Management 14th Edition by Leslie Rue,Lloyd Byars ,Nabil Ibrahim

Exercise 11

Where Do You Stand?
Read each of the following situations and decide how you would respond. Be prepared to justify your position in a class discussion.
Situation 1: Family versus Ethics
Jim, a 56-year-old middle manager with children in college, discovers that the owners of his company are cheating the government out of several thousand dollars a year in taxes. Jim is the only employee in a position to know this. Should Jim report the owners to the Internal Revenue Service at the risk of endangering his own livelihood, or should he disregard the discovery to protect his family's livelihood?
Situation 2: The Roundabout Raise
When Joe asks for a raise, his boss praises his work but says the company's rigid budget won't allow any further merit raises for the time being. Instead, the boss suggests the company "won't look too closely at your expense accounts for a while." Should Joe take this as authorization to pad his expense account because he is simply getting the money he deserves through a different route, or should he not take this roundabout "raise"?
Situation 3: The Faked Degree
Bill has done a sound job for over a year; he got the job by claiming to have a college degree. Bill's boss learns Bill actually never graduated. Should his boss dismiss him for a false résumé? Should he overlook the false claim, since Bill is otherwise conscientious and honorable and dismissal might ruin Bill's career?
Situation 4: Sneaking Phone Calls
Helen discovers that a co-worker makes about $100 a month in personal long-distance telephone calls from an office telephone. Should Helen report the employee or disregard the calls, since many people make personal calls at the office?
Situation 5: Cover-Up Temptation
José discovers that the chemical plant he manages is creating slightly more water pollution in a nearby lake than is legally permitted. Revealing the problem will bring negative publicity to the plant, hurt the lakeside town's resort business, and scare the community. Solving the problem will cost the company well over $100,000. It is unlikely that outsiders will discover the problem. The violation poses no danger whatever to people; at most, it will endanger a small number of fi sh. Should José reveal the problem despite the cost to his company, or should he consider the problem as a mere technicality and disregard it?
Situation 6: Actual Salary
Dorothy finds out that the best-qualified candidate for a job really earned only $18,000 a year in his last job, not the $28,000 he claimed. Should Dorothy hire the candidate anyway, or should she choose someone considerably less qualified?
Source: The Wall Street Journal by Roger Rickles. Copyright (©) 1983 by Dow Jones Co., Inc. via Copyright Clearance Center.