What would you do?

Ignore the problem. Jacobs' contributions to new product development are too valuable to risk losing him, and the problems over the past ten years have always worked themselves out anyway. No sense starting something that could make you look bad.

ch1 MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE: ETHICAL DILEMMA sure how to handle the situation, Harry met briefly with Jacobs and reminded him to "keep the team's morale up"Just after the meeting, Sally Barton from HR called to let him know that the problem she'd mentioned over lunch had been worked out. How- ever, she warned, another employee had now come forward demanding that her complaints be addressed by senior management. Can Management Afford to Look the Other Way? Harry Rull had been with Shellington Pharmaceuti- cals for 30 years After a tour of duty in the various plants and seven vears overseas, Harry was back at headquarters looking forward to his new role as vice president of US marketing Two weeks into his new job, Harry recenved some unsettling news about one of the managers under his supervision Over casual lunch conversation, the dire tor of human resources mentioned that Harry should expect a phone call about Roger Jacobs, manager of new product development. Jacobs had a history of being "pretty horrible to his subordinates, she said, and one disgruntled employee asked to speak to some one in senior management Atter lunch, Harry did some follow-up work Jacobs' performance reviews had been stellar, but his personnel file also contained a large number ot notes documenting charges of Jacobs' mistreatment ot subordinates The complaints ranged from "inappropriate and derogatory remarks" to sub- sequently dropped charges of sexual harassment What was more disturbing was that the amount as well as the severity of complaints had increased with each of Jacobs'ten vears with Shellington When Harry questioned the company president about the issue, he was told, "Yeah, he's had some problems, but you can't just replace someone with an eye for new products. You're a bottom-line guy you understand why we let these things slide." Not What Would You Do? 1. Ignore the problem. Jacobs' contributions to new product development are too valuable to risk los- ing him, and the problems over the past ten years have always worked themselves out anyway. No sense starting something that could make you look bad. 2. Launch a full-scale investigation of employee com- plaints about Jacobs, and make Jacobs aware that the documented history over the past ten years has put him on thin ice 3. Meet with Jacobs and the employee to try to resolve the current issue, then start working with Sally Barton and other senior managers to develop stronger policies regarding sexual harassment and treatment of employees, including clear-cut proce- dures for handling complaints. SOURCE. Based on Drug Wallace "A Talent for Mismanagement. What Would You Do? Bemess Ethics 2 (November-December 1992): 3-4 chl CASE FOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS