Ethical Dilemma
Case Study Exercise
Ethical Dilemma:
You are the new vice president for human resources of a company that has not been
performing well, and everyone, including yourself, has a mandate to deliver results.
The pressure has never been heavier. Shareholders are angry after 31 months of a tough market that has left their stock underwater. Many shareholders desperately need stock performance to pay for their retirement. Working for you is a 52-year-old manager with two kids in college. In previous evaluations, spineless executives told him he was doing fine, when he clearly was not, and his performance is still far below par.
If you are to show others in the company that you are willing to make tough decisions, you feel you must fire this individual. The question is, who’s going to suffer: the firm and ultimately shareholders whose retirement is in jeopardy, or a nice guy who’s been lied to for 20 years, through no fault of his?
1. What would you do? Explain in details.
2. What would be the various performance criteria that you would establish?
3. What would be the main feedback you would give this particular employee?
4. How would you manage the performance of this employee? What would you
different?