case

Ethics Cases Please select ONE case as the basis of this assignment.

Case 1: When the Boss Does not Like Her Anna is the office manager for a Grocery Distribution warehouse in Ft. Myers, Fla. Anna’s facility is part of a large Atlanta-based conglomerate that wholesales and distributes gourmet specialty food products throughout the southeastern United States. Anna has been at Grocery Distribution for four years, starting as an administrative assistant in the sales department. She was promoted to office manager 18 months ago and reports directly to the district manager, Justin. Anna likes her job. She enjoys her co- workers and hopes to make a long-term career at Grocery Distribution. As a single parent of two young daughters, she was delighted with the salary increase that came with her promotion. Justin is a new district manager for the Ft. Myers facility. He has made some changes in the structure of the organization, which, for the most part, have been well received by the staff. Janet is the receptionist. She works at the front desk, greeting visitors, scheduling appointments and taking care of the mail. Anna is Janet’s supervisor. Janet recently went through a difficult divorce, and now that she lives alone, Anna knows that Janet struggles to make ends meet on her receptionist’s salary. Outside of work, Janet is active in community theatre. At Janet’s most recent opening night, Anna and several other Grocery Distribution employees were in the front row of the theatre cheering on Janet’s starring performance. Janet had some rough patches during the divorce, when she was understandably distracted, but overall, Anna is pleased with Janet’s work. Janet has received positive performance appraisals. Justin does not like Janet. He claims that she is careless and makes far too many mistakes, and with her casual attire, she does not “look good” at the front desk. “Besides,” he says, “she’s not really that interested in her job. That community theatre thing takes way too much of her time.” When Janet asked to take the morning off the day after her opening night, Justin commented that now she is undependable and insisted that Anna talk to Janet about it, even though Janet seldom misses work and her absence that morning was easily covered by other staff. Friday morning, Anna is called into Justin’s office. It has been a busy week because Justin is getting ready to leave for a two-week vacation. Several projects must be completed or offloaded to other staff before he leaves. It was decided that Anna would take care of some of Justin’s projects while he is gone, and she is confident things will go well in his absence. While Anna is gathering up her papers at the end of the meeting, Justin says, “There’s just one more thing, Anna. While I am gone, I want you to document Janet’s poor performance and write up an appraisal on her. Have the paperwork on my desk and ready for me to sign when I get back, and then you can terminate her. I want her out of here within the next 30 days.” Anna is stunned. She knows Justin dislikes Janet, but she is not sure how she can document Janet’s “poor” performance because she believes Janet is a good employee. Any time she has talked to Janet about Justin’s concerns, Janet has tried to improve.

Janet knows Justin does not like her, and she has made it clear to Anna that if Justin has any problems with her work, she wants to know immediately so she can correct the problem. “I don’t want to lose my job,” she has told Anna. Anna wonders what to do. Grocery Distribution has a published Code of Ethics, and there is an HR department at headquarters in Atlanta, but there is no HR representative at Anna’s facility in Ft. Myers.

Case 2: Now You See It, Now You Do not

John is the facility manager for Harrell Construction, a privately owned construction company. The company employs 35 people and is owned by Alan Harrell and his wife, Mary. John has been at Harrell Construction for four years. It has been a good spot for John after a series of short-term construction jobs that either went nowhere or ended when the small companies he worked for were out- maneuvered by larger organizations and closed. As the facility manager, John runs the shop and manages all of Harrell’s equipment. He inventories equipment and supplies, schedules equipment for various jobs, checks equipment back in, and makes sure it is repaired and ready for use for the next job. John runs a tight ship. The facility is organized and clean, and his attention to detail has cut time loss from malfunctioning or unavailable equipment to nearly zero. Alan has been pleased with John’s work, and over the course of John’s employment, Alan and John have become good friends. They do not socialize outside of work, but they often eat lunch together and on occasional afternoons, you will find them out on the golf course. “John’s a good man,” Alan says, “The shop has never been in better shape, and his records are meticulous. I finally know what I own and where it is.” “The Harrells are great people to work for,” John says. “Mary doesn’t come around the office much, but we see her at the company picnic in the summer and at the annual holiday party. They put on quite a bash for employees. It is always a family event. Their two teenage boys always come to the events, and everyone’s family is welcome. My wife and kids love it. We always have a good time.” “Besides that, the compensation is fair. The Harrells are right in line with what everybody else pays,” John adds. “The benefits are good, too. Do not know what I would have done without the health insurance when my wife went through chemo two years ago. I plan to stay with Harrell Construction long term if I can. I’ve got two kids headed for college and retirement to think about, and this is a good place with a future.” Things are not always as perfect as they seem, though. Yesterday at lunch Alan confided to John that he and Mary were getting a divorce. “She’s never had any interest in this business,” Alan said. “She has never helped out in the shop, even in the early years, when we were really struggling. But she’s got a sharp lawyer, and I know she’s going to claim half the company.” “I need you to help me out, John,” said Alan. “The company’s biggest asset is our equipment. Mary does not know what we have, and with the equipment out on different job sites, nobody ever sees all of it except you. I want you to get out those inventory sheets and make some of those high-priced lifts disappear. I am worried there will not be anything left after her lawyers get done with me. I would hate to think we’d have to close down and leave everybody out of a job.”

Case 3: Real Sales or Wishful Thinking?

Robert sells shipping supplies for a warehouse supply wholesaler in Denver. He has been with Warehouse Supply for almost a year, hired fresh out of Collegiate U with a degree in marketing. Robert says it is his dream job. He always wanted to be in sales, and he loves the organized chaos of a warehouse as trucks and freight move in and out. He has a real understanding of warehousing, learned while he was working summers and part time as an order picker in a club store warehouse. He worked There until his junior year at Collegiate, when he had the accident on Highway 17 that left him a paraplegic. After the accident, he spent months in rehabilitation and had to take some time off from school. Then, because he was in a wheelchair, he could not go back to his job as order picker in the warehouse. He still got his marketing degree, though. It just took him a little longer. “I really like sales,” Robert says, “It gets me out and about, and I enjoy working with the customers. I was afraid my wheelchair would put people off, and I would be stuck behind a desk for the rest of my life. I would hate that. I am thankful that I have the accessible van and can drive my own route. I know I am a little slower than some of the guys, but I think I have earned their respect, and I like the challenge. I don’t always make the numbers, but people need to know that there is a lot more that a paraplegic can do than what he can’t do.” Unfortunately, sales have been down for Warehouse Supply for the last two quarters. When consumers buy less merchandise like toys, clothes, gadgets, etc., there are fewer shipments in and out of warehouses and less demand for warehouse supplies. Like most other sales organizations, Warehouse Supply compensates its sales staff with commission and bonuses in addition to base salary. Besides the sales staff, management-level employees also receive bonuses based on sales numbers. When sales shrink, everybody feels the pinch. Marty is the sales manager for Robert’s district. When Marty interviewed Robert for the job, he was impressed with Robert’s knowledge of warehousing, his enthusiasm for sales and his outgoing personality. He had never hired anyone in a wheelchair before, but he thought, “What the heck, I think this guy can do the job, and we should give him a try.” Robert learned fast, and once the customers got used to the idea of a guy in a wheelchair in the warehouse, things seemed to be fine, although Marty had to admit that Robert’s sales numbers were never outstanding. Most months, Robert’s sales are at or near the bottom of the pack. “He’s just a little slower,” Marty said. “By the time he gets that van parked and gets his chair in and out, he just can’t get around to as many customers in a day as the other guys. However, he does all right, and he makes many calls from the office. Cannot say he is not on top of his customer’s needs. He takes good care of them.” With sales down, Marty is getting pressure from Frank Bishoff, Warehouse Supply’s vice president of sales at the home office in Phoenix, Ariz. Frank is always a little edgy when bonuses are due, but this time he is really on Marty. He called again this morning. “Hey Marty, what’s going on out there? All I see is inventory stacking up and your sales numbers going down! I know everybody is sliding a little in this economy, but your second quarter numbers are terrible. You have to move some product, and move it now! I am getting pressure from the guys upstairs. You know that everybody’s bonus is riding on this,

and we are nearly at the end of the quarter. I will be in Denver at the end of the month. We are taking a closer look at your numbers and your people. You had better tell anybody who is not up to speed that it has to change—or they are going to be gone. Whatever it takes, Marty, get those numbers in now!” Marty has three weeks before Frank comes to Denver. “Heck, if they’ll just take it easy until the next quarter, we’d be fine,” thinks Marty. “I know our numbers are a little flat right now, but we’ll have big orders next quarter, when Quality Retail buys for their anniversary sale. I just wish we had those numbers now; then Frank and his cronies would leave us alone. I think I’ll give Robert a call. Quality Retail is his account. If he would just write up their anniversary sale orders today and get them in the system, we would all be off the hook. Why not? Frank said whatever it takes. We can always back the numbers out at the end of the quarter if need be, and Robert can square up the account with Quality later. Besides, he might just save his own job. Why should I take the heat alone? It is time he knew Frank has always thought it was a lousy idea to hire a guy in a wheelchair. Maybe Robert does belong in a desk job.” Warehouse Supply’s HR department is located at the home office in Phoenix, and Marty has never had anything to do with HR. A representative from Phoenix comes to Denver occasionally to do some training—usually sexual harassment—and Marty knows there is an employee handbook, but he has never read it beyond the statement he signed concerning employment-at-will. Considering the pressure he is under from Frank, he believes the focus for sales at Warehouse Supply is on making the numbers in addition, not much else. “There’s no harm in getting the orders in early,” Marty muses. “Besides, we can always back the numbers out later if we need to. In addition, this way everyone gets their bonuses. Isn’t that what they really want anyway?”