Reference no: EM133297560

Question 1: Kenichi, a 30 year old team leader told his wife 'I am tired but what can I do?'. He worked 14 hours a day in the previous month and clocked about 140 hours of unpaid overtime as 'service to company'. One day, while doing paperwork, he suffered sudden heart failure and collapsed. What does this speak about the work environment of the company? What should employees do to avoid such instances?

Question 2: The Pacific Steamer Company operated a tourist ship between Visakhapatnam and Andaran and Nicobar Islands. It also had a restaurant on the island. It was a modest business about 5 years ago, when ABC, a 19-year-old college student, committed suicide by jumping in the Bay of Bengal from a high tourist cliff off the Andamans. He left a poetic suicide note and, through newspaper and social media stories, the general public became obsessed with his story.
Soon others started emulating ABC. In the next 10 months, about 50 people threw themselves into the Bay of Bengal.
Many more came to watch. One Sunday in April, for example, 20 people tried to jump, 15 were restrained, but 5 succeeded. People crowded around the edge of the cliff waiting for jumpers. Shouts of "Who's next?" and "Step right this way. Lots of room down in front" could be heard.
The Pacific Steamer Company capitalized on the cliff's popularity. It increased its fleet to 30 ships and added 10 more restaurants. Meanwhile, the Andaman Police Chief was a worried man, He met people, tourists and tried to weed out potential suicides using a crude behavioral profile (was someone too happy or too sad?). A police officer stood at the rim of the cliff. The government made purchase of a one-way ticket to Andamans a criminal offence. Many suicides were prevented; others still succeeded. Thirty people who were stopped at the cliff killed themselves by jumping into the Bay of Bengal on the return boat to Visakhapatnam.
In the meantime, Pacific Steamer Company prospered. Its shares rose on the stock exchange where it was listed. Did the Company meet basic standards of ethics? Why or why not? What should be done to prevent the suicides in the future?

Question 3: Sameer, Sangeeta, and Harsh have been laid off from middle-management positions. Sameer and Harsh are very upset by their misfortune. They are nervous, inarticulate, and docile at an exit meeting in the HR department and accept the severance package offered by the company (two weeks' pay plus continuation of health benefits for two weeks) without questioning its provisions. Sangeeta, on the other hand, manifests her anxiety about job loss by becoming angry In the exit meeting, she complains about the inadequacy of the severance package, threatens a lawsuit, and tries to negotiate more compensation. She receives an extra week of pay that the others did not get. Has the company been fair in its treatment of these employees? Why or why not?