Question

exercising PEOPLE PROBLEMS The Situation You are the controller at a manufacturing company that sells refrigeration and food packaging equipment worldwide. Your company recently hired a temporary worker, Kelly, to help put a new International sales tax tracking system in place. She's well qualified, a hard worker, a team player, and highly effective at her job. You want to bring her on full time, so you have jumped through all the hoops and created a middle management job for her that would put her on equal footing with her current boss, the accounting manager, Elizabeth (who reports to you. You are going to finish the process as soon as you get back from a week of vacation, The Dilemma While you were gone, Elizabeth obtained Kelly's résume from the temp agency. She noticed some holes in the timeline and met with Kelly in a closed meeting. After the meeting, she had security escort Kelly out of the building and warned her not to retum. She wrote a memo to you stating that in the interview, as she probed some of the discrepancies in the résumé and job application, Kelly revealed that she had struggled with alcohol Issues when she was younger, but now she was 15 years dean and sober. Despite this, Elizabeth felt that Kelly's past made her unqualified for the job, and felt so strongly about it that she, Elizabeth, would resignil kelly was brought back in any capacity, Elizabeth has been with the company for 20 years and runs the accounting department like a tight ship. In fact, it's one of the best departments in the company and always makes you look good in the management meetings QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS S-21. What areas of management functions are involved in this scenario 5-22. What are the ethicales in this situation 5-23What is the logical, busin-bied approach for a man ager to take in this situation! Explain your position 5-21. What would you do and why? 5:25. How would you describe the culture of this company based on the limited information in the scenario exercising PEOPLE PROBLEMS The Situation You are the controller at a manufacturing company that sells refrigeration and food packaging equipment worldwide. Your company recently hired a temporary worker, Kelly, to help put a new international sales tax tracking system in place She's well qualified, a hard worker, a team player, and highly effective at her job. You want to bring her on full time, so you have jumped through all the hoops and created a middle management job for her that would put her on equal footing with her current boss, the accounting manager, Elizabeth (who reports to you). You are going to finish the process as soon as you get back from a week of vacation. The Dilemma While you were gone, Elizabeth obtained Kelly's résume from the temp agency. She noticed some holes in the timeline and met with Kelly in a closed meeting. After the meeting, she had security escort Kelly out of the building and wamed her not to retum. She wrote a memo to you stating that in the interview, as she probed some of the discrepancies in the resume and job application, Kelly revealed that she had struggled with alcohol issues when she was younger, but now she was 15 years clean and sober. Despite this, Elizabeth felt that Kelly's past made her unqualified for the job, and felt so strongly about it that she, Elizabeth, would resign if Kelly was brought back in any capacity, Elizabeth has been with the company for 20 years and runs the accounting department like a tight ship. In fact, it's one of the best departments in the company and always makes you look good in the management meetings QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS 5-21. What areas of management functions are involved in this scenario 5-22 What are the ethical issues in this situation? 5-23. What is the logical, business-based approach for a man- ager to take in this situation? Explain your position 5-21. What would you do and why? 5-25. How would you describe the culture of this company based on the limited information in the scenario

Answer 1

Okay, let's break this scenario down:

5-21. The areas of management involved here are:

- Leadership: You as the controller have to lead in resolving this difficult situation.

- Human resources management: Managing the hiring, performance issues and termination of employees.

- Accounting/Finance: Given that Kelly was brought on to help implement an accounting system and Elizabeth runs the accounting dept.

5-22. The main ethical issues here are:

- Discrimination: Elizabeth may be discriminating against Kelly due to her past struggles, despite her being 15 years sober.

- Fairness: Is it fair to remove Kelly from her new role after she was already hired for it?

- Trust: Did Elizabeth violate trust by reviewing Kelly's private resume behind your back?

5-23. The logical, business-focused approach here would be:

- Weigh the pros and cons of Kelly vs. Elizabeth remaining in their roles. Who is more valuable to the key business needs?

- Determine if either employee's actions warrant discipline or termination. Or if the issues can be resolved professionally.

- Consider if there are any compromises or alternative solutions, e.g. Kelly remaining in a different role, Elizabeth reporting to someone else, etc.

- Make a decision that prioritizes the good of the key business operations and team productivity.

5-21. Given the options, I would try to have a constructive conversation with both Elizabeth and Kelly to find a reasonable resolution, rather than immediately terminating either one.

- Kelly seems a valuable hire, so I would want to try and make the role work if possible.

- Elizabeth also seems a key employee, so losing her should be an absolute last resort.

- With open communication, they may be able to find a way to professionally co-exist or alternative solutions could emerge.

- Only if resolution proves truly impossible would I consider letting either one go. Compromise and pragmatism seem prudent here.

5-25. Based on this limited scenario, I would describe the culture of this company as:

- Fastidious and by-the-book, given how strictly Elizabeth seems to enforce procedures.

- Closed-off, as there is a lack of transparency around key decisions and Elizabeth's actions seem isolating.

- With an undercurrent of politics, as power dynamics and territorialism also seem to be in play.

- However, the company also appears performance-oriented, as under-performing employees would presumably be let go.

- So, a mix of positive and concerning cultural elements based on this dilemma alone. More context would be needed to determine the full culture.