Rutgers University Business Law Case Study

Objective: You are going to understand how employees respond to ethical dilemmas in the workplace. You will consider how their work environment shapes the way they approach ethical dilemmas.

Directions: Give the following scenario to 3employees who work full-time (preferably) or part-time and then ask them the assigned questions (You can find the interview questions at Canvas under “Interview Questions and Scenario”). The employee’s position within the firm does not matter but ideally, you interview people that work for different firms.

SCENARIO

Alex just completed a sales training course with one of the firm’s most productive sales representatives, Taylor. At the end of the week, Alex and Taylor sat in a motel room to fill out their expense vouchers. Alex casually said to Taylor that the training course stressed the importance of accurately filling out expense vouchers.

Taylor replied, “The company expense vouchers don’t list all the categories we need. I tried many times to explain to the accountants that there are more expenses than they have boxes for. The biggest complaint the salespeople have is that there is no place to enter expenses for tipping. After the last year’s training, I went to the accounting department and told them they needed to change the forms. They wouldn’t. So, I went directly to their managers. He told me that this is the way it has always been done, and it would stay that way. He also told me if I tried to go above him on this, I’d be looking for another job.”

“So, what did you do?” inquired Alex.

“I do what my supervisor told me years ago. I pad my account each week. I usually tip 20 percent, so I make sure I write down the after-tip amount to my expense reports.”

“But that goes against company policy. Besides, how do you do it?” asked Alex.

“It’s easy. I request blank receipts and usually put the added expenses there. We all do it,” said Taylor. “As long as everyone cooperates, the vice president of sales doesn’t question the expense vouchers.”

“What if people don’t go along with this arrangement?” asked Alex.

“In the past, we have had some workers who filed the voucher as corporate wants us to. I remember there was a person who didn’t report the same amounts as the coworkers traveling with her. After a month, accountants came in, and that person and all the salespeople traveled together were investigated. Couple of months later, the one who ratted out the others was fired or quit. I know that person couldn’t find a job in our industry again. It’s a small world for good salespeople.”

“What happened to the other salespeople who were investigated?” Alex asked.

“There were a lot of memos and a 30-minute training video to show the proper way to file expenses. All of them had conversations with the vice president, but no one was fired.”

This was Alex’s first real job out of school and Taylor was her mentor.

After reading the scenario, ask the employee to answer the following questions. Do NOT record the employee’s name or the employer’s name. You can use pseudonyms or assign them numbers (e.g., Employee 1, Employee 2, Employee 3).

1. What should Alex report on her/his expense report? Why? [Please provide 3-4 sentences explaining your position.]
2. Should Alex report the work practice (sales employees padding their expense accounts) to Human Resources? Why or why not? [Please provide 3-4 sentences explaining your position.]
3. Does your employer have a values statement? If so, do you remember any of the values?
4. Does your employer have clearly stated rules? If so, do they also explain the penalties or consequences associated with violating the rules?
5. Does your employer expect employees to comply with the law and professional standards over and above other considerations?
6. Does your employer expect employees to do anything and everything possible to further the firm’s interests?
7. Does your employer offer ethics training? If so, is the training face-to-face or on the computer? How long does the training last?

You can use the attached interview questions template.

ANALYSES. In 5-7 double-spaced pages (12-font), analyze the data collected from the 3 employees.

Do the employees agree or disagree? Can you identify any patterns across the employee responses?

1. Which normative theories appear to underlie the employees’ response to Questions 1 and 2?
2. Which stages of cognitive moral development are displayed in the answer to Questions 1 and 2?
3. Do the employees’ work environments differ? Do any patterns exist between the employee’s work environment and their response to Questions 1 and 2? How would you describe their organizational work cultures?
4. What are your recommendations for firms (in general) based upon these employees’ responses?