Business Ethics Chapter 8 Homework What are some of the key ideas from the history of management

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Chapter 8: Management

Sample Discussion Answers

1. What is management and what are some of the core reasons why managing

people is important? (p. 284-285)

This question is intended to generate student responses independent of the text as well as

to get their reactions to what is conveyed in this chapter.

Management is coordinating people, things, and ideas to attain certain ends. In this

chapter, we focus primarily on a view of management with ethics in which managing

people is important for several reasons:

2. How different is a human being from a human resource? How much does that

matter? (p. 284)

In this context, we are trying to make a distinction between treating humans as resources

3. What are some of the key ideas from the history of management and how are they

relevant to our understanding of management today?

Some key ideas that students might want to touch on include:

• Adam Smith – his many observations in The Wealth of Nations include passages

that recognized the incredible levels of productivity that could be achieved with

specialization.

4. What are the factors discussed in terms of individuals and relationships at the

corporation? How do they shape your view of the individual and how to manage

people? (p. 288)

1. Motivation – Are the employees’ needs being met and do they feel as if they are

working in an equitable company?

2. Relationships with Authority – What is the relationship between employee and

manager at this company?

3. Role of Gender in Relationships – How are differences in gender treated at the

workplace?

4. The Psychological Contract in the Workplace – What are the assumptions

about social norms adhered to in this company?

5. Groups and Teams – how do groups form, cooperate, and function at this

organization?

5. What are some of the most important factors for managing at the level of the

organization? How do we put all this together to create value for stakeholders? (p.

295)

• Managing Change – change is inevitable in every facet of business. Here,

managers can contribute both by responding to that change and directing it to

constructive ends.

• Human Resource Management Systems – managers have always been relied

Managing the Climate of the Organization – managers are well-situated to look for the

6. Examine the principles for action. How helpful are these and how good a job do

they do of putting ethics and business together? How could they be improved? (p.

302)

This provides an opportunity for the students to reflect on the relevance and usefulness of

this material from the chapter.

1. Communicate Regularly (and Effectively) with Employees as an Integral Part of

5. Engage Diversity, Be Willing to Have Conversations about It, and Actively Work

Joe Willis: Feeling the Heat in Thailand

Teaching Notes

Synopsis

Part A

Jim Doyle, the president of Fasco Motors, has discovered that leadership of the Thailand

branch of the company under Allen Moot has stolen money from the company through

shady deals with Sanga Devakula, an influential Thai businessman with strong

Part B

Finally having settled the legal mess, the team faces a demoralized work force. Many at

Part C

Six months after their arrival, the managers decide to try something different. As a

Objectives

There are several issues concerning management and ethics that may be explored in this

case study. These issues include:

– managing across cultures

– creating team unity amid a diverse team

This case may be presented all at once so that students may evaluate and reflect upon the

decisions made, or it may be presented in segments to elicit student responses to the

Questions for Discussion

1. Ramsey, Fyvie, and Willis had to make judgments as to what degree of involvement

with the scandal warranted dismissal and who deserved to be retained. What principals

would guide you in making similar decisions if you had to decide what kind of ethical

violations would merit dismissal?

2. Workers at the factory could tell that Ramsey, Fyvie, and Willis were not being

entirely honest when they described Moot’s dismissal as the result of poor performance.

This may have been received as a sign of a lack of trust among the new managers and

might have given employees reason not to entirely trust the new managers in return.

Should the managers have been more transparent about their efforts?

3. What do you see as the main barriers in this factory impeding the work of the

managers? What should they be focused on? How might addressing those issues make for

a better environment and an improved management approach?

4. What are ways that one can communicate across cultures? Can Ramsey, Fyvie, and

Willis find common ground with Buddhist Thais? What shared values might provide a

platform for improved relations?

5. What do you think of the plan to bring in monks to bless the factory? How would you

compare it to, say, company-led prayer, which is not uncommon in the American South?

Are there other good options to blend local culture with their business to improve the

situation?

6. What are some steps that Ramsey, Fyvie, and Willis can do next to foster trust,

enhance communication, and improve their approach to managing the company?

Suggested Lesson Plan (85 minutes)

1. Question 1 (15 minutes): Some factors for consideration may include: the level of

awareness about the incident, the intent, severity, and degree of freedom in

2. Question 2 (10 minutes): The way that managers choose to disclose (or not

disclose) information reflects the kind of relationship they are setting with their

3. Question 3 (15 minutes): Give the students time to break the case apart. What are

the key tensions and problems in the case from the standpoint of the managers?

4. Question 4 (10 minutes): This provides an opportunity to think more about what

background conditions are needed to communicate well with others, particularly

5. Distribute Part C: Or have the students read part C from the books.

6. Question 5 (15 minutes): Certain rituals may be sources of comfort and fodder

for building trust among a group of people. It may be the case that these rituals

may play a larger role in business in the future. With an increasingly global

7. Question 6 (15 minutes): Perhaps the managers would do well to learn a bit more

about Thai culture. To avoid making public gaffes, they could hire professionals,

Diversity Vignettes (Including Emma Pover and Fred Smith)

Teaching Notes

Synopsis

This collection of case materials raises a series of issues around the topic of diversity. All

of the items are based on real events that happened to actual managers in the workplace.

Objectives

These materials provide a rich array of situations for instructors to explore what diversity

in the workplace means, what background conditions are necessary for it to thrive, what

factors undercut and stifle diversity, and what managers need to do to create diversity –

especially in cases where there are significant impediments to it. You may have sufficient

class time to talk through all of these different cases, but if your time is more limited,

take time to work through them and decide which ones hit at issues you find most

relevant for your students.

Questions for Discussion

1. What is diversity? How important is a definition of diversity for managers and

companies? How much does it need to change, if at all, as we move from

2. As you read through the issues in the assigned cases and reflect on your own

experiences, what are the biggest challenges in creating diversity in the

workplace?

3. What are the costs of not having diversity in an organization?

a. What about for the company?

4. What are the main problems you see going on in this case? Try to specify which

5. What should be done, if anything, to address the issues raised in the case? Why?

6. What capabilities and skills do managers need to cultivate to do a better job of

managing diversity? What fears and limitations do they need to face and get

beyond?

Suggested Lesson Plan (85 minutes)

1. Questions 1-3 (25 minutes): Take time to get students to think about diversity

from their reading of the chapter, the case material, and their own experience.

How do they see these issues, and how are they relevant for them?

2. Questions 4&5 (40 minutes): Either on your own, or with student input, select a

series of diversity cases to discuss in detail. Try to balance covering a range of

different issues and scenarios along with depth of discussion. Ideally you want

both depth and range here. Push them to get specific about what the specific

3. Question 6 (15 minutes): After talking through a series of these cases, take some

time to step back from the discussion and look for some common threads. Many