ETHICAL DILEMMA 4.1 ( YOU MAY ANSWER BASED ON YOUR OWN IDEAS OR UNDERSTANDING) provide also an explanation so that I can understand it well. Thank you.

You joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) several months before the

catastrophic Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas. At the

time, you worked in an agency office in Pearl, Mississippi. Within months after the disaster, you

were transferred to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where you could work with partner emergency

management agencies to assist in processing victim claims and help set up low cost loans and

grants to get businesses back into operation in the New Orleans area. After arriving at the office,

you set about identifying key resources and communicating with flood victims. There are 25 other

specialists performing similar tasks. The work hours are long and stressful, but the job is fulfilling

and you really enjoy the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people whom you are

helping get their life back together.

Recently, you were in the corner of the break room, partly hidden by a vending machine as you

read a book, when two other employees came in and stood by the coffee machine. From their

conversation it was obvious that they were friends and you later found out that they were sisters-

in-law. The two were jokingly discussing the amount of money that they dealt with every day and

one made a comment to the other that there is really no sound paper trail to track the money. She

went on to tell the other woman, "We could very easily 'create' some victims on paper and funnel

money to ourselves. Nobody would even notice." The second woman agreed; they laughed and

then left the room. As a result of what you heard, you started paying more attention to the two,

since one of your jobs was to coordinate claims from the office and track the total amount of money

being spent. Within months you noticed that the claims for replacement equipment and rentals

from these two increased significantly over the previous quarter compared to those of other

representatives in the office.

1. Do you think that these women are doing anything illegal? Explain.

2. Should you take any type of action at this point, based on what you know? If so, what?

3. What are possible consequences if you do take action? Explain.

ETHICAL DILEMMA 4.2

Assume that you are a receptionist in a hospital emergency room waiting area and an older

homeless male who is dirty, with cutoff jeans, sandals, and a t-shirt with holes in it, comes up to

your desk. He has a dirty bloody rag wrapped around his hand and complains that he has cut

himself with a rusty can lid. You greet him without a smile, hand him a clipboard with paperwork,

and tell him to have a seat and complete the forms. At the same time that the indigent patient

arrived, a well-dressed older woman wearing a suit arrives with a small crying girl and states that

the child fell out of a tree and hurt her shoulder. You greet her warmly with a smile and proceed

to engage her in conversation and assist attentively. Meanwhile the injured homeless patient waits

to have a question answered about his paperwork.

1. How do you think you would feel if you were the homeless patient? Why?

2. Why do you think you might have used different standards of service for the two patients?

3. Do you think this approach to service is appropriate? Why or why not?

4. What could you have done differently/better to improve the service delivery in this situation?

5. How do you think other waiting patients might react to the difference in service that you

provided?

6. What is the likely impact of the service delivery outlined in this situation?

CRITICAL THINKING 4.1

Handling Customer Complaints at Central Petroleum National Bank

Background

Central Petroleum National Bank is one of the largest financial institutions in the Dallas-Fort

Worth, Texas, area. With revenues of more than $200 million and investment holdings all over the

world, the bank does business with many individuals and organizations in the region and other

parts of Texas. The bank has 17 branch offices in addition to the home office in downtown Dallas.

YOUR ROLE

As one of the 125 employees of Central Petroleum's Western Branch Office, you provide customer

service and establish new checking and savings accounts. On Tuesday, a new customer, Mr.

Gomez, came in to open an account. He stated that he was moving his money, over $200,000, from

an account at a competing bank because of poor service. As you spoke with Mr. Gomez, one of

your established patrons, Mrs. Wyatt, came into the office. As she signed in, you looked over,

smiled, nodded, and held up one finger to indicate that you'd be with her momentarily. She smiled

in return as she went to sit in the waiting area. As you were finishing the paperwork with Mr. Gomez, his teenage son came in and joined him. The son had been working at a summer job and had saved several hundred dollars. He also wished to establish a checking account. He placed his money on your desk and asked what he needed to do. He stated that he was on his lunch break and had only 20 more minutes to fill out the necessary forms. By then, you noticed that Mrs. Wyatt was looking at her watch and glancing frequently in your direction. Shortly thereafter, she left

abruptly. When you arrived at work the next day, the branch vice president called you into her office to tell you that she had received a complaint letter from Mrs. Wyatt concerning your lack of customer service and uncaring attitude.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What did you do right in this situation?

2. What could you have done differently?

3. Do you believe that Mrs. Wyatt was justified in her perception of the situation? Explain.

4. Could Mrs. Wyatt have misinterpreted your nonverbal messages? Explain.