Reference no: EM132971313

According to Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics, a small bit of inflation on one's re´sume´ is universal. Levitt estimates that at least half the people engage in this deception to some degree. Typically, the small edits to one's re´sume´ are done to disguise some unaccounted for time in between jobs. There may be nothing to hide except the fact that unexplained time period looks suspi- cious. On other occasions, the deceptions have been more substantial; for example, claiming an academic degree one almost acquired but didn't: "Well, I was just two courses short!" It has also been said that based on studies, the average American tells one or two lies a day, often at work. A survey of 2,500 hiring managers by Car- eerBuilder found that 30 percent of them find false or mis- leading information on applicants' re´sume´s.

A re´sume´ controversy with significant consequences occurred when the then-Yahoo CEO, Scott Thompson, was questioned about a statement on his company's Web site, which reported that he had a degree in com- puter science. A dissident shareholder went public with the revelation that Thompson couldn't have a degree in computer science because the small college he gradu- ated from didn't have a computer science major until after he graduated. The company's regulatory filing indi- cated that Thompson had a degree in accounting and computer science. Thompson claimed the Web site information was an inadvertent error without providing more information. According to his college, Thompson graduated with a bachelor's of science in business administration degree.

Days after this information came out, a person close to Yahoo's board reported that in absence of information that Thompson intentionally misled, the company proba- bly would not force him out, indicating that his impor- tance as CEO to the company was more important than whether he had a computer science degree or not. In spite of this, CEO Scott Thompson resigned his position soon thereafter amid the controversy over his re´sume´ discrepancy.

Write summary the case and answer questions:

Problem 1: In light of the prevalence of these practices, is re´sume´ inflation and deception acceptable? Is it okay up to a point as long as the distortion doesn't get too big? Is a small amount of puffery on one's re´sume´ just expected as part of the game of getting a job and getting ahead? What would the conven- tional approach to business ethics say?

Problem 2: Some small schools don't have official majors but people sometimes claim them anyway because they took several courses in a specialized area. Is this an acceptable practice?

Problem 3: If you had been on Yahoo's board, would you have supported keeping Thompson?

Problem 4: Why do you suppose Thompson resigned?