Janice Reid, a business student at Penn State University has been working at Zot

Question

Janice Reid, a business student at Penn State University has been working at Zoto’s

Family Restaurant for three years. She began as a waitress but has worked her way up

to supervisor. Zoto’s is a franchised chain of diner-style eateries. The company

experienced success early on which allowed them to expand to over 40 locations in

western Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

Recently, the company has begun experiencing financial problems which lead to the

closing of several diners in the region where Janice works. Some employees were laid

off; others were offered positions at the nearest diners which remained open. Janice’s

location has remained open, but there has been staffing changes. Janice’s General

Manager (GM), Cathy O’Shea (who had been at that location eight years) was

transferred to another location 40 miles away. Replacing her was James Poll. James

has been with the company less than two years.

Janice was annoyed to see her GM reassigned for several reasons. First, they had a

good working relationship. Second, the company didn’t seem concerned about the

effect the move would have on Cathy since her prior commute was only 8 miles. Last, it

seemed like a highly experienced manager was being replaced by someone with much

less experience. Overall, the financial pressures and the related staff shuffling had a

serious impact on morale across all the Zoto’s locations.

Within three months after James assumed the GM position, there were marked

differences in the operations at Janice’s location. The physical property was looking

neglected. Inventory was not always ordered on time or for the correct items or

quantities. Scheduling was usually prepared at the last minute and there were often

errors: too much or too little staff during some shifts.

Financially, there were additional problems. The registers were consistently short by

$20 or more. The petty cash fund was rarely reconciled and when it was, there was

usually a shortage. As Janice had feared, James’ inexperience in management was

damaging the profitability and operational reliability of the diner. Although Janice had

no evidence, she began to consider the possibility that James may be stealing from the

company. Janice decides to call her Assistant Manager, Amanda Davis, to discuss her

suspicions.

J: Hi Amanda. It’s Janice. Do you have a minute? I need to talk to someone, and I’m

not sure who to turn to.

A: Sure, this sounds serious. What’s going on?

J: I’m so frustrated. Ever since Cathy was transferred, this place has been going

downhill. I’m sure you see the differences too. If it’s not a staffing issue then it’s the

supplies or food orders. The registers never reconcile anymore. The place is a mess. I

hate going to work! I don’t know what to do… James isn’t managing the place

effectively.

A: Janice, please calm down. I can hear how upset you are. Let’s sort through this

piece by piece.

J: I’m sorry if I sound hysterical. It’s just that James has been accusing others of

stealing and shifting the blame for our poor performance. I can’t afford to lose this

job. If the restaurant does badly, I can’t afford to be blamed and then fired, and I can’t

afford to drive to another location if my diner is closed. You’re the assistant manager; I

was hoping you could talk to him.

A: I don’t think there is anything I can say that would make a difference. Listen… Last

week, I stayed late to close up with James. I was so exhausted at the end of the shift

that I decided to go to the ladies room to splash water on my face before getting into my

car. As I was heading over that way, I realized I was missing an earring. So I got down

on my knees to search for it. Since I was on the floor, James didn’t know that I wasn’t in

the ladies room when he approached the register. I saw him take 2 twenties from the

drawer.

J: He didn’t know that you saw him?! What did he say when you confronted him?

A: Confronted him?! Are you kidding me?! I didn’t say a word! James is writing my

performance appraisal next month. I’m not going to jeopardize my annual review. I’ve

worked too hard; I want a raise.

J: What about talking to Norm Peters?

A: The district manager?! Why do you want me to stir up trouble? It won’t do any

good. Plus, Norm and James are friends from college. How do you think James got to

be the general manager here? Trust me, nothing good will come of talking to Norm.

J: But you can’t be certain of that. Shouldn’t someone in the company be told about the

thefts? Or the mismanagement? This diner’s going to be ruined. It’s just not right.

A: Well, life’s not fair… and bad stuff happens. Do me a favor… Just forget that I told

you anything about James.

Janice felt more confused and frustrated than before she placed the call to Amanda.

She replays the call in her mind, over and over, considering her options. Janice could

speak with James directly but that is a really risky choice. Or, she could talk to Norm

Peters, but she suspects Amanda is right, it won’t do any good. Janice considers going

above Norm, to the Regional President, Rich Young, but she doesn’t have evidence,

just suspicions.

1. Identify the ethical issues in this case.

2. Assume you are Janice. Evaluate your alternatives and the possible ramifications of each. What do you do, and why?

Explanation / Answer

1. There are multiple ethical issues in the above . Firstly, the employees like James are not loyal to the company. The selection of employees is biased, the Human resource management system is not in Place. James was selected as the GM because of his personal relationship and not because of his calibre.

Further, other employees are afraid to put forward their concerns about the company due to fear of failure, personal losses. Thus, the grievance redressal mechanism is not in place.

Employee satisfaction is not given any importance. Issues like change of established team relationships and increase in travell time due structural changes are not taken into consideration

The middle and top level management is not very approachable.

2. If I am put in place of Janice, I would first collect prepr evidence against the mismanagement haapening in the organisation. Once, that is in place, I would first approach James directly, and warn him against his behaviour. If he denies to improve, I would speak directly to the District Head. Possible, ramifications could be that both James and the District Manager, disagree with me and fire me. However, It is still worth the effort since if the company continues with fraudulent practices, it won't be long that they will start firing employees. At the same time, I can also look at changing my place of work and exploring a new company with better ethical practices.

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