Case Study: A Good Team Player

Unit 7 - Written Assignment

University of the People
BUS 5115 – Business Law, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
Instructor: Professor Brian Balduzzi
December 29th, 2020
Introduction and Relevant Facts

As required by this unit’s case study, we were asked to consider how Steven (Assistant

Department Manager) should respond to his new supervisor Kristin (Supervisor) who asked him

to give names of all employees who are not team players in the organization. Steven needs to

think about how he is going to respond to this request and is certain that he must approach

Kristin’s request very tactfully. He needs to be able to persuade or redirect his new boss in

regard to how he can get her to observe these behaviors on her own merit. Steven made the

mistake of inadvertently communicated per his suggestions of favoritism to Kristin without

thinking through the consequences that could occur.

We have already learned that Kristin is a no non-sense manager/supervisor, she would

observe problematic character or favoritism issues within the organization once acquainted with

its operations and the employees that report directly and indirectly to her. Knowing that she has

been successful with another division is a testament to her not tolerating issues under her

management. We see in this case that something does not seem right, Kristin has released her get

down to business, confrontational and threating attitude with Steven. Kristin comes right out and

accuses Steven of part of the problem without even understanding why Steven felt the need to

communicate this information with her. The initial interactions on both occasions were off and

somehow misguided.

Ethical Issues

As we understand the issues raised by this case study, we find that:

• Steven was asked by Kristin in their formal meeting after he disclosed his feelings about

those who have received unearned promotions and opportunities based on whether they

were liked or not, who they are by name.

 • Steven was asked by Kristin to become her informant of employees and managers, which

would allow her to deal with the inequities that he has perceived since she is new to this

division.

• A key question is, does Steven have to oblige his boss with the actual requested

information, to be an informant against his co-workers/colleagues.

It is very apparent that Kristin has already overstepped her boundaries in asking that

Steven as her assistant manager provide information on other managers and employees is very

suspect.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders within this scenario are as follows:

• Steven – Assistant Department Manager

• Kristin – new Supervisor of Steven’s group
• Owners of the Company – Senior Management, Executives, Board Members (if any),
Stockholders (if a public corporation)
• Employees & Colleagues – those who work in the same organization of Steven and
Kristin
Possible Alternatives and Ethics of the Alternatives

Alternatives to this ethical situation Steven, along with Kristin should consider the

following alternatives once this meeting started:

• As an assistant manager Steven should have never voiced his concerns in this manner, as

it may come off as a systematic problem within this group.

• Steven could back off his initial assertions and explain to her that this was his perceived

frustration and may be his own interpretation of the real facts.

 • Steven can agree to provide names of managers and employees that may have benefited

by overtime and promotions.

• Kristin can do her own review of timesheets and do her own analysis of which employees

get overtime. With that information she can inquire about providing fair equity amongst

all employees, as a good supervisor or manager would do.

In review of this case, the new supervisor (Kristin) should not put employees in this

situation not knowing if there is a background between this employee and other employees and

her other subordinates. Knowing that acting ethically in everyday business means adhering to

law, competing with others in an honest manner, and performing daily tasks without any element

of dishonesty or deceptiveness (Halipes, 2019).

We know that this case is viewed from a Justice Perspective alternative and the

appropriate action is to make systematic changes. The right that some bad decisions may not be

forced to voice their opinion for fear of incrimination or backlash from those that may be

affected (A Framework for Ethical Decision Making, 2015). Their actions will find them out in

this situation.

As the new supervisor, Kristin should pursue the right path in doing her own research and

conduct her own investigations over time, to see those who may be out of line. We find that

maybe this organization has not defined what unethical behavior is or trained their employees to

recognize what is inappropriate behavior (Chinn, 2019).

Practical Constraints

As In review of this case constraints are that Kristin has given no time to survey and have

her 1:1 meetings with her direct managers before she asked Steven to provide names of those

who may have violated her own guidelines for business conduct. As they do not mention if there
is an intermediate boss of Steven, we are unsure if he is disgruntled and trying to settle a score

with his manager.

Also, there are legal implications and limitations that Steven may violate by assuming

that his viewpoint is a situation that Kristin should act upon. She mentioned that these mentioned

accusations are actions that she will not tolerate while she is leading this department. Should

Steven refuse to provide this information, he may be terminated or side-lined from management.

In identifying ethical behavior categories, we know that this situation falls into one if not

more of these four categories (Chinn, 2019):

1. Do what is right and good.

2. Do the least harm possible.

3. Respect all people’s autonomy; and

4. All actions should be justifiable.

From these provided categories, it is clear that something is amiss in this case, and we

can now come to a determination of ethics.

Recommendations for Steven

As Steven has moved the cart before the horse, he must apologize for voicing that

concern. Litigating past situations in this manner is not conducive for a good working

environment with other employees.

Steven can also take the approach that this is his perspective. Noting that training in this

area is definitely needed in this department, and that he feels uncomfortable with giving names

and possible straining working relationships. A supervisor should not put that kind of pressure on

a subordinate.

Conclusion
 This situation is more common than many of us realize. As managers, we want to have

the best and most ethical organization or department. The only way to organically fix or propose

ethical business practices, is to observe and document situations that violate corporate policy.

Ethical leadership in this instance is incredibly important and may affect how all the employees

interact with the supervisor, if there is a heavy-handed approach to fixing inequities internally

(Chinn, 2019). Sometimes those issues dealt with internally spill out and are sometimes

manifested externally with customers.

In this organization, there needs to be a mechanism for employees to disclose unfair or

unethical practices that may not adhere to company’s code of ethics.

Reference(s)

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making. (2015, August 1). Santa Clara University. Retrieved

from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/aframework-

for-ethical-decision-making/

Business Ethics (2012). This book is licensed under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa 3.0 license.

Retrieved from http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/business-ethics/index.html

Chinn, D. (2019, April 29). Ethical Employee Behavior in the Workplace. Biz Fluent. Retrieved

from https://bizfluent.com/info-8314154-ethical-employee-behavior-workplace.html

Halepis, H. (2020, December 16). What are Management Ethics? Wise Geek. Retrieved from

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-management-ethics.htm

Why Ethics Are Still Essential in Management. (2016, September 8). Southeastern Oklahoma

State University. Retrieved from https://online.se.edu/articles/mba/why-ethics-are-still-

essential-in-management.aspx