Case Study PROGRAMME Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management MODULE Human Resource Ethics in Business YEAR Two (2) INTAKE January 2023 Semester 2 Marks 30 Read the following case study and then answer the questions that follow. Ethics at Bright Electronics When Gcobani began working in the HR Department at Bright Electronics as an HR Business Partner, he was impressed with the number of advancement opportunities the job offered. His first task was to monitor reports that came in from employees through the companys ethics hotline. It was a simple job but one Gcobani felt would lead him to a higher position in the HR Department. He spent two days learning about the company and its values of excellence, honesty and integrity. Gcobani felt reassured he had chosen a great company in which to start a career. Bright Electronics was a competitive company, and every six months employees underwent a formal performance appraisal. While the highest performers received substantial bonuses, the lower 10% were consistently dismissed after one year. In line with South Africas labour legislation, those employees who were not performing at the required standard at the time of their first six-month performance appraisal were provided with counselling and training. However, the counselling and training invariably were ineffective, and the majority of these employees were dismissed for poor performance following their second performance appraisal six months later. What bothered Gcobani was the way the supervisors treated employees who did not perform highly. Several employees approached Gcobani and told him of an abusive manager who often yelled at employees in front of other co-workers. Gcobani heard reports that the supervisor would make comments such as, I cant wait till the year is up and I can tell you to get lost. Itll be nice to actually get someone in this job with half a brain! When Gcobani approached Imran, the HR Director, about what he heard, Imran shrugged off Gcobanis concerns. Youve got to understand, Gcobani, Imran explained, We operate in a highly competitive field. Employees have to work quickly and efficiently in order to maintain our business. This often requires supervisors to get tough. Besides, this supervisors unit is one of our highest performers. Apparently, whatever hes doing is working. This remark made Gcobani feel uncomfortable, but he did not want to argue with his boss about it. One day Gcobani got a call from an employee in Bright Electronics' Sales Department. She informed him that many of the firms salespeople made exaggerated claims about the quality of their electronics. He also learned that sales people were making guarantees about products that were not true, such as how long the product would last. The salespeople are given substantial bonuses for exceeding their quotas, so many promise whatever it takes to increase their sales, the employee explained. Although it was not required to provide a name when reporting, the person talking to Gcobani gave her name as Aarya Janneker. She asked Gcobani to make sure her Sales Manager, Kagiso Seboko, did not find out she had called the hotline. Gcobani gave the report to his supervisor for further investigation. Two months later, Gcobani heard that Aarya Janneker had been dismissed for poor performance. He approached Imran to ask him about the situation and was horrified to find out that the Sales Manager of Aaryas division had been told about her report. But Imran, this is a violation of our confidentiality code! I promised Aarya we would keep her name anonymous when investigating this matter. What if Kagiso dismissed her out of retaliation? Gcobani asked. Imran looked at Gcobani in exasperation. Gcobani you are making too big a deal out of this. Nobody forced Aarya to give her name to us over the hotline. And trust me, Kagisos a good man. He wouldnt fire someone simply to get back at them for reporting. It seems to me that these reports dont have credibility, anyway. Its likely Aarya made up these allegations to hide her poor performance. Gcobani left Imrans office upset. Even if Aarya was a poor performer, he did not feel that it was right that her sales manager was told about her report when she expressly requested otherwise. As he went back to his desk, he remembered hearing that her sales manager and Imran were good friends and often went out together for lunch. [Adapted from: Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J. and Ferrell, L. (2019) Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. 12th edition. Boston: Cengage Learning.] Now that you have read the case study, answer the following questions. Question 1 (10 marks) Discuss the extent to which the practices at Bright Electronics are supported by stakeholder theory. Question 2 (10 marks) Discuss the extent to which Gcobani and Imran possess the qualities required for ethical decision-making. Question 3 (10 marks) Discuss the extent to which Imran, the HR Director at Bright Electronics, demonstrates commitment as a leader to ethics within the organisation. 2