2.3 Discussion: Borland Case Casting Light and Shadows

Getting Started

Examining all sides to an ethical issue is important in being able to reach an outcome that aligns with your moral standards. You will continue to refine your skill of ethical reasoning in addition to identifying ethical principles. In this activity you will begin to examine other classmates’ views of the case study from Workshop 1.3 and identify areas in which your opinions differ. You will explore how ethical decisions made by leaders impact stakeholders by casting light or shadows.

Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:

● Distinguish leadership actions that cast light from those that cast shadows.

● Evaluate organizations in terms of their ethical behavior.

Resources

● Textbook: Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership

Background Information

Borland's Brave Beginning

Philipe Kahn, the colorful former CEO and current Chairman of Borland International built a powerful software company from the

ground up with a series of brilliant business moves including the 1991 acquisition of Ashton-Tate, one of the software industries' biggest companies for $440 million. Until very recently, the company was extremely successful, culminating in the building a palatial headquarters complex costing nearly $100 million. At one point, Kahn even entertained thoughts of challenging Microsoft as the world's top software manufacturer. (1) While the company has recently fallen on hard times, its beginning is one that some would consider morally questionable while others would denote as being "smart moves within the game."

In an interview with Inc. Magazine in 1989, Kahn told the story of Borland's humble beginnings. Operating out of two small rooms and strapped for cash, he couldn't afford to place an ad in Byte magazine, the best forum to reach his target market. In order to convince the ad salesman to extend credit terms, Kahn hired "extra people" to scurry around and made sure the phones were ringing in order to look busy. He prepared a media plan on a chart in which Byte was crossed out but made sure the salesman "accidentally" saw the chart. When the salesman asked if they wanted to advertise in Byte, Kahn replied that it was not the right audience and that they couldn't afford it. The salesman pleaded and eventually gave good terms of credit. The ad ran once and sold $150,000 worth of software, launching a successful venture. (2)

1. Pitta, J. (1995, January 12). The Barbarian steps down: Borland's colorful founder turns over CEO duties. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-12-fi-1917 3-story.html

2. Lyons, N. J., & Mamis, R. A. (1989). Management by necessity. Inc., 11(3), 32-49.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.

2. Read Chapter 1 in Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership.

3. Read the original posts by your classmates in Discussion 1.3. 4. Choose two of your classmates’ original posts, selecting at

least one student that presents an opposite or differing approach to the ethics of the Borland case than your thread.

5. Copy and paste your classmates' original posts into your thread before composing your responses under them. Label your Posts "Your name reply to Student's name". Example: Sara Smith's reply to John Doe.

6. Each response must be separate and address the following: a. Clearly identify similarities or differences in your posts. b. Support and defend your position. c. Identify and discuss, from Chapter 1 reading, which

shadow(s) Kahn exhibited and how do those shadows affect one of the stakeholders identified by the student whose thread you are replying to.

d. Incorporate at least one scholarly source in addition to the textbook to support your conclusions and ideas, as well as the possible biblical application.

e. Be at least 300 words in length or more. 7. State reasons that support your conclusions, adding

additional ideas/thoughts, or providing alternative ideas/thoughts.

8. Be prepared in Workshop Three to compose a final rebuttal post to a classmate that responded to your initial post in this workshop.

View the associated rubric Access the Discussion postings page