MBA_4.2 – The Ethics of Managing Change
Consider the following scenario: The Ethics of Managing Change
Robert Tamarin stares at a questionnaire and considers his options.
He’s just completed a meeting with Wendy Preston, the consultant who has been hired to evaluate company productivity and procedure in order to streamline processes and aim for efficiency at Wiffendorf Corp. Wendy is looking at duplicated efforts that exist in the present hierarchy, and she’s meeting with managers such as Robert to evaluate where changes can be made.
Robert’s meeting with Wendy was pretty straightforward: She took some notes about who reported to him directly and to whom he reported.
Now he has been instructed to complete a form regarding some procedural issues at the company.
Robert knows there is a lot of wasted time due to repetitive procedures at Wiffendorf, and he thinks that, in general, hiring a consultant was the right thing to do. Money and time are being wasted, and an outsider could have a clear perspective of what changes need to be made to improve the processes. Wiffendorf Corp. has an opportunity right now to take a significant position in the market, but it’s got to be able to grow efficiently. To do that, Robert’s certain that significant changes will need to be made, and almost certainly, positions will be cut.
As he starts to write down his thoughts, he thinks about how he wants to word his recommendations and impressions. Robert knows that if he omitted some details and rephrased certain procedures, he might be able to structure the change to ensure that he and his team feel the least impact. Robert wants to make sure that neither he nor anyone else in his department loses their jobs. He can see how his job and another manager’s job could be combined; however, he can also show how restructuring some of the teams could make his department more important than it is now. Although these changes that favored him, and his department would definitely improve Wifferdorf’s productivity, it would probably not improve it as much as a restructure done on complete disclosure could.
Evaluate Robert’s options using consequential, rule-based, and character theories. What should Robert do? Why?
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