Our website is a unique platform where students can share their papers in a matter of giving an example of the work to be done. If you find papers
matching your topic, you may use them only as an example of work. This is 100% legal. You may not submit downloaded papers as your own, that is cheating. Also you
should remember, that this work was alredy submitted once by a student who originally wrote it.
This paper under the title "Fair Isn't Fair - Southmont State University" is a strategic analysis of a case involving Laura Adams, an employee at Southmont State University. The first part of this analysis recaps and analyses the relevant facts surrounding the case. …
Download full paperFile format: .doc, available for editing
Extract of sample "Fair Isn't Fair - Southmont State University"
Management Ethics at Southmont State University
Abstract
This paper is a strategic analysis of a case involving Laura Adams, an employee at Southmont State University. The first part of this analysis recaps and analyses the relevant facts surrounding the case. The second part of the analysis states the root problem and the problem components. The third part states the alternative courses of action and these alternatives are evaluated in the fourth part. The fifth, sixth and seventh parts discuss the alternative chosen, the implementation plan and the alternative choice respectively.
Step 1: Recap and analysis of the relevant facts
Six people who included Laura Adams, Dean Bob Frederick, Agnes Johnson, Alex Farrell, Lawrence Sheffield and Jerry Forest were involved in the case. Dean Fredric is Laura’s boss who gave her unwritten permission to attend classes during working hours. Laura is Dean Frederick’s administrative secretary. Agnes is the Benefits Manager in the Personnel Department who conducted an audit on staff enrolment in classes. Alex is the Director of Personnel who was in charge of reviewing Laura’s violation of University policy so that appropriate action would be taken against her. Lawrence is the Vice President for Finance who was in charge of making recommendations for action. Jerry is Dean Frederick’s superior, as he is the Academic Vice President. Jerry is in charge of reprimanding Laura.
The University has established a policy that regulated the attendance of staff members in courses offered at the University. One of the rules states that employees must not attend classes during working hours. In order for her to graduate in August, Laura enrolled in a course that was only offered during working hours. Another rule was violated when Laura sought and was given permission to attend class by Dean Frederick instead of seeking approval from the University President or the Vice President of Finance.
The Personnel Department conducted a routine audit on staff enrollment to University courses and Laura was found to have violated University policy. Dean Frederick took responsibility for not following University policy when he approved Laura’s request to attend the International Marketing class. This marketing class took place during working hours from 10:50am to 12:30 pm. The administration found that Laura had violated University policy, but since she was a good employee, she would not be terminated. Her reprimanding was in the form of a 150 percent charge on lost time, repayment of 165 dollars to the staff scholarship program and receiving a reprimanding letter from the Academic Vice President.
Laura felt that she was reprimanded harshly and threatened that she would take the University to court on discrimination charges. Laura was aware that minority workers at the University were allowed to attend classes during working hours, and she felt she should be warranted the same right as the minorities. Dean Frederick felt obligated to taking some of the blame because he had approved Laura’s enrollment in the marketing class.
Step 2 and 3: The root problem and the problem components
Dean Frederick is responsible for Laura’s situation, because he thought it was fine for her to take the class and ignored the consequences of his decision. Because Dean Frederick underestimated his decision to ignore University policy, Laura’s case got out of hand. First, Laura was upset because she was being punished despite Dean Frederick supporting her decision. Secondly, Dean Frederick could not challenge his boss and the powerful campus administrator because he would need them when negotiating the upcoming budgetary allocations. Thirdly, Laura’s case is now a federal case. The courts themselves have trouble settling cases involving the preferential selection involved in affirmative action programs (Gennard & Judge, 2005, pp. 189-217).
Step 4: Alternatives generated
Dean Frederick should request the Vice President or the President of the University to exempt Laura. Laura should take responsibility for not following proper procedure. The University needs to update its policy for workers taking courses at the University.
Step 5: Evaluation of alternatives
Because Dean Frederick is partly responsible for Laura’s case, he should support her all the way (Petrick & Quinn, 1997, pp. 346-393). He can do this by approaching either the President or the Vice President of the University and asking them to exempt Laura. Dean Frederick should follow the University policies in doing this to avoid complicating Laura’s case. Dean Frederick should take some of the blame and should receive some reprimanding as well. Dean Frederick did not take time to think about his decision to approve Laura’s classes. If Dean Frederick had not approved Laura’s decision to take classes during working hours, them she would not have done it. In taking some of the blame, Dean Frederick will be giving Laura a break that she deserves. Laura knew she was violating University policy when she asked for approval from the Dean instead of the President or Vice President of the University. Laura should therefore stop being upset and accept the reprimand as a consequence of her bad decision. The higher education program approved the Black Staff Scholarship Program, and Laura should not consider taking classes under this program. The goal of such a scholarship program to provide equal protection and application of the law to faculty and staff, and the issue of race and discrimination is irrelevant. The University should also revise its policies to allow for workers such as Laura to attend classes during working hours. This is especially important if the worker needs to graduate in six or so months.
Step 6: Alternative chosen
The University’s policy should be modified in Laura’s case because she had reasonable explanations as why she had to go to class during working hours. First, Laura did ask for permission from her boss and Dean Frederick did approve her attending the classes. Secondly, Laura did not take her lunch breaks but took that one hour break as a chance to do extra work. At the end of the day, Laura also stayed at work longer and extended her shift. Thirdly, the marketing course that Laura needed for her degree was only available during working hours. Fourth, Laura only needed two courses to complete the requirements for her degree. These courses were being taught that summer, but if she failed to attend this class, she would have had to wait till fall. Lastly, Laura had no problem adhering to the University policy that stated that she would be charged a time of 150 percent against her annual leave.
Step 7: Implementation Plan
It should be made easier for the employees that have exceptions as stated in the University policy to get opportunities to attend the classes during working hours. This exception should be valid only if the worker has six or fewer credits lefts for them to graduate, and the course is only available during working hours.
Step 8: Alternative choice
In the event that the University chooses not to modify its policy for Laura’s case, the next ethical alternative that can be taken is Dean Frederick following the proper University procedure in approaching the President and Vice President of the University (Molesworth et al., 2003, pp. 112-147). Dean Frederick should mention that Laura’s seeking and being granted permission by her boss should be taken into consideration before she is reprimanded. Although she did not follow the correct chain of command, Laura sought approval from her superior before attending the classes. Laura should not be reprimanded as harshly as she would have been if she had not taken any measures whatsoever in seeking approval.
Conclusion and recommendations
The University’s policies are useful guidelines for the administration and employees. These policies, however, lack to represent some employees as has been discussed in this paper. It is crucial for modifications to be done on the University policies to ensure that future discrepancies do not arise. Full time employees should be offered full financial support (Beam & McFadden, 2004, pp. 616-709). To qualify for this the employees must give prove of their good performance and they must show their dedication to adhering University policies.
References
Petrick, J. & Quinn, F. (1997). Management ethics: Integrity at work. SAGE.
Molesworth, A. et al. (2003). Work ethic. Penn State Press.
Beam, T. & McFadden, J. (2004). Employee Benefits. 7th ed. Dearborn Trade Publishing.
Gennard, J. & Judge, G. (2005). Employee relations. 4th ed. CIPD Publishing.
Read
More
Share:
CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Fair Isn't Fair - Southmont State University
In the paper 'The Common Wonders of Garcia Marquez's Recent Fiction' the author analyzes Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story, The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World, which indirectly illustrates the global issue of stereotyping.... Stereotyping based on appearance, skin color, slang, language.... ...
This essay ''The fair Tax in the United States'' tells that investments and personal savings are discouraged under the current income tax system in the US.... The essay aims at discussing the main points regarding the implementation of the fair tax in the United States.... NSBA was the first small business organization to give a pass to fair tax to apply to all consumers' goods and services at the consumption final point at 23 percent which is the single rate and a retail sales tax that is national....
Surely even an act of nature such as the one experienced at the state fair happened because of some sort of human error.... After the investigation, the Indiana state Fair management decided to make some changes to the festivities.... This could be something as simple as stocking up on spare parts or, as in the case of the state fair, having a secondary stage on hand for performers in case of severe bad weather (Sheffi, 2006) If I were in charge of an event similar to the Indiana state Fair, I would have my team constantly revisit the tragedy and ask themselves, what else could have been done by the team?...
In the essay 'Health fair' the author describes the experiment where the participants at first seemed to be mostly boys.... Health FairThe health fair was fun for several reasons.... However, as more people in groups came in there seemed to be a pretty equal number of each....
The essay 'fair Value Accounting' is devoted to the theory of accounting in Australia, the factors influencing it, as well as the events that led to the slaughter of a change in the international market in the dimensions and standards of the financial paradigm that arose in the second half of the twentieth century.... One such standard that has been much debated is the fair value accounting measure.... fair value accounting has gained popularity in recent years as the standard for measuring assets and liabilities by firms....
Berkeley: university of California Press, 1978.... Therefore, it is essential to ensure that on top of delivering fair is fair case Fairness can only be established in a case where there is no partisanship.... Therefore, fair is fair case....
There are numerous litigations brought forth for violation of FLSA at the state and federal level, which shows that there is still negligence to comply with the law and more controversies with FLSA need to be addressed adequately, due to changes like technology that could affect the law and labor.... Most of them are initiated at the national level and are enforced through the local, state and federal labor organizations.... The paper "fair Labor Standards Act " states that over the last seven years, especially after the 2007/2008 recession, the worker's basic minimum wage rose drastically from $5....
The paper discusses the health fair that was done by a group of eight students on 9th Dec 2014 at Hendon campus's entrance from ten Am to Five Pm.... The event was efficient although it had minor issues that were later discussed, and solutions given to them for a better health fair next time.... Due to the use of social media (Whatsapp), fifty extra people attended the health fair.... Based on the comments by college students who were not among the group members, it is clear that the objective of the health fair for healthy eating was fully achieved....
10 Pages(2500 words)Research Paper
sponsored ads
Save Your Time for More Important Things
Let us write or edit the assignment on your topic
"Fair Isn't Fair - Southmont State University"
with a personal 20% discount.