Reference no: EM132887972

Ethics Dilemma: Stop Complaining or Else

Margot Hemmings and Jeanette McBride created Sweet Indulgence Confectionary when they began making fudge in Margot's kitchen and selling it to local restaurants and bakeries. Twenty years later, the company sells product to restaurant chains nationwide, major airlines, and large grocery store chains and it has grown from two employees to 1,000 employees. Employees work in a variety of roles including baking, sales, and distribution. As the company has grown, new jobs have been created and staffed. Employee pay was largely based on negotiations with job finalists with little consideration to internal consistency.

Sweet Indulgence developed a reputation as a great place to work and has been included on a national magazine's list of desirable companies to work for. Recently, the tone of the workplace has changed. There have been complaints from many long-service workers about their pay, particularly those whose job duties have expanded and include more complex tasks. Others' jobs remained relatively unchanged. Manny Jenkins, Sweet Indulgence's compensation manager, became concerned as the number of complaints rose. He became particularly concerned when he realized that experienced supervisors and managers, especially those near retirement age (age 65), were doing more for less pay. Upon further investigation, he was alarmed that younger new hires in entry level jobs were making substantially more pay. Virtually all of them were content with their pay.

Manny informed Margot and Jeanette of his concerns, which they promptly rejected. He explained that it had been a few years since the company reviewed job descriptions and pay structure. Jeanette immediately dismissed Manny's concerns and those of the complainers, citing Sweet Indulgence's repeated national recognition as a great place to work. Margot added that unhappy employees should stop complaining or risk being fired.

Questions:

6-9. As a compensation professional, what would you do?

6-10. What factor(s) in this ethical dilemma might influence a person to make a less-than-ethical decision?