Mui, Bryan Angelo O.

Jan. 28, 2022

Case Study Analysis 1

I. Summarize Relevant Facts/Information of the case

1. Elena works at a car rental shop and she is passionate with what she does and she hopes to climb
up to the ranks of management.
2. Elena was determined to become a manager due to her performance, which led her to do almost
anything just to impress the management.
3. In order for Elena to quickly move up to the management ranks, she was influenced by her
supervisor to somewhat be untruthful at times in order to take advantage over people’s demands
so that they would earn more money and her track record will improve.
4. Elena has gotten used to lying to her customers to the point became second nature for her.
5. Elena believed that by lying, she would not cause serious harm to any of her customers and she
would gain extra profits and appraisal for her performance from the company.
6. One day, Mr. Reynolds, a customer, came to the car rental shop to rent a car. But the car rental
shop where Elena was working only had 2 available units left: 1 luxury sedan, and 1 compact car.
7. Mr. Reynolds had enough budget to rent the compact car but Elena knew the condition of the
compact car wherein it was unsuitable for driving due to a defect in the passenger’s side of the car.
Elena was fully aware of the condition of the car and yet she still persisted Mr. Reynolds to rent
the car while assuring him that the car is suitable for driving because at the end of the day, Mr.
Reynolds would pay and that is a winning situation for Elena, or at least she thought it was.
8. Elena received a call from management that her customer, Mr. Reynolds, got into an accident
with the car she provided to him along with involving another driver.
II. Identify the main problem or issue
The main problem of this case is that Elena was so eager and desperate to climb up the
ranks of management. She became desperate to do whatever it takes to impress the company and
receive a promotion for her performance in the company. Elena’s desperation led her to listen to
her supervisor’s unwise and unethical decisions which are by lying to the customer to gain profit
or to taking advantage of the customer’s demands just so they could pay more than what is
originally stated. Since Elena has gotten used to following her supervisor’s advice, it became
second nature to her to deceive her customers just so they could earn extra profits and boost her
performance rating in the company. She never knew the consequences of her actions because she
believed that lying is harmless and she assumed that her customers would be fine at the end of the
day as long as they paid.
III. Cite Alternative Courses of Action or Options
At this point, Elena has already succumbed to sacrificing her moral values for profit and
her personal gain. None of this would have had happened if Elena never listened to her supervisor
or yet opposed her supervisor and reporting it to the management in the company to have the
supervisor removed from his/her job. But if Elena could still have a chance to change her ways
and completely stop the attitude of lying to her customers, she would have:
Alternative course 1. Instead of allowing Mr. Reynolds to rent the defective compact car, Elena
should have redirected Mr. Reynolds to another car rental shop since the car that Mr. Reynolds is
looking for is not suitable for driving and the other available unit, the luxury sedan, is too expensive
for Mr. Reynold’s budget.
Alternative course 2. Elena could allow Mr. Reynolds to rent the luxury sedan, but she would
have to negotiate with Mr. Reynolds to pay an extra. The important thing is that Elena should state
the condition of the compact vehicle and why she has to redirect Mr. Reynolds to the luxury sedan
since it is 1 out of the 2 units left that is suitable for driving.
Alternative course 3. Elena could provide Mr. Reynolds the luxury sedan and have him pay the
extra later. A contract could be issued between the rental shop and Mr. Reynolds that he would
pay the extra fees later if he rented the luxury sedan rather than the defective compact car. This
ensures the safety of Mr. Reynold, the company’s integrity, and Elena herself.
IV. Analyze each Alternative Courses of Action
From the alternative courses given above, the most important thing is to be transparent to
your customers with providing them the information they need to know and as well as to ensure
their safety especially since Elena works in a car rental shop that could lead to disastrous moments
if unprovided with proper information and preparation. The alternative courses given above are to
be analyzed in the following:
Alternative course 1 – The pro of this alternative course is that Elena was able to ensure Mr.
Reynold’s safety by not allowing him to rent the defective compact car. The con of this is that
Elena would not make the sale but she would rather have not making the sale than involving Mr.
Reynolds into a possible accident or which in this case, Mr. Reynolds already got into an accident.
Alternative course 2 - The pro of this alternative course is that if Elena successfully persuades
Mr. Reynolds into adding extra payment for the luxury sedan option, not only did she earn that
sale for the day, but also ensured Mr. Reynolds’ safety. The con of this alternative course is that if
Elena fails to persuade Mr. Reynolds into paying a little more, then she would have not had that
sale and that would affect her record.
Alternative course 3 – The pro of this alternative course is that Elena made a sale to Mr. Reynolds
by allowing him to rent the luxury sedan while issuing a contract wherein Mr. Reynolds is
obligated to pay the extra funds at a given time. This also means that Mr. Reynolds’ safety is
ensured. The con of this alternative course is that if Mr. Reynolds declines, then Elena would have
not had that sale and that would affect her record.
V. Conclusion/Recommendations
In conclusion, Elena is at fault and she should take full responsibility for what happened
to Mr. Reynolds and as well as to the other driver of a vehicle that Mr. Reynolds crashed into.
She became so desperate to climb the ranks of management, she forgot what it means to be
ethical when it comes to doing her job. Even if she blames her supervisor for influencing her to
be unfaithful/untruthful to her customers, Elena is still at fault since she is the one who
authorized Mr. Reynolds to rent the defective car while lying to him that it is eligible for driving
conditions. Elena would have been promoted either way to a higher position if she continued to
be honest and transparent to her customers because having customer opinion/feedback is crucial
to the company’s success. At this point, the best solution for the company to come up with is to
remove Elena and her supervisor from the job since it has greatly jeopardized the company’s
reputation when it comes to car rentals. It will be hard for the company to fix their reputation
since it almost got Mr. Reynolds killed and as well as the other driver he crashed into.