Read the following case study and then answer the questions that follow.

Ethics at Jozi Electronics

When Jabu began working in the HR Department at Jozi 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 Jabu 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.

Jabu felt reassured he had chosen a great company in which to start a career.

Jozi 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 Jabu was the way the supervisors treated

employees who did not perform highly. Several employees approached Jabu and told him of an abusive manager who

often yelled at employees in front of other co-workers. Jabu 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 Jabu approached Pravesh, the HR Director, about what he heard, Pravesh shrugged off Jabus concerns. Youve

got to understand, Jabu, Pravesh 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 Jabu feel

uncomfortable, but he did not want to argue with his boss about it.

One day Jabu got a call from an employee in Jozi Electronics' Sales Department. She informed him that many of the firms

sales people 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 Jabu gave her

name as Minnie Janneker. She asked Jabu to make sure her Sales Manager, Bongani Seboko, did not find out she had

called the hotline. Jabu gave the report to his supervisor for further investigation.

Two months later, Jabu heard that Minnie Janneker had been dismissed for poor performance. He approached Pravesh to

ask him about the situation and was horrified to find out that the Sales Manager of Minnies division had been told about

her report. But Pravesh, this is a violation of our confidentiality code! I promised Minnie we would keep her name

anonymous when investigating this matter. What if Bongani dismissed her out of retaliation? Jabu asked. Pravesh looked

at Jabu in exasperation. Jabu you are making too big a deal out of this. Nobody forced Minnie to give her name to us over

the hotline. And trust me, Bonganis 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 Minnie made up these allegations to hide her poor

performance.

Jabu left Praveshs office upset. Even if Minnie 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 Pravesh 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.]

Answer ALL the questions in this section.

Question 1 (20 Marks)

To what extent are the practices at Jozi Electronics supported by stakeholder theory? Discuss.

Question 2 (20 Marks)

To what extent does Jabu have the qualities required for ethical decision making? Does Jabu ask the correct

questions to determine the moral soundness of decisions at Jozi Electronics? Discuss.

Question 3 (20 Marks)

Critically discuss the extent to which Pravesh, the HR Director at Jozi Electronics, demonstrates

commitment as a leader to ethics within the organisation.

Question 4 (20 Marks)

Critically discuss the extent to which the HR Department at Jozi Electronics has been effective in creating an ethical

culture within the organisation.

Question 5 (20 Marks)

Jabu is very concerned about the state of ethics in Jozi Electronics and so he contacts you, an expert and consultant in HR

Ethics in Business. He asks you to come and give the HR Team a talk on the need to develop a code of ethics for Jozi

Electronics.

Write the talk that you are going to give to the HR Team. Ensure that your talk addresses the purpose of a code of ethics,

its link to corporate governance, the format and content of a code of ethics, as well as its limitations