Ethical Decisions in Leadership - How to Choose the Candidate - Case Study Example

Case Study Table of Contents Problem: 3 Input: 4 Solution: 5 Choice: 7 Operation: 8 Problem: Lael Matthews has been given the responsibility of choosing one of the best candidates from three of the proposed candidates – Liz, Roy and Quang Yeh. Liz is an African American woman who has an ill daughter and is very desperate to get promoted. She is a person who is severely facing financial crunch. As far as Liz is concerned, she has never been a bright student and had graduated securing poor grades. Another candidate, Roy, has been a top performer starting from his college days. He is an experienced person who has about thirty years of industry experience (OLS 263: Ethical Decisions in Leadership Mid-Term Case Study: “An Ethical Dilemma”, n.d.). This person has been found to be an average performer in the company. If this person gets promoted, then this would mark his last promotion before retirement. The last candidate is Quang Yeh, who has been a brilliant student in her class and is associated for almost three years with the company. This person has been found to be very ambitious and is a target oriented person who goes to any extent to meet her set goals. She is also a sincere and efficient employee and makes a point to attain her set goals at any cost. Roy and Quang were preferred by many employees as the most eligible person to get promoted and were found to have personal ties with many powerful people within the organization. On the other hand, Lael was very closely attached with Liz’s daughter, this was again creating a mental block for Lael to take a decision. Lael could not understand which person she should recommend for promotion. She was very confused and could not identify the right person who should be promoted and would be the ideal person for a higher position in the organization. Input: Liz, Roy and Quang are three candidates who are qualifying for the higher managerial position in the organization. All the candidates are being backed by higher authorities in the organization. In support of Roy, one of the senor manager’s of the organization told Lael that “Roy has been with us a long time. He has done many good things for the company, sacrificing not only himself but also his family. I really hope that you can see your way to promoting him. It would be a favor to me that I wouldn’t forget.” (OLS 263: Ethical Decisions in Leadership Mid-Term Case Study: “An Ethical Dilemma”, n.d.). This statement shows that this manager wants Roy to get promoted and is trying to influence Lael so that Lael recommends Roy for being promoted. On the other hand, a top management personnel recommended Quang and tried to convince Lael that Quang was the most suitable candidate for a higher managerial position. Expressing his support for Quang, the official told to Lael that “Quang is engaged to my son. I’ve looked over her personal files and she looks very good. She looks like a rising star, which would indicate that she should be promoted as quickly as possible. I realize that you’re not in my division, but the way people get transferred, you never know. I would really like to see Quang get this promotion.” (OLS 263: Ethical Decisions in Leadership Mid-Term Case Study: “An Ethical Dilemma”, n.d.). As a candidate for the higher promotion, Liz was supported by the immediate superior of Lael. He wanted to convince Lael that Liz was the most eligible candidate who needs to be promoted. He stated that “You know, Lael, Liz is one of a very few people in this company who is both an African American female and qualified for this position. I’ve been going over the company’s hiring and promotion figures, and it would be very advantageous for me personally and for the company to promote her. I’ve also spoken to public relations, and they believe that this would be a tremendous boost for the company.” (OLS 263: Ethical Decisions in Leadership Mid-Term Case Study: “An Ethical Dilemma”, n.d.). Liz was trying to build a rapport with Lael as she knew that Lael had a vital role to play as far as matters regarding promotion were concerned. So, she always sought the help of Lael and nobody else whenever she had a problem regarding her daughter’s health. It was apparent that every person supporting the candidates was personally or professionally looking for his individual gains and was not at all bothered about the growth of the organization as a whole. So, it now becomes absolutely necessary for Lael to adopt a neutral mental framework by which she would be able to judge and choose the person who would benefit the organization and steer the growth of the organization. Solution: Lael should analyse the contributions made by each of these person’s towards the greater well-being of the organization. To arrive at a proper decision about the person who should be promoted, Lael should undergo a thorough analysis of the attitudes, beliefs and values that these individuals possess. This would help Lael to understand what their individual objectives are and whether it aligns with the organizational objectives. This would help Lael to arrive at a proper solution. The first choice for such a higher position can be Roy as this person has served the company for many years and is well aware of the operations that the company carries on to remain competitive in the business arena. This person is an experienced person and has been with the company through its good and bad times so this person is one of the best suited candidates. The major weakness of choosing this candidate is that being an aged person, he would soon retire from the organization which would again create the same problem. Choosing this candidate can help the organization to track opportunities which are available in the market as this person has developed such acumen in anticipating market changes. Choosing Qaung would help the company to become a performance driven entity which is important for any company to grow and flourish. She is a very ambitious woman and is eager to make her mark in the industry so choosing her as the candidate for a higher position would steer the company to greater heights. But, on the other hand, the morale of the employees might get affected as she is a task-oriented person and not a relationship-oriented individual, this might lead to grievance building amongst the employees which would make her incompetent in carrying out her responsibilities meticulously. Being young and inexperienced, she might not be able to interpret the market forces that might affect the company’s prospects on the long term which might jeopardize the whole situation. The last candidate, Liz, is an average performer but has a zeal to excel which can drive the company to greater heights but she has a persistent problem regarding her child’s health .This does not allow her to be dedicated to her present work and so she might not be able to carry on with her responsibilities smoothly if promoted to a higher level. This situation could be made better if the proper eligibility criteria, the job responsibilities that the person needs to carry out and the skills and expertise needed to carry out such functions would have been strictly specified. This would help Lael to understand clearly the type of person the company is seeking to occupy such a higher position and the person who best meets the criteria. This would minimise the levels of confusion that Lael is presently going through and would help her to judiciously reach the solution. Choice: After analyzing the entire issue, it is felt that Roy is the most suitable candidate who should be promoted. This person has served the company for a span of twenty years, so he is well aware with the various operations of the company and the strategies adopted by the company from time to time to meet its underlined objectives. If promoted, this person would be able to anticipate the impact of the changes that are occurring in the market and would be able to adopt suitable strategies to tap such opportunities. This would steer the growth of the company. Moreover, being an experienced person he has developed foresightedness and would be able to anticipate the consequences of a strategy adopted by the company. This would help the company to offset the challenges of the market. This person has developed expertise in managing people and is well adapted to the organizational culture so he would be able to make efforts to retain the organizational standards without leading to the erosion of organizational values. This would lead to employee empowerment and increase the performance levels of the employees. Operation: Lael should try to study and analyse the reputation of Roy in the company. She should try to understand whether this person is preferred by his juniors or not and the type of relationship he shares with them. It is apparent that Roy is liked by the senior managers and so he would gain their full support after he gets promoted. This would help him to carry out his responsibilities in a well planned manner. Lael should devise ways by which she can defend her stance. This can be effectively done by stating that it’s absolutely necessary for a person to have strong ties with his seniors because that helps in decision-making and implementing strategies. Roy, himself being a senior person is very popular amongst the top management so he is the most suitable person to get promoted. To prove Roy the most suitable candidate, Lael should drive everybody’s attention on the experience and the acumen possessed by this individual. She should try to convince everybody that such an experienced person would help the company to track down the market forces and would enable the company to grow at a much more rapid pace. This would minimize the chances of strategical errors. This would also help the company to undergo an overall organizational development, if needed, to accommodate the changes occurring in the business scenario. This awareness would help the employees to understand the suitability of Roy as a candidate for the higher position within the organization. Reference OLS 263: Ethical Decisions in Leadership Mid-Term Case Study: “An Ethical Dilemma”, (No Date) Bibliography Carlos M. W. and Gooderl J., (2008). 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