Senior Staff Members Of K.I. And Vicky example essay topic

Ethics Theory / Vicky Green Case Right to be Informed: Since key personnel of other companies are certainly going to face the risk of losing their jobs if they decide to accept the K.I., Koke International, 50 percent raise, then Vicky must consider the key personnel's right to be informed about the aftermath of such a decision. Wendy McGee, Vicky's boss, has made it clear to her senior staff members that key personnel of the other five player companies will be fired once they finish training K.I. employees. Vicky must consider the fact that those key personnel have the right to be informed about K.I.'s future plan, which will affect their careers. It was not clear whether the orders that Wendy passed to her senior staff members will be mentioned to the top corporate people or not. Vicky must acknowledge the right of those top people to be informed of what Wendy has in mind. It is her job to make sure that these corporate people are aware of all consequences since K.I. could face antitrust issues by going forward with such a plan.

Vicky must not let such orders pass without informing these corporate people. Do No Harm Vicky must avoid harming the powerless versus harming the powerful. The powerless in this case are the other stores that are going to compete with K.I. in the New England states region. Vicky is in charge of coming up with a unique pricing strategy that will run the competitors out of business within an 18-month period. The other competitors's stores are considered powerless when compared to the gigantic and powerful Koke International. Vicky must consider the harm that is going to affect the powerless stores, which will lead them to bankruptcy according to Wendy's plan.

Vicky must also consider harming many versus harming few. The many in this case would be employees of the other five major players in the region and the few are K.I.'s employees. If the plan is successful then K.I. becomes a monopoly in the region while the competitors go out of business leaving their staff unemployed. Therefore Vicky must be concerned about the harm that is going to affect the many left unemployed versus the harm that is going to affect the few at K.I. Duty: Even though Vicky is considered a new employee at K.I., that should not stop her from striving to amend the company whenever there is an opportunity.

Vicky must acknowledge the duty to her organization, which is the most central to the case. As an employee in a firm, Vicky must improve and lead her company to a successful and secure future. Therefore to secure the future of K.I., Vicky must be sure K.I. abides the law by not becoming a monopoly which could have catastrophic results such as a breaking up of the company. A lawful business could improve the company but only through a healthy competitive market.

Vicky must also take into account the duty to her boss, Wendy. First, Vicky must suggest that quick temper of Wendy's be abolished because animosity between Wendy and her staff members may lead to a broader conflict. Also such behavior could lead the company as a whole to be less productive, because with Wendy's quick temper it will be hard for staff members to share ideas. Sharing ideas between members of staff makes a company more successful. Second, Vicky must stop her boss from leading the company into a conflict with the law. Since Wendy knows what consequences might face the company, then it is Vicky's ethical duty to stop her boss from going through with such a plan.

Also Vicky herself may be legally liable if it is ever brought to light that she chose not to oppose the plan. Last but not least, Vicky must consider the duty to the future employees of the company. If the key personnel of the other firms accept the generous but wicked offer from K.I., then it is clear they are absolutely unaware of the potential consequences of their decision. Vicky has to make sure that the new employees know what the future might hold for them. Vicky must notify the new employees about the decisions made by Wendy in the senior staff meeting, which is the firing of those key personnel after they finish training other employees in the firm. Analysis from an Egoist's Point of View From an egoist's point of view there are several factors in the case that should be considered important to Vicky.

Since Vicky is a new employee at K.I., from an egoist point of view Vicky needs to prove her self in the company by being persistent and in compliance with the company's plans so she can keep her job. As a new employee, Vicky also must establish her loyalty to the firm and to her boss. Since Wendy is known for firing people, then Vicky will not upset her boss. Vicky has to understand that by not going along with the plan she might lose her job and damage her reputation by being an unfaithful employee. From an egoist perspective, Vicky's future should be considered the top priority to take into account.

So to secure her future, Vicky will obviously go along with the plan and follow her boss's orders. In an egoist mindset, one's self is what matters the most. Vicky was brought in by her boss on the planning of the next conquest of K.I. Since the meeting is with the senior staff members of K.I. and Vicky is the newest such member then this shows how much Vicky is appreciated by either K.I. or her boss Wendy. This puts pressure on Vicky, being that she has gained such appreciation and acceptance, to keep up the good relationship with her boss. As an egoist, it will be in Vicky's best interest to come up with the unique pricing strategy that will undercut the competition for the next 18 months. Vicky portrays herself as strong employee.

Although Vicky has interjected the conversation in the meeting only once, this is significant giving the fact that it is Vicky's first appearance in such a meeting. As a young employee Vicky expressed her self as an eager and enthusiastic person in her first senior staff meeting by speaking up without permission or introduction. As an egoist Vicky will follow the plan in order to get more appreciation from her boss and firm. Also in Vicky's interjection she explained what the top corporate people wanted, which shows her concern and understanding of what the top corporate people seek. As an egoist, she will continue to voice concerns and accept the plan in hopes to gain the top corporate people's favor because they have the authority to advance her position. Vicky will follow the steps of her boss and become more unrelenting to other firms in the sector so she can keep her job and maybe get a raise or a promotion from the top corporate people or from her boss.

Analysis from a Social Group Relativist's Point of View The most immediate group would be the personnel who attended the meeting and most importantly her boss, Wendy. Vicky will be in conflict with one of the basic needs of a human being, which is belonging. Being part of the group is what concerns Vicky the most. Vicky is going to have to make a crucial decision, which is deciding between accepting the group's plan and refusing to go along with the plan. As a social group relativist, Vicky must consider her boss and the senior staff members' feelings when making the choice. In the meeting Vicky was pointed out as the newest by Wendy, which placed her in a situation where she must prove her self to the group to be accepted.

Although the plan is considered unethical, however, as a social relativist, Vicky will implement the plan without hesitation because her boss and employees are considered her first and only priority. Vicky's boss, Wendy, is definitely consider red a top priority to Vicky. As pointed out in the case, Wendy has invited Vicky to attend the senior staff meeting, which shows an appreciation to Vicky from her boss Wendy. Since Wendy does benefit from Vicky's pricing strategy, then this will make Wendy look good in front of the top corporate people. As a result this will make Vicky favorable by Wendy.

Vicky, being a social relativist, is going to break the pricing problem and come up with a great strategy plan so her boss would look good. Vicky would want to keep the relationship with her boss Wendy. Therefore Vicky must also consider Wendy's quick temper, which was evident in the case. By opposing the plan, Vicky will jeopardize the relationship with her boss. To be part of the group, Vicky must keep in mind that her task will complete the group's work. The strategy that Vicky is supposed to come up with must be complete and efficient for the group to succeed.

As a social relativist, Vicky will be concerned about the results of the project because her priority would be what the group thinks of her. Therefore Vicky will try to perfect her performance to get the acceptance from her most immediate group. Analysis from a Cultural Group Relativist's Point of View When focusing on a larger group that would be thinking as a cultural group relativist. With such mindset the focus would be on a broader group that could include in this case the company, the competitors, or the nation as a whole. When choosing the company as the broader group, there would be two ways for Vicky to react depending on her understanding and concern to the company. Vicky has the choice of giving the company a long or short-term success.

When looking at the short-term success, then Vicky who is a new employee in an already established and successful company would want to maintain that success by building on that establishment. Therefore, Vicky will go along with the plan, so her company would benefit. Keep in mind that this benefit is only temporary. Even though the company will dominate the New England's market this domination will make K.I. a monopoly, which is illegal. If Vicky understands that going through with Wendy's proposed plan would make the company a monopoly, which will probably cost the company a lot, then Vicky would oppose the plan and challenge her boss to save the company from facing antitrust issues. Therefore by opposing the plan Vicky would secure the company's long-term success.

Since Vicky is in charge of the pricing analysis, then Vicky must think about the other competitors in the region who are going to face bankruptcy due to Vicky's pricing strategy. Being a cultural relativist, Vicky is going to be concerned about whether or not competitors in the region are going to have a healthy competitive market. Therefore Vicky will refuse to go along with the plan to save the other stores from facing bankruptcy as a result of being in an unhealthy competitive market. As a cultural group relativist, Vicky would also consider the laws of the society as a whole. Vicky will definitely oppose the plan to keep monopoly away from the market. Therefore to maintain a healthy competitive environment in the New England states region, Vicky must oppose the plan.

Vicky would oppose the plan because of her concern about the laws of the society. Decision-making using the Utilitarianism Theory Vicky must choose between going along with the plan and simply opposing the proposed plan. Either one of the choices would leave Vicky with positive and negative consequences. If Vicky chooses to go along with the plan, then this could result in several positive consequences. First, Vicky would please her boss and probably strengthen their relationship.

Assuming the plan is successful, Vicky and Wendy could get a raise, a promotion, or more importantly a greater recognition from the top corporate people. Vicky would be asked more often to attend such important meetings where decisions concerning the future of the company are being made. Also the senior staff members will be appreciated more by the top corporate people. The company will expand and spread through the New England states region and eventually become a monopoly, which will result in a greater profit. Unfortunately going along with the plan and following orders will not be of a positive consequence for everyone in the case.

For instance, key personnel will be hired then fired. Therefore for them to be employed again in a monopoly market they are going to be forced to make their price even lower than what they had with their previous employers. Now those employees don't have a choice. If they choose to accept K.I.'s offer, which will raise their price by 50 percent, then they are going to be fired once they train other lower priced employees in the company. On the other hand, if they choose to refuse the offer then their company will be out of business and they will obviously loose their job as a result. Other stores in the region will also be affected by Wendy's plan.

For Vicky to accept the plan and come up with a strategy, she is going to put other competitors in the region out of business. Those competitors might resist, but at the end they are going to file bankruptcy because they are dealing with a much stronger competitor. Last but not least, Vicky's company could face antitrust issues if noticed by the federal government. Being a monopoly in the region will definitely raise concern and suspicions from the federal government, which will ultimately put the company in conflict with the law. Although opposing the plan is the most ethical and the right choice that Vicky could make, yet it is certainly not the most favorable. By opposing the plan Vicky might lose her job, friendship, and reputation.

Since Vicky is a new employee at the firm, then opposing the plan will weaken her position and will force the top corporate people to fire her. Furthermore Vicky will no longer be appreciated by her boss, Wendy. Therefore Vicky will not be asked to attend a senior staff meeting again. Vicky's team, which includes all senior staff member who are assigned for the project, will also be affected by Vicky's decision. Opposing the plan will lead to a delay in the process because Vicky will no longer be part of the team. Koke International will also be affected by Vicky's decision.

Since Vicky had to come up with a price analysis, her refusal to continue on with the plan will cost the company extra time and effort. The company will be required to come up with a new pricing analysis, which might discourage the company from continuing with the plan since it will cost them time and effort. Therefore K.I. might lose its share from New England's market. However, K.I.'s loss is a gain to the other stores in the New England states region. With K.I. out of the way the stores in the region will continue to operate in a healthy competitive market. If K.I. chooses not to dominate the New England market, which will eventually lead to dismissing Wendy's plan, then such a decision would be beneficial because K.I. will avoid antitrust issues.

However, Vicky's reaction may vary. Vicky may oppose the plan and challenge her boss right after the meeting by persuasion and convincing. If this action doesn't work, then Vicky may take it to the next level, which is to inform the top corporate people of what unpleasant consequence might they face from the federal government if they accept the Wendy's plan. If this action also doesn't work, then finally Vicky must report the plan to the federal government, so the law will take action.