Reference no: EM132298199
Ethical decision making: The hard-working systems designer
On Sunday Armand went to work to pick up a report he needed to review before an early Monday meeting. While at work, he noticed a colleague’s light on and went over to the cubicle for a short visit. Monica was one of the newest systems designers on the department’s staff in an all-male team of fifteen designers ranging from interns, part-time employees and a core group of senior designers with many years of experience. She was hired six weeks earlier to assist with a series of human resources (HR) projects for the company. Before joining the firm she worked as an independent consultant to organisations trying to upgrade their HR systems that track payroll, benefits, compliance and other issues. Monica was the only female on the systems staff was very well qualified, detail oriented and hard working.
She In his brief conversation with Monica, Armand felt that he was not getting the full story of her reason for being at work on Sunday. After all, the systems team completed the first HR systems proposal on Thursday and was prepared to present its report and the recommendations on Monday. Monica said she was “working on a few parts” of the project but did not get more specific. Her face turned red when Armand joked, “With the beautiful sunshine outside, only someone hoping to earn a little extra money would be at work today.”
Armand and another co-worker, David a senior designer, presented the system team’s report to the HR staff on Monday. HR was generally pleased with the recommendations but wanted a number of specifications changed. This was normal and the systems designers were prepared for the changes. Everyone on the team met that afternoon and Tuesday morning to develop a plan for modifying the system. By Tuesday afternoon, each member was working on their part of the project again.
On Friday afternoon, David went up and down the hall, encouraging everyone to go to the “happy hour” at the bar down the street. About ten people, including Armand and Monica, went to the bar. The conversation was mainly about work and the new HR project. On several occasions Monica offered ideas about other systems and other companies with which she was familiar. Most of the systems designers listened, but a few were quick to question her suggestions. Armand assumed her suggestions were the result of work with previous clients. Over the weekend, however, Armand began to wonder whether Monica was talking about current clients. He remembered their conversation on Sunday and decided to look into the matter.
On Monday, Armand asked Monica directly whether she still had clients. Monica said yes and that she was finishing up on projects with two of them. She went on to say that she worked late hours and on the weekends and was not neglecting her company responsibilities. Armand agreed that she was a good colleague but was not comfortable with her use of company resources on personal, money-making projects. He was also concerned that the team’s intellectual capital was being used elsewhere.
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