Ethical Decisions in Leadership - Research Paper Example

Problem To understand the problem being faced by Lael Matthews, one must first understand the phenomenon usually called ‘Glass ceiling’ in managementterminology. It’s a metaphorical terminology, but for most women and minorities this is a nightmare. This terminology is usually used to describe, discrimination faced by women and minorities. Thus we can say when climbing the workforce certain factions face an invisible barrier that hinders their growth. In the current scenario ‘Glass ceiling’ refers to the power men hold, on the higher hierarchies and as women sometimes it becomes nearly impossible to break through. In her present job Lael Mathews faces this glass ceiling, people higher up the hierarchy are trying to interfere with her job. She must promote one of three managers, and all of her choices have disadvantages and advantages. She must decide from Liz, Roy, or Quang. Although she has a soft spot for Liz and knows that Liz can really use the money provided by the promotion but also knows that being a single mother she can not show full commitment and an above average performance. Promoting Liz will however bring positive PR to the company as she is an African American. Lael’s boss is also favoring Liz for the job. The other choice Roy although old, has been up for a promotion for a long time, and many employees think that he deserves it. Further more a senior manager had made a personal request for his promotion. The final candidate for the job is Quang. She is an intensive hardworking Asian. Always among the top students of her class she has provided the company with record performances in the past. Moreover she is engaged to an upper management person’s son, who is intent on getting her promoted. Narrowing it down, the problem that Lael faces is: ‘Taking the best ethical decision without jeopardizing her career’ Input As Lael is a woman she is pressurized by everyone with power. The main reason upper management employees keep pushing her for their respective favorites in case of this promotion, is because they all think they can bend her according to their will, as she is a woman. If she goes against their will, they can do great harm to her career in the future. The greatest threat can be from her supervisor who wants Liz to be promoted. His request is though of a less personal nature as compared to the supporter of Quang. He is much more intense in his support as she is a relative to him. Lael as a human being is also effected by her personal emotions. Her association with Liz can severely impact her promotion decision. Moreover in light of the recent accident Liz’s daughter Janeen faced, Lael knows that she will not be given proper medical care if she doesn’t promote Liz. Finally as Roy, who was being commonly perceived as the most eligible candidate, is now a relative of the vice president; as his son is getting married to the vice presidents daughter. Review of Facts If we break up the common forces that are at work here the problem will become a lot less complicated. First of all, look at the forces going in favor and against the promotion of Roy. Although an old employee he has always given an average performance, and in his last few years, not much can be expected from him in case of performance. In the past, he has turned down several opportunities of promotion basically because he didn’t want to relocate. These should however not affect his promotion criteria, because a number of factors are not the same e.g. his competitors, age, potential. The common perception is that he should be promoted. This is basically a phenomenon referred to as group think (Belton, 2004). Group think is usually the easy way out when managers take decision that everyone thinks is right. This is just another way of not taking responsibility for your actions. Furthermore if everyone thinks something is right doesn’t necessarily make it right. Liz the second candidate has never provided any exceptional performances in the past. As she is a single mother, giving her job the proper attention is not possible for her. In the new scenario with her daughter in hospital it will be even more difficult for her to give her job the due attention. Lael however might feel that giving Liz the promotion can be ‘the right thing to do.’ Managers usually use rationalizations (Sikula, 2008) to support their decisions which are unreliable and anti-intellectual. This is because in such cases personality and ego of the decision maker is involved. Related to the current scenario, ‘conscience’ is a factor that Lael can use to convince her self that Liz is the right choice because it’s inhuman to deprive her daughter from proper medical treatment. However it’s not Lael decision to provide medical treatment to anyone. Quang is the least experienced of the three choices, she however seems like an unpleasant person to work with, as is denoted in the case. This can be classified in the category of ‘feelings’ (Sikula, 2008). Lael might not promote Quang because Lael ‘feels’ she wont be a good choice. Solution There can be only three probable solutions to Lael’s problem: 1- Choose Liz for promotion 2- Choose Roy for promotion 3- Choose Quang for promotion. SWOT choice 1 Strengths Lael will feel good about herself that she has done a good deed, as Liz will be better able to afford her daughter’s medical expenditure. Lael supervisor will be really pleased; this choice might also result in good PR for the organization. Choosing Liz will provide Lael with the most self satisfaction. Weaknesses Promoting Liz will create an environment of favoritism in the organization, a perception will develop that she was promoted because of personal relationships with Lael. Liz is a below average performer and not much can be expected from her in the future. Opportunities Organization can score points with African American community with this promotion, and this can end up being a great asset for the organizations. Threats Due to the increased time being demanded by her daughter Liz’s performance can deteriorate in the new designation and she might not be able to cope with the extra requirements of her new job. This can lead to a bad review for Lael as well, as she will also be held responsible. SWOT Choice 2 Strength Most people in the organization expect Roy to be promoted, as he has been a very experienced employee. Taking this decision will create a goodwill environment, as employees will feel associated with this promotion. Weaknesses Roy is near retirement and thus can not provide the energy needed for his new post. At this point in his career he would not have any ambition and would just like to get done with his job rather than excel at it. Opportunities Promoting Roy will not only get Lael a good name with the other employees, she will also enter the good books of her VP this can help her up the corporate ladder. Threats Roy might not be able to fulfill the requirements of the new job reflecting badly on Lael. SWOT Choice 3 Strengths Quang has been a top performer according to her academic and recent performances. She is intense and will be able to give extra push to her co-workers. This will increase the competitiveness in the workplace thus increasing efficiency. As she is the most accomplished, there will be no questions asked about this choice in terms of favoritism. Weaknesses As compared to the alternatives Quang is the least experienced, this does associate a slight risk factor with her selection. Opportunities If Quang carries forward her past performance of good result, this will reflect very positively on Lael. Moreover this promotion will end in good relations with a senior manager. Threats Quang is not the most pleasant co-worker. There is a chance that she creates resentment among employees, which can lead to lower job satisfaction and high turnover. As (Wells, 2007) mentioned employees should be treated equally whether they are single parents or otherwise. Thus Liz no matter how needy can not be given priority over any other employee just because she is a single mother. Roy as mentioned before should only be considered on his performance and choices of Lael should not be polluted by group think. Lael should also not let her feelings get in the way of her choice and make decisions based on learned knowledge and past experience (Sikula, 2008). Choice The obvious and final choice in the current scenario should be Quang. She is the most energetic and accomplished of all the candidates. She has proved her self in the past and an ethical decision for Lael would be to promote her. Operational Goal Lael will have to be very diplomatic in her dealings with the other candidates and their supporters. Her aim should be to gain the maximum support for the ethical decision that she wants to make. This will not only involve dealing with the external pressures but also the internal pressures she was facing while making this decision. Following are some step that can be taken to implement this decision: 1- Attend the wedding and give Roy your warmest wishes, give a short indirect impression of how important he is to the organization but not the right guy for this promotion. This should be done in a delicate and subtle manner. 2- Get Liz a medical loan to treat her child or any other support that the company can provide. Lael can even use her connections and raise money for the medical treatment. 3- Lael must sit down with her supervisor and explain all the consequences of promoting Liz, and tell him how she came at her decisions of promoting Quang. 4- Promote Quang but keep a close eye on her handling of people, a quiet informal talk about handling of people politically would be really helpful. References Wells, S. J. (2007). Are you too family friendly? HRMagzine. Sikula, A.S., Sikula, J.S. (2008). How to make unethical decisions. Supervision. Belton, E.B. (2004). Truth or Consequences: The organizational importance of honesty. The Non- profit Quarterly. Stapleton, J.S., Thomas, M.J. (1971). How to make a marketing plan: Guide to reaching the consumer market. Great Britain: Gower. Weiss, A.W., (1999).The glass ceiling: a look at women in the workforce. 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