Leadership and HRM: Case Study Analysis of PFL Copyright Problem

This case study analyzes a situation at People First Limited (PFL) where a team, led by Akash, faces a copyright issue with a logo chosen by a team member, Martin. Despite being informed of the potential legal consequences, the team exhibits a lack of ethical judgment and cohesion, attempting to conceal the issue rather than address it. Akash is faced with a team that prioritizes budget and time constraints over the company's reputation and legal compliance. The case highlights the importance of ethical conduct, legal awareness, and effective leadership in human resource management. Akash is advised to address the issue by informing the owner and seeking permission or compensation, and to address the unethical behavior within the team. The case touches upon the balance between creativity and regulatory compliance.

Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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As per the case study Akash, the team lead at People First Limited (PFL), leads a team of
four juniors under him. The team he is leading is well known for their hard work and
commitment in meeting deadlines. Recently the company wants to launch a new PFL service but
just two days before the launch of the service the copyright issue regarding the logo being used
came into his notice by his newly recruited junior.
Martin, one of the juniors was in charge of the logo designing and architectural support.
He chooses the logo from a million of logos available in the internet. The main criteria for
choosing the logo was its appeal and its added meaning to the company objectives (Ku, 2017).
The copy right symbol was considered but neglected thinking it to be a trivial thing and not-so
important issue which should not be the case as he should have knowledge about the importance
of copy right and company’s legal policy (Stokes, 2019). Akash, after realizing the civil
consequences of the problem called for a meeting and he was surprised to see the casualness of
his team. Instead of trying to solve the issue the team was trying to neglect the issue and was
providing solutions to hide the copy right thing. Moreover, there was no team cohesion and the
new joiner was treated as an intruder in the team by other three members. Akash was surprised to
see his team behave so unethically and lacking their prudent judgmental skills, as copy right is an
issue of organizational commitment and transparency of ethical conduct (Cascio, 2015). The
team highlighted the budget issue and time constraint but neglected the reputation of the
company and how stakeholders and other guests will react if the copy right issue crops up in
front of them. This compromising attitude of the team forced him to give a second thought on
their employment in the company.
Akash should simply tell the truth to everyone and should stop the use of posters to the
earliest. He should decide to contact the rightful owner and should apologize or ask for

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permission to use it or could pay for the unauthorized use of the copy right logo. Whatever may
be the consequences, the company need to bear it all in addition to financial losses and reputation
deprivation. And such an unethical team should be warned of such issues and if needed their
employment can be terminated. After all unethical people will bring no good to the company and
it will be fatal for the company reputation in future as well.

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References
Cascio, W. F. (2015). Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill.
Ku, R. S. R. (2017). The creative destruction of copyright: Napster and the new economics of
digital technology. In Copyright Law (pp. 207-268). Routledge.
Stokes, S. (2019). Digital copyright: law and practice. Bloomsbury Publishing.