Ritesh Kumar Singh

PGSF1929
Project Management
Case study- Does this milkshake taste funny?

Question- What ethical dilemmas, George was facing?

Ans. “George Stein's plot revolves around an ethical dilemma in the workplace, which is
ultimately generated by three different interest groups: George's self-interest, the company's
interest, and the customer's interest.” “Because each of them has an investment and a desired
result based on George's behavior, they are all interested in what he does. George has put in time
as an employee and hopes to be paid for his efforts by Eastern Dairy's payroll. The ethical
dilemma is summed up by George finding maggots in the filters that are supposed to keep toxins
out of the milkshake mix. When George informs Paul of the situation, he is informed that now he
is clean and repair the filters, and that this sort of thing happens from time to time.”
“Unfortunately, that isn't the end of it, as maggots have been discovered to block even more

filters. Paul calculates that if they keep stopping to clean and repair the filters, they will never be
able to finish the nightly assignment and clean the pipes as needed for future health inspections.”
“As a result, Paul instructs George to delete the filters and complete the assignments before

cleaning up. George must choose between removing the filters and knowingly sending out
tainted product, or cleaning the filters and ensuring that the night's output quota is not missed.”
“To make it even more complicated, in addition to missing quota, cleaning the filters slows down
the operation to the point that they won't be able to clean the device in time for any future health
inspections. Understanding the motivations that could motivate ethical or non-ethical conduct is
important to get to the heart of the real dilemma and interpret potential actions.”
“Individual personality, organizational powers, and external forces are all illustrated in the
Milkshake case study. Personality characteristics of the central character, George Stein, as well
as his superior, Paul Burnham, are among the individual personality variables.”
“The consumer is the external factor that is really driving this situation for George. For him, the
sight of children drinking maggot-infested milkshakes is a visceral one.” “George is further
affected by this in his dealings with customers, agreeing, even before acting, that he will not
have another milkshake for at least a month in order to ensure that this batch is no longer
available to the public.” “This direct link between George and the potentially affected party may
be the most important factor in this dilemma.”
Question- “If you were George what would you do? What would be the likely consequences?
What should management do to prevent the occurrence of workers making similar events?”

Ans. “According to my opinion and after considering these possible influences on George's
decision, he could decide to follow Paul's advice and remove the filters, allowing the maggots to
enter the mix for three reasons.” “To begin with, George has established Paul as his leader, and
there is a clear desire for people with external locus of influence to obey the leader. George, on
the other hand, does not want to risk losing his work. George needs the money that the company
is providing him for the job that he is doing, and his boss has warned him that if they do not (a)
finish the night's production and (b) clean the system in case of health inspections, management
will be furious.” “Third, despite his desire to make more money and start a life, George does not
equate his acts with results, as shown by his lack of interest in furthering his education. He is
unable or unable to take responsibility for his decisions and the repercussions that result from
them.”
“The fact that George has decided not to have another milkshake for at least a month in order to
ensure that a contaminated batch is no longer in circulation may seem to indicate that he has
already decided to remove the filter and is less concerned about the indirect consequences to the
customer than he is about the potentially direct consequences to him by the employer.”
“ The management can do to prevent the occurrence of workers making similar events are:”
 Establish strict rules and regulations regarding the food safety.
 “The executive leadership team must be formed for the company to have a well-

established, ethical culture of responsible leadership from the top down to the bottom up,
otherwise there will be gap that will lead to poor management decisions and negative
results for the entire organization.”
 They can assign a manager in the night shift
 Organizations have to give a proper training and onboarding process, as well as design a
protocol to implement in such a situation.