Dealing With Dilemmas in Business - Assignment Example

?Baruch College Prof. Booke Department of Management Fall Mgt 3120 ETRA TAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT This assignment is worth 4% of your term grade.Read each of the scenarios carefully and answer each to the best of your ability. Each scenario should be answered in a maximum of one page or a total of five pages for the assignment. The assignment is due at the beginning of class on TUESDAY, September 11, 2012. It must be typed and stapled. Bring in two copies of this assignment (one will be collected). When submitted, the assignment must contain a cover sheet with the following information: (Approx Middle of Page) “Management Dilemmas” Homework Assignment #1 Mgt. 3120 ETRA Prof. Booke September 11, 2012 (About two – three inches below, type and sign the following statement): By my signature below, I hereby certify that this is my own individual work and it has been completed without anyone else’s assistance. Print Your Name Your Signature Baruch College Prof. Booke Department of Management Fall 2012 Dealing With Dilemmas in Business Read the scenarios below and then answer the questions that follow. As you read, please understand that there isn’t any particular right or wrong answer to the questions. Rather, this is an assessment of your ability to recognize and resolve important issues that you might encounter in the business world. Please answer each question as fully as you can in complete sentences. Do not assume any specific facts except those provided in the introduction and in each individual scenario. Do not assume that facts in one scenario can be applied to any other. This is to be an individual assignment and should not be discussed with anyone. Introduction (applies to the first three scenarios) Robert is the managing partner of a small accounting firm called Accountants LLC. The firm, based in downtown Manhattan, employs 10 accountants and a 5-person support staff. It provides accounting and audit services throughout the metropolitan area. Scenario A After the company enjoyed a good year in 2010, Robert was thinking about giving bonuses of 15% for all members of his staff. Early in 2011, Robert received an e-mail from his cousin, Nancy, who graduated from Baruch College with a BBA in accounting in December 2010. Nancy is in the United States on a student visa. She tells Robert that if she does not get a permanent job in the United States within two months, she will have to return to her country of birth where there is little work for American-educated accountants. Although Accountants LLC was not specifically looking for an additional accountant, and after thinking about it for some time, Robert decides to hire Nancy as a entry-level accountant in order to allow her to remain in the United States. To find funds for hiring her, Robert decides to forego awarding the 15% bonuses he was considering and instead orders a bonus of 12%. 1. What do you see as the issues raised by the facts in the scenario? Describe as many as you see. There is a perceived circumvention of the law that Nancy was employed only to ensure her stay in the country. The other employees are deprived of their rightful increase because of one person. There is the issue of nepotism because Nancy’s hiring was mainly because of Robert’s cousin. 2. What do you see as the consequences of Robert’s decision? There will be overemployment since there is no need for another accountant that will further cost the company by compensating an unnecessary employee. The other employees may be also possibly alienate Nancy upon knowledge that their bonus was cut down because of her. 3. What alternative courses of action did Robert have? Robert may have opted to forego his cousin’s plea since he does not need a new employee. Further, her addition may be detrimental to the dynamics of the company. 4. If you had been in Robert’s place, what would you have done? Explain. If I were Robert I would first look at Nancy’s qualifications and find out if she could possibly be an asset to the company. If I find that she will not substantially contribute to the growth of the company, then I have to beg off hiring her. Given that her circumstance is difficult I will consider giving her a position I actually need which is not necessarily that of an accountant if she is willing to accept it. ******************************* Scenario B For many years, the firm’s office manager, Patrick, has bought office supplies for the firm at a small family-owned stationery store (Sylvia’s Stationery) located next door to the firm’s office. Accountants LLC is Sylvia’s biggest customer. The workers at both Accountants LLC and Sylvia’s Stationery know each other well and some have become friends. While examining receipts submitted by Patrick, Robert notices that Sylvia’s charges on average 15% more for many common office supplies than does Office Supply Co., a huge nationwide chain. Robert calculates that Accountants LLC could save between $3,000 and $5,000 annually if it purchased its supplies from Office Supply Co. instead of Sylvia’s. Robert asks Sylvia if she would be willing to provide Accountants LLC with a discount on its purchases to make Sylvia’s prices more competitive with those of Office Supply Co. Although Sylvia declines to offer the discount, saying that she can’t afford to give additional discounts. Robert decides to continue buying supplies from Sylvia’s. 1. What do you see as the issues raised by the facts in the scenario? Describe as many as you see. Deciding between loyalty or substantial savings. Patronizing small to medium enterprises over large corporations. 2. What do you see as the consequences of Robert’s decision? The company will lose between $3000-$5000 by continuing to buy from Sylvia’s Stationery. Absent of a compromise to grant Accountants LLC a discount, Robert prioritized loyalty to the business rather than saving on office supplies. In turn, there may be other non-monetary benefits that the two businesses get from each other. These factors may have been good enough reason that the savings would be immaterial. 3. What alternative courses of action did Robert have? Robert could have easily stopped buying office supplies from Sylvia’s Stationery and instead switched to Office Supply Co. and save a few thousand dollars. Robert could have also imposed further pressure on Sylvia to give them a discount maybe even for just 5%-10% to save a little. 4. If you had been in Robert’s place, what would you have done? Explain. I would talk to Sylvia to give us some discount. If she doesn’t agree my next course of action is to talk to Patrick and ask him to make an comparison of the prices between the suppliers. Those that are priced the same or relatively the same I will continue to buy from Sylvia. Then the most used items which are priced higher at Sylvia’s like paper, I will buy from Office Supply Co. ******************************* Scenario C One day, Robert learns that New York City has started a program to help small businesses. The program provides tax breaks and other benefits for Manhattan-based businesses that have fewer than 15 full-time employees. Since Accountants LLC has 15 full-time employees, it would be ineligible for the program. Robert decides to fire Michael, the most junior accountant at the firm, which now makes the firm eligible for the program. 1. What do you see as the issues raised by the facts in the scenario? Describe as many as you see. The firing of Michael is a form of tax evasion. Unfair dismissal of an employee. 2. What do you see as the consequences of Robert’s decision? Michael may file a case for illegal dismissal and the company may be in an even worse position with a pending action against it. The finding that Accountants LLC is not actually eligible for the tax break could give sanctions against the company depending on what the law provides. 3. What alternative courses of action did Robert have? Robert could have just ignored the program since they are not eligible or wait for such event that one employee leaves and just don’t hire a new one. In this case, the company becomes eligible without performing an illegal act. 4. If you had been in Robert’s place, what would you have done? Explain. I would have just waited that an employee leaves without my intervention and then apply for the program and avail of the tax breaks but I would not fire anyone for such purpose alone because that could produce worse effects. *************************** Scenario D The day before your Accounting Final, John, a student in your class, tells you that he has a copy of the exam (the professor had left his flash drive in the classroom). After the class, John emailed the exam file to himself, put the drive in an envelope, and left it in the professor’s mailbox anonymously. John offers you a copy of the exam. 1. What would you do? I will delete the email without reading it. Given the facts, it would be unlikely that the professor would be guaranteed of the integrity of his exam and I will not risk cheating and possibly getting caught for something I did not do. 2. Would you respond differently if you learned that many of the other students in the class also have copies of the exam? No, the more that I will disregard it because such fact could only lead to further suspicion. Most often, a secret kept by more than a handful of people is even more dangerous. I would rather not take part in any of it. 3. If you decide not to cheat, would you tell the professor what happened? Would you tell him who circulated the exam copies? No, I believe that the professor has his own ways to figure out who cheated and the right punishment for those who did. The people involved are still my peers and though I know of what happened, I will not risk the ire of my classmates. 4. Two years later, you’ve graduated from Baruch and you have a job with a large accounting firm. One day you are working on an assignment at a client’s location. The client remembers that you graduated from Baruch and asks if you know anything about John, who is being considered for a position by the client. What would you say? I will say the positive traits of John that I know of base on my personal knowledge of him as a friend. I will say that he is generous and a good friend but I will not go so far as to say that he is honest nor will I personally vouch for him. That one incident does not define John and I will not jeopardize his future base on that. 5. Would your answer to #4 be affected, if the work your firm was doing for the client was for a one-time only project rather than being for a major client of your firm? No, my answer will be the same in either case. 6. Three years after that, your human resource administrator tells you that John has applied for a position at the firm you work for. However, he would be working for a foreign division of the firm and would have no contact with your division. The HR administrator asks you, as a Baruch alumnus, whether you know John and if the firm should hire him. What would you say? My answer will be the same as with number 4. John still deserves to prove himself and that will not happen if I have prejudged him based on something that happened years ago. 7. Okay, it’s now ten years since you graduated and you have your own accounting firm. John is applying for an open position in your company. Would you consider hiring him? Yes, I will consider him if he has the qualifications that I am looking for. 8. If you decide not to hire him, would you tell him why? Yes, if his actions were such that it affected my notions of him then he deserves to know it and possibly learn from it. *************************************** Scenario E Describe a business dilemma scenario that you have personally experienced or know that someone else experienced, similar to those above. Include what action was taken and indicate why you think it was or wasn’t a great decision. I know of someone where there was a complaint in a written letter against him and the management did nothing. They assumed that all the accusations were true in the letter that was even anonymous without confirming any of it. The person was then ostracized because there were all the rumors circling around and the management did not conduct any investigation or even talked to him personally. He only learned of it when people were already talking about him behind his back and matters have already escalated. It was definitely a bad decision on management to let the issue hang on and escalate without addressing it. Read More