

Upon his arrival at work the next day, Steven received a phone call from Kristin’s secretary asking that he meet with his new boss later that morning. He had barely entered her office for the meeting when she looked him straight in the eye and said, “I will not tolerate individuals in this organization who are not good team players. Yesterday afternoon you led me to believe that there are people in this office who are not acting in the best interests of the company, and I want to know who. I want you to tell me the names of the managers you were referring to note, and keep me informed if you see anyone hurting this company, or I’ve got to think that maybe you’re part of the problems around here.” Stunned by both the tone and content of her statement, Steven quickly tried to think of a way to respond.

How should Steven respond?

identifies all the relevant facts of the case

articulates overarching ethical issues including the extent of Steven's responsibility to take action

identifies the various stakeholders, and what is at stake for each one.

poses possible alternatives and ethics of each alternative. Paper should explore the possible alternatives and ethics from the Utilitarian Perspective, the Rights Perspective, or the Justice Perspective

identifies all practical constraints

recommends a specific Steven should take, directly answers the question "how should Steven respond?"

Explanation / Answer

Ethical Issue in Business means a problem or situation that requires a person or organization to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right (ethical) or wrong (unethical)

Some of ethical issues:

In the given context Kristin, Newly appointed supervisor of Steven's work team talks about the fundamental ethical issue in the business and they are: Integrity

Ist Ethical Issue: Employee behaviour: Steven came late to the office on the joining day of Kristin. As being Assistant Department Manager he has a responsibility to be on time of working hours daily except on special circumstances.

IInd Ethical Issue: Steven said to Kristin “that people seemed to him to gain promotions and be given opportunities to work overtime based on who liked them and not on the quality of their work"

Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism is a prominent perspective on ethics, one that is well aligned with economics and the free-market outlook that has come to dominate much current thinking about business, management, and economics.

An action (or set of actions) is generally deemed good or right if it maximizes happiness or pleasure throughout society. Originally intended as a guide for legislators charged with seeking the greatest good for society, the utilitarian outlook may also be practised individually and by corporations.

Justice Theory

Social justice theorists worry about “distributive justice”—that is, what is the fair way to distribute goods to a group of people? Marxist thought emphasizes that members of society should be given goods to according to their needs. But this redistribution would require a governing power to decide who gets what and when. Capitalist thought takes a different approach, rejecting any giving that is not voluntary. Certain economists, such as the late Milton Friedman (see the sidebar in Section 2.4 "Corporations and Corporate Governance") also reject the notion that a corporation has a duty to give to unmet needs in society, believing that the government should play that role. Even the most dedicated free-market capitalist will often admit the need for some government and some forms of welfare—Social Security, Medicare, assistance to flood-stricken areas, help for AIDs patients—along with some public goods (such as defense, education, highways, parks, and support of key industries affecting national security).

Modern social contract theorists, such as Thomas Donaldson and Thomas Dunfee (Ties that Bind, 1999), observe that various communities, not just nations, make rules for the common good. Your college or school is a community, and there are communities within the school (fraternities, sororities, the folks behind the counter at the circulation desk, the people who work together at the university radio station, the sports teams, the faculty, that have rules, norms, or standards that people can buy into or not. If not, they can exit from that community, just as we are free (though not without cost) to reject US citizenship and take up residence in another country

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