What Customers Don't Know Won't Hurt Them, Will It - Case Study Example

Elena’s Conflict List and identify an example of all of the sources of conflict that lead to Elena behaving dishonestly in her workplace. The sources of conflict according to Elena’s case are personality differences and clashes. This can be seen where Elena intended to always perform well in the work place but the management requires her to lie to the customers in order to make money for the company. This creates the difference in the personality of Elena and the management. Another cause of conflict is communication and misunderstanding.

There is a misunderstanding between Elena and the management. It is not the intention of Elena to lie to customers but the management forces Elena to lie to customers so that they can make money from them. Thirdly, there is another cause of conflict in that there is a clash in goals and objectives. The objective of the company is to maximize profit while the objective of Elena is to work hard and transparently so that she can climb the management hierarchy. This causes the conflict since the objective of Elena is hampered by the lies the management is employing.

This leads to another cause of conflict, which is the substandard job performance by Elena. Another source of conflict is the difference over procedures and methods used by the management. Elena prefers being truthful but the management prefers using lies to please customers. The last major cause of conflict is non-compliance with the set rules and principles. The management recommends using lies while Elena prefers being truthful.2.    Is Elena in cognitive or affective conflict with the legal department manager?

Elena is in cognitive conflict with the management. This is because it relates to her decision-making abilities.3.   Identify two conflict resolution strategies that would be effective in the short-term and two that would be effective in the long-term in this situation. Discuss why these strategies would be effective, given the sources of conflict you have identified.Two conflict resolution strategies can be used in this case for a short term. One of them is compromise where Elena can compromise with the situation in the company to save her job.

The second strategy that she can employ is collaboration. Elena can collaborate with the company in order to save her career. These decisions will have impacts in both the long term and short term (Aryan college).1.    List and identify an example of all the sources of power that Elena grants to her location supervisor.The sources of power according to Elena’s case reward power. Elena works hard in the company knowing very well that hard work will be rewarded by climbing the management hierarchy.

The second source of power and that raises conflict is the coercive power. Elena is afraid of her supervisor using this power against her since it can lead to demotion or loss of the job. The third source of power that Elena encounters which involves her supervisor is the referent power. Elena works hard to respond to her supervisor to create a positive working relationship.2.    Did Elena go against her basic values, did she ignore her basic values, or did she adopt new values in this situation?

Provide examples to support your view. Elena adopted new values in this situation. Elena adopted to lying for various reasons related to reinforcement theory. First, she had to lie to customers because of the selective exposure that the business faces. Besides, Elena lied because she did not want to have what she believed challenged. Secondly, Elena lied because of selective perception. Elena adopted the value of lying because she did not want the perception of the customer to be that the company did not have enough vehicles to let.

Thirdly, Elena lied because of selective retention. This happened because her intention was to retain the customer. She therefore decided to lie knowing that the car was not in good condition. By doing this, her intention was to retain the good image of the company and gain a good reputation from the customer. In due time, she adopted the value of lying in order safeguard her job and the company’s image. Ultimately, she became defined by lying, which was the newly adopted value. 3. What was the role of power in Elena changing, altering or her ignoring values? Discuss.Power means many different things to Elena and is ancient and ubiquitous.

In her case, power played the role of influencing her decision making. Elena followed the instructions given to her by her supervisor. This is because she was dependent on the decisions made by her supervisor and was answerable to the supervisor. Secondly, reward power played the role in motivating her decision-making, in that Elena’s aim was to be rewarded for her work done and get to the upper management hierarchy. Coercive power also influenced the decision she made since she did not want to be punished for not letting out a car for hire.

She therefore followed the instructions given by her supervisor. In addition, information power determined the decisions she made in that she had an access to the information pertaining to the vehicles. Therefore the role of power was mainly to influence and motivates ElenaDecision-making1. Analyze Elena’s decision-making process at the following stages:A. when she first agreed to lie to the customersInitially, Elena was not a lair. Elena adopted the idea of cheating to the customers of the company.

This was an idea that she was obliged to follow what her management had informed her.B. when she responds to the legal department managerWhen Elena responded to the legal department, she was not aware that a disaster had struck which was caused by her lying behavior. Elena’s response to the legal department would lean towards that she was ordered to lie to customers by her seniors.2. What are her weaknesses in decision-making? What steps would improve Elena’s decision-making process.Elena’s weaknesses in decision-making emerged because of the dilemma that the management put into her.

This is because she was obliged to lie to customers while her nature was not a liar. Elena’s weaknesses in decision making process is that she does not consider the consequence of the decision she has made and instead focuses on maximizing profits of the company. Elena would take gradual steps in improving her decision-making by balancing the weight of her decision, the impacts it has on the customer and the company and the management. 3. What policies or initiatives could the company have in place that would have aided Elena when she is faced with these decision situations?

The company should have values policies that aim at customer satisfaction. This can be formed in the long-term plans of the company as well as the short-term plans of the company. Such policies should be adopted in the vision, mission, objectives, and goals of the company. The company should also implement a zero tolerance to lying in the business.The rental office decisions rests on the management philosophy, values, visions, and goals. In Elena’s case, the organization decisions influenced her style of decision-making.

Initially, Elena was a good employee who never lied but later started lying because of influence from the management. The philosophy, values, visions, and goals of the company shape the organization culture, which is made up of the formal organization, informal organization and the social environment. The factors of leadership, communication and group dynamics influences the climate of Elena’s company. As a manager, I would advise the company to be frank to customers. In cases of a high competition, the company should focus on setting new principles to be followed such as taking the highest bidder.

I do not blame Elena for her behavior. This is because her behavior is in concurrence with the organizations culture and it was the cause of Elena adapting to using lies. According to attribution theory, the cause of success and failure may be either internal or external. Another cause is either in a stable or unstable environment, and either a controllable situation or uncontrollable situation. The attribution theory fits in this case since the objective of the business is manipulate the environment to show a positive image.

ReferencesAryan College n.d. “What Customers Dont Know Wont Hurt Them, Will It?” Business case studies. Retrieved from < http://thearyan.in/files/business_case_studies/management/what_customers_dont_know_wont_hurt_them_or_will_it.pdf>