Ethical Dilemmas in Leadership: A Case Study Report and Analysis

This case study report analyzes a business scenario involving a sales-driven organization, In-Place Solutions, and its leader, Bodine, who employs an autocratic leadership style and fosters a competitive environment. The report examines ethical dilemmas faced by employees, specifically Ali, who is presented with potentially unethical information about a competitor. The analysis delves into the implications of Bodine's leadership, the impact of competition, and the ethical considerations involved in Ali's situation. Furthermore, the report explores various ethical decision-making approaches, including individualism, utilitarianism, and the practical approach, to assess the actions of the employees and guide ethical choices in business. The study highlights the challenges of balancing personal ambition with ethical conduct within a high-pressure, competitive workplace.

Running head: CASE STUDY REPORT
CASE STUDY REPORT
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Answer to question 1
Bodine created the sales culture of the organization, Inpace cut-throat and moving. He is always
focused on making the work culture innovative, so that the employees are engaged to give their best
effort to the company. The leadership role played by Bodine is autocratic style of leadership and the
working environment within the company is very competitive. He always inspire the employees to
compete with each other. thus the employees themselves remain in a robust competition with each
other. all of the employees work hard and put their best so that they can prove their eligibility to
Bodine. Therefore it can be said that the given case study is an example of ethical dilemma which is of
pre-condition level. The employees robustly compete with each other and inclined to win by using any
means as they remain under the pressure of robust competeting environment. Therefore such kind of
environment pushes them to develop within themselves, a cut-throat behavior. As a result of this, the
employees often ignore their indigenous worth and indulge into competition. Instead of working for the
organization, the employees work for their own interest which is the urge of the prove themselves
before Bodine. Bodine incorporated the strategy of rewards in the work place which made the
employees focused on earning rewards. The case study clearly shows that Bodine’s this strategy really
work as it motivates the employees to bring out the best version of themselves. The employees obey
their leader in order to avoid any personal consequences in the organization. Bodine, who is in the
leadership position of the company, follows an autocratic style of leadership. every knowledge and skill
with which he elevates the performances of his employees to the level of his expectation. Being the
head of the organization, Bodine masters in the area of sales. He also encourages his employees to learn
from his expertise like his strategies and understanding of the subject and follow them. He uplifts the
work force in the company by motivating them with his speeches. He believes in the strategy of
competition. as per his ideology, employees can be motivated to put their best effort in if they are into
competition against each other. so that it can be said that the business strategy he follows is the
aggressive style of business strategy. he believes that young generation has the ability cope up with his
style of business policy. Thus he hires the best talents from the top-notch universities. He nurtures the
young talents to adopt his strategy to be more productive, efficient and effective for the completion.
Answer to question 2

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The case study shows that Ali has witnessed ethical dilemma. Ali Sloan along with Codi Russell
were being considered for a coveted assignment for a major account with a company that had has
recently expanded its base into the state. She was expected to submit a proposal for the assignment to
seize the assignment and prevent the possibility of the rival company Raleigh-Tech from seizing the
opportunity. Ali grabbed the opportunity and expanded their influence with the company. This was also
done with the intention of building reputation. However, things too a bad turn when Cody on one fine
night stormed into Ali’s office and kept the file on the desk. The file comprised of all the trade secrets of
Raleigh-Tech, the biggest competitor of In-Place solutions. I feel that it is quite difficult to decide what
would Ali actually do in this situation. It is because the file comprising of the important information and
data of the rival company could change the fate of Bodine in the market. I would not say that the
company was not doing well in the market, however accessing the key information of a rival company
had its own share of advantages. First of all these information would enable In-place solutions to have
an idea about the marketing strategies and the business model of Raleigh-Tech. Since In-place solutions
was always motivated to take away the opportunity for sales of its competitors in the market (in this
case Raleigh-Tech). This would help In-place solutions in entrenching its competitive advantage. In-place
solutions are known in the market for its penchant for hiring to-grade graduates who have graduated
from some of the best business schools. For Bodine who is the sales manager of the company, it would
be a great opportunity to reap the benefits that would be generated through the inside and detailed
information about Raleigh-Tech. Therefore, based on the competitive advantage that Bodice would
generate from the information about its rival company Ali may refrain from making a call and let her
company bask in the potential advantage that it would have. However, another alternative would be to
call Bodine and inform him about the unethical means adopted by Cody. Given the body of work by
Bodine and his reputation he might allow such unscrupulous means to succeed in the business.
Competition in business is quite natural as it reflects the vision, will and determination of the company
to give their best efforts. However, adopting unfair means to level the game, in this case using espionage
service to topple the game of the rival company is unethical. This directly assaults the principles of
honesty, integrity and ethical means that are considered the foundation of an organization. Adopting of
unethical and unfair means to stay ahead in the competition is reflective of poor leadership skills and
the lack of confidence in oneself. Therefore, I feel that if I were in Ali’s situation it would be equally
tough for me just like her to come to a decision about should be done given the complexity of the
situation. On one hand, those information would be beneficial for In-place solutions and help in chiding
away the competition. On the other hand, letting this incident happen without raising protest would

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lacerate my professional integrity that I have leant and maintained in my professional journey. May be
after much deliberation, I would actually call up Bodine and inform about Cody’s unethical means. It is
important to maintain an organizational culture that is fair and where people would feel inspired to
bestow their contributions.
Answer 3)
Ethical decision-making is a key component of business and leaders make decisions about their
organizations drawing from the different approaches of philosophy. The foundation of individualism in
decision-making revolves around adopting the best method for business that is guided by self-interest
where everyone would benefit. As a result of this business leaders prefer to adopt this approach believing
that it would enable them to entrench and consolidate their business. Considering the principle of
individualism as one where companies encourage employees to veer towards personal benefits and seek
strategies that would help them in entrenching long-term interest, the decision of Cody to hand over the
secret information of the rival company Raleigh-Tech to the sales manager, Bodine looks like a fair
enough decision. Since he and Ali were competing for the same assignment, Cody understood that this
secret trade information would not only help Bodine in gaining competitive advantage over RT but at the
same time would help him to topple Ali from the competition and make him the sole competitor for this
assignment. However, there is drawback of individual ethical decision-making that is it motivates
employers or employees to seek short-term goals to succeed in the business instead of long-term benefits.
Therefore, this approach is concerned solely with the personal benefit of the individual. The next
approach that could be used as framework to assess the decision adopted by Cody would be the utilitarian
approach. The core value of the utilitarian approach is that it strives to achieve greatest good for the
greatest number. Another aspect of this would be to create least harm to the organization or other
stakeholders who are involved in the process. It focuses on ensuring the interests of every entity.
Therefore, an utilitarian approach ensures that everyone involved in the process would reap benefit from
the process. If Cody would have drawn from the utilitarian approach he would have stayed away from
pursuing the current mode of strategy that posits to topple Ali and solely secure him benefit. He would
have made the decision to not adopt unfair means in securing his individual interest but also look at the
concerns of Ali. He might have made Ali a party into this strategy and together they could have presented
the file by allowing Ali to also have her share of advantage. He might have in statistical analysis of the
probable outcomes like the benefits assessment, classic costs and consideration of the marginal utility.
Therefore, the central idea would be to not harm Ali or ruin the reputation of the company. Another
approach to ethical decision-making in business would be the practical approach that could be adopted by
Cody. According to this approach, managers need to encourage their staff and value ethical priorities

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through encouragement of all the employees. According to this approach, sound ethics are integral for
business as it encourages the managers to deliver their best efforts. Considering that, this would be the
approach adopted by Cody, then he would refrain away from this act and rather encourage Ali to compete
on level playing field. The highlight of this approach is that it seeks ethical practices based on the
situation that would maximize the potential of each of the employees. The practical approach challenges
the unethical means. Practical ethics links ethics to discipline. It also tries to establish professional ethics
with the broader social context. The practical approach further takes into account the institutional context.
Accountability is also another feature of the practical approach, therefore drawing from these features it
can be said that the fear of accountability would have refrained Cody from adopting such an unethical
measure. He would have adhered to an approach that w would be rational and avoid deception, favoritism
and leads to the conflict of interest. He would not have used his power and influence to sought the files
and topple RT with will-motives. He would have rather worked hard, strategize and entrench his position
that would have given him a competitive advantage over Ali and naturally would have given him the
confidence. He should adopt professional integrity into business and not let difficult situation, in this the
decision of toppling Ali and ruining her career possibilities. Most importantly, he would try to live up to
the core values of Intech Solutions as envisaged by Bodine.