Case Study: 7 Marks

Nadia happened to overhear the conversation and approached her co-worker with some concerns. Carol initially thought Nadia was frustrated because the couple were Nadia's customers and she wanted to make sure she got credit for the sale. Nadia's main concern, however, was that Carol lied to the customers about the table being new when it was in fact a year old. Carol told Nadia that everyone uses hype to make sales and if she wants to make her sales figures, she will have to do it too.

Performance appraisals are quickly approaching, and Nadia knows she is getting a poor review because her sales pale in comparison to Carol's. She talks to a co-worker about the review process and asks him if she should tell management that Carol's high numbers are the result of her stealing customers and lying about products. He tells Nadia he thinks that would be a bad idea because it might make her look like she is making excuses. He makes it sound as if management may condone the use of sales hype.

Questions (in your own words) 1. Identify the main problem presented in this case?

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2. What ethical dilemma does Nadia face? ______________________________________________________________________________________

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3. If you were in Nadias situation, how similar or different would you behave and why? ______________________________________________________________________________________

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4. What level of moral development are Carol and Nadia operating at in this business situation? ______________________________________________________________________________________

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Carol Longman and Nadia Floyd have recently begun working as trainees selling furniture for a large department store. Carol has a very aggressive style, whereas Nadia strongly believes in giving the customer the best information possible and then selling them a product that best fits their needs.

One day, one of Nadia's customers came in shopping for furniture. Carol told the customer Nadia was out of the store. After Carol determined they were shopping for a new dining table and chairs, she showed them a certain style and told the couple it was brand new. The customer left the store.