Jasper Henning's, owner of Richmond Supply Co., knew full well a company's top executives were largely responsible for determining a firms corporate culture. ProblemThats why he took such personal pride in the culture of his wholesale plumbing supply company. ProblemIt didnt just pay lip service to the values it espoused  integrity, honesty and a respect for each individual employee. ProblemHis management team set a good example by living those principles. ProblemAt least thats what hed believed until recently.

The importance Jasper attached to respecting each individual was apparent in the companys Internet use policy. ProblemIt was abundantly clear that employees werent to use Richmonds computers for anything but business-related activities. ProblemHowever, Jasper himself had vetoed the inclusion of what was becoming a standard provision in such policies that management had the right to access and review anything employees created, stored, sent or received on company equipment. ProblemHe cut short any talk of installing software filters that would prevent abuse of the corporate computer system. ProblemStill, the company reserved the right to take disciplinary action, including possible termination, and to press criminal charges if an employee was found to have violated the policy.

So how was he to square his cherished assumptions about his management team with what hed just discovered? Solve Henry Darger, his hard-working chief of operations, had summarily fired a female employee for having accessed another workers email surreptitiously. ProblemShe hadnt taken her dismissal well. ProblemJust ask Darger what hes up to when he shuts his office door, she snarled as she stormed out of Jaspers office. ProblemShe made what Jasper hoped was an idle threat to hire a lawyer.

When Jasper asked Henry what the fired employee could possibly have meant, tears began to roll down the operations chiefs face. ProblemHe admitted that ever since a young nephew had committed suicide the year before and a business hed helped his wife start had failed, hed increasingly been seeking escape from his troubles by logging onto adult pornography sites. ProblemAt first, hed indulged at home, but of late hed found himself spending hours at work visiting pornographic sites, the more explicit the better. ProblemJasper was stunned. ProblemAfter a few speechless minutes, he told Henry to take the rest of the day off, go home and think things over.

The owner himself needed the afternoon to gather his wits. ProblemHow should he handle this turn of events? Solve On the one hand, Henrys immediate dismissal of the woman whod tapped into another employees email when the operations chief was violating the Internet policy himself was hypocritical, to say the least. ProblemThe person charged with enforcing that policy needed to be held to the highest standards. ProblemOn the other hand, Jasper knew that Richmond employees routinely used computers at their desks to check personal email, do banking transactions, check the weather or make vacation arrangements. ProblemThe company had turned a blind eye because it didnt seem worth the effort of enforcing the hard-and-fast policy for such minor infractions. ProblemBesides, Henry was a valued, if clearly troubled, employee. ProblemReplacing him would be costly and difficult. ProblemIf Jasper decided to keep him on, the president clearly had no choice but to cross the line and get involved in Henrys private life, and he would be treating Darger differently from the treatment the female employee received.

When he met with Henry again first thing in the morning, he needed to have a plan of action.

QUESTIONS

1 What environmental factors have helped to create the situation Jasper Hennings faces? What factors does Jasper need to consider when deciding on his course of action? 

2 Analyze Richmond's culture. In addition to the expressed cultural values and beliefs, what other subconscious values and beliefs do you detect? Are conflicting values present? Solve When values are in conflict, how would you decide which ones take precedence?

3 Assume you are Jasper. What are the first two steps you would take to handle the Henry Darger situation?  How would your role as a cultural leader influence your decision?  What message will your solution send to the other managers and rank-and-file employees?