Matt Moreau’s Dilemma Essay

Introduction Chuck Mackness, the president of Bantings department stores recently appointed Matt Moreau as head of customer services due to customer complaints at the other department stores. To help Matt in the staffing of his newly created department, Steven Judson, corporate personnel manager, refers Sally Armitage, an ideal candidate who holds many years of management experience at other department stores. After calling Tony Abbott, regional manager, who worked with Sally and gave her performance appraisal, Matt finds out that Sally recovered from cancer a few years ago and is unsure whether Sally would be capable for the high demanding position. This paper will analyze the ethical issues and alternatives for this case. Identify the Stakeholders Matt Moreau is the newly appointed manager to improve the quality of customer service. His task is difficult and demanding because the stores are managed through an operations department who reports to the president. This means Matt will have little authority to implement new programs unless he hires people with line management experience that have developed credibility with the operations department. Chuck Mackness is the president of Bantings and appointed Matt as head of customer service as a result of customers complaining at other department stores. He expects Matt to implement new programs for the staff and stores and wants to see results by Christmas. On his last field visit, he met Sally and she indicated that she would benefit from head office experience. Chuck mentions this to Steven Judson who passes onto Matt. Tony Abbot is the regional manager that encompasses Chute Hill store where Sally is working. Tony worked with Sally when she was the assistant manager at Eastland Mall store and together they turned the store around from being the worst performer. Afterwards, he gave a performance appraisal of Sally giving her much of the credit. Tony is affected by the decision because if Matt promotes Sally, he will have to work with a different manager at Chute Hill store. Sally Armitage is a highly competent manager at Bantings who started out as a clerk and worked her way into management. She always had good or excellent performance appraisals and has management experience at various department stores. Although she is in good health, her medical history shows that she had cancer a few years ago and she still goes every three months for regular checkups. Her current position at Chute Hill store is only 10 minutes away from her home whom she lives with her teenage daughter. Despite the high performance, her medical history will be factored into Matt’s decision. Other stakeholders include Sally’s teenage daughter and the other departments in Bantings. Sally is divorced and if she does get hired, she will have less time for her daughter because she would have to commute on the road longer. The other departments in Bantings will be affected because with Sally’s ambition and her creditability to the president, the customer service department will be able to implement organization-wide programs. Stakeholders’ Frame of Reference Matt is interested in adding Sally to his staff because of her experience and her relationship with Chuck but also understands the risk of hiring an employee with her medical history. The risk is if Sally’s health deteriorates halfway through, there won’t be someone else to fill her position. It is also important to consider the cost of training and how detrimental it would be to the department especially when it is a very demanding position. Chuck Mackness, the president of the company is indirectly involved. He mentions Sally to Steven because he must have noticed her ambition to climb the corporate ladder and that he may have seen some personal traits in her. That way, Matt would of consider Sally as an candidate and the possibility of hiring her may lead to Chuck working with Sally someday. Tony Abbott does not want Sally to leave her job because he understands the health issues after working with her at the Eastland Mall store. Although Tony gave her a performance appraisal, he understands the absences Sally took were serious. During the conversation with Matt, Tony believes Sally should not be hired because of her current state of health. He believes Sally is able to cope with her current position because she lives only 10 minutes away and that she has got a good staff when she’s not feeling 100 percent so she can coast a little bit. Sally is looking for a position in head office because she is ambitious. She does not consider the factors that would affect her if she does get hired. Her commute to work would increase to one hour each way unless she moves closer to downtown. The job would take a toll on her health and she would not have much time for her daughter with the late nights, meetings and traveling. Even if her illness comes back, she believes she can cope with the demanding job by working even harder to prove to herself that she can do anything. Sally’s daughter would not want her mother to be hired because that would lead to less time spent together and if they do move to downtown, Sally’s daughter would be one hour away from school or she would have to change schools. The other departments in Banting would not want any change in operations because they would have to learn new procedures and software. Ethical Issues Matt is obligated to make decisions in the interest of the company. If Sally is hired and her illness comes back, this decision would lose money for the company and Matt’s position to improve customer service would be hampered. Also the fact that Chuck wants to see results by Christmas would put even more pressure on the department if Sally becomes ill. Because Matt knows about her medical history, he should make the best decision in her interest. By hiring Sally to the demanding position could potentially endanger her health. If her illness comes back, it would be detrimental to her and Matt. It is also important to consider her daughter and the toll it would take on their family. Alternative #1 – Hire Sally The first alternative is to hire Sally. This option has the highest risk and highest reward. The risk is by promoting Sally, her health could deteriorate and she would not be able to perform at a high level. At that point the company would have invested into her training and would not be able to train another employee in the time. The company would be at a loss and the original objective of improving customer service would not be executed properly. The upside of this is that Sally is able to cope with the stress and excels at her position. Her proven management experience and her drive to perform at a high level would ensure the improvement of customer service. Alternative #2 – Hire somebody else The second alternative is to hire somebody else with a clean medical history. This is the safest alternative because the company would not risk the possibility of the employee not able to perform the job. This option would not lose the company money as the employee would not have any sudden medical problem. There would most likely be other employees who are interested in the head office environment and are as qualified as Sally. Alternative #3 – Rent an apartment suite in downtown for Sally The third alternative is to rent an apartment suite close to downtown so the burden of the long commute for Sally is gone. The company would incur additional expenses but as long as Sally’s benefit to the company is greater than the expense, the company would go with this decision. However the risk that the job is too stressful for Sally is still present. The late nights, meetings and tensions could prove too stressful for her. Choice of Alternative The second alternative is the best option for Matt. He is able to control the fact that whoever he hires will be not have any major health issues that would ensue later on. Although Sally is the ideal candidate for the position, there are other candidates with years of management experience and have developed credibility with the operations types. In the other two alternatives, where Sally does become ill due to the demanding job, she could file a lawsuit for employee negligence. This would not happen and this alternative is also in the best interest of Sally because her current position is optimal for her health and her family.