Reference no: EM13371329 , Length: 1800 words
Review Case Study - Crime and Punishment
"Disciplining employees is perceived generally by supervisors as a difficult and unpleasant task. Growing concern with employee rights in the marketplace, discrimination, privacy and equity considerations appear to further complicate the disciplinary process"
John and Steve were working for the local council in a small Australian city. John had worked for the council for more than 10 years while Steve had been there for almost 20 years. They had been working as a team for the last four years and their main job was to fix pot holes in the streets. A friendship developed between them, as did the tradition to spend their lunch hour every Friday at the Lion Sports Club, a club that was near their depot and was the focus of the local community, attracting young and old to numerous events organised there.
Joe, the manager of Lion Sports Club, used to chat to John and Steve every week, discussing the city's news and the club's events. One Friday about eight months ago, he asked them if it would be possible to fill one pot hole on the club's car park as it was getting bigger and posed a threat for the elderly visiting the club on bingo nights. John and Steve said to Joe that they were not allowed to do that because it was against council rules. Joe explained that he did try to get someone to fix it but the man did not show up and he is scared that an elderly person will get hurt.
A couple of weeks later, John and Steve fixed the pot hole after their lunch at the club, using left over asphalt that they were going to throw away. Fixing the pot hole took five minutes of their lunch hour. Joe thanked them on the day and they went on to their next job. The following Friday they came back for their traditional lunch, which cost about $20 for both. When it came time to pay for it, Joe insisted that it was on the house as a thank you for fixing the pot hole. John and Steve said that they did not fix the pot hole for the free lunch, but Joe insisted and after thanking him they left.
Eight months after this event, John and Steve were called into their supervisor's office and were asked if they had fixed a pot hole at the Lion Sports Club in the past. They said they did fix it, with leftover asphalt, the cost of which they estimated at $2. The supervisor then asked them if the payment for fixing the pot hole was a free lunch. They said that they were not allowed to pay for a lunch they had at the club the week after they had fixed the pot hole. The following day, the supervisor advised John and Steve that they were fired because they did not comply with council policy by accepting a bribe and stealing council property.
The council of that city had a number of high-profile fraud cases in the few years preceding John and Steve's sacking, and it has been working hard to change its reputation and image. It had introduced strict policies and procedures regarding council property and it had communicated those to all its employees, in an effort to reduce the fraud. It also used an ethics consultant to help change the organisational culture and work closely with the HR department to implement the change.
The news of the sacking of John and Steve attracted a lot of publicity in the local and national press. After negotiations to reinstate the two council workers failed, the union called a strike in support of the two sacked workers.
Source: Based on Lauder, S. (2009) 'Council workers sacked over free Sandwich,' ABC News
You need to respond to the following questions:
1. Identify the key issues
2. Discuss the key issues
3. Outline the action that you would have taken if you were John and Steve's supervisor
Refrencing style: Harvard Refrencing