Marketing and Management Case Study: InPace Solutions Ethical Dilemma

This case study, titled "Too Much Intelligence," analyzes the management and marketing strategies of "InPace Solutions." The assignment explores the aggressive and competitive leadership style of Ken Bodine, who fosters a results-driven culture that prioritizes profit. It examines the ethical dilemmas faced by employees, particularly Ali Sloan, when faced with unethical tactics employed by a colleague. The paper discusses transformational leadership, utilitarianism, and the ethical implications of prioritizing profit over ethical conduct, referencing relevant literature on business ethics and leadership. The case study delves into the conflict between individual gain and the greater good, highlighting the challenges of navigating ethical boundaries in a competitive business environment.

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Case Study: Too Much Intelligence
Answer 1
The “advent of globalization and the recent developments in the fields of technology
as well as innovations has drastically transformed the way the various business organizations
or companies transact their business”(Ball et al., 2012). It is a reflection of this that in the
present times it is seen that most of the business organizations try to take the help of various
kinds of innovative as well as competitive strategies in a bid to “bring about the overall
growth as well as the development of the business organization or the company concerned”
(Ball et al., 2012). The company “InPace Solutions” is a typical example of this kind of
business organizations, namely the ones which likes to take the help of the recent
“developments in the fields of technology as well as innovations to bring about the overall
growth and the development of the organization under consideration here”. Furthermore, if a
look at the character of Ken Bodine is taken then right from the first sight he appears to be a
very competitive person and as a person who would do anything which is in his power. The
case study itself describes him as a person who inspires the other people to work hard and
also to be more competitive not only in their workplace but also in their personal lives as
well. Furthermore, it is aggressive as well as the competitive nature of Bodine which has
helped him to achieve success not only in his personal life but in his professional career as
well (Ball et al., 2012). The case study describes him as one of the primary reasons for the
recent success attained by the company in the recent times. It is he who keeps on motivating
almost every member of the office and more specifically the sales team to give their best for
each of the calls which they make. Moreover, in the earlier part of his Bodine belonged to the
army and does he is very used to the concept of strategies as well competitive policies which
are used to gain competitive advantage over their rivals. Furthermore, Bodine hires only the

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best graduates from two of the very best business schools of the nation and it is often of the
primary reasons for the high level of proficiency which the staff as well as the company has
managed to earn in the recent times (Ball et al., 2012).
An examination of the working as well as the managerial style of Bodine reveals the
fact he is an effective manager and knows at which particular situation which particular
strategy he needs to use. A closer look at his style reveals the fact that he is a
transformational style of leader and likes to lead his subordinates by example (Albee, 2014).
In the opinion of many people, “Transformational leadership is a style of leadership where a
leader works with subordinates to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the
change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed members of
a group” (Albee, 2014). In order words, “Transformational leadership serves to enhance the
motivation, morale, and job performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms; these
include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to a project and to the collective
identity of the organization; being a role model for followers in order to inspire them and to
raise their interest in the project; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their
work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, allowing the leader to
align followers with tasks that enhance their performance” (Albee, 2014). Therefore, it can be
said that be following this particular style of leadership he is able to motivate his subordinates
with the competitive spirit and also teaches them to use the concept of creativity for the
completion of their various job roles. Furthermore, it is significant to note that these are the
very attributes of the character of Bodine and does it can be said that he wants the other
employees of the organization to be just like him both in terms of the way he used to work
and also in terms of the competitive spirit.
The culture which Bodine has or seeks to infuse at the workplace is the post-
conventional level of ethical development. It is significant to note that in the conventional

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culture people “conform or adhere to accepted standards, as of conduct or taste: conventional
behavior” however in the post-conventional stage the people do not have to confirm or deny
to anything and the decisions made by them are determined solely on the basis of the amount
of the profits that they are likely to gain (Smith, 2014). Therefore, if a look at the “ImPace
Solutions” is taken it will be revealed that neither Bodine nor the other members of the
organization care anything about the age old values as well as traditions and as a matter of
fact they have a total disregard for the older system. Therefore, it can be said that the
aggressive brand of style which the company follows a result of this particular culture which
the organization follows.
Answer 2
Ken Bodine has put Ali Sloan and Cody Rudisell in a situation where they need to
compete with each other although they belong to the same organization as well as the same
team. It is significant to note that this has been one of the key strategies of Ken Bodine to pit
the various employees belonging to the organization against each other and thus gain the
maximum amount of benefit from the rivalry between them. However, this particular strategy
of Ken Bodine has again succeeded as both Rudisell as well as Sloan are determined to win
the challenge which has been set before but Rudisell is willing to go the distance and win the
competition any cost and therefore he gains access to some information which is likely to
hurt the prospects of many people within the organization. It is significant to note that Sloan,
on the other hand, wants to win the challenge but with the help of ethical means. Therefore,
when Rudisell the kind of information or the resource which he has unearthed Sloan is in a
dilemma whether it is appropriate for Rudisell to use that particular information for the task
which has been given to them. It is significant to note that most of the business organizations
in the present times find themselves in some kinds of ethical dilemma situations where they
need to decide whether they should do the things which is best for them as well as the

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business organization or the thing which is likely to help the other people who are either
directly or indirectly related to the business organization like the customers, end users,
stakeholders and other important entities of the business organization (Zein, Sabri & Mashar,
2012). The same ethical dilemma situation is infront of Ali at the present moment as he needs
to decide whether should do the thing which is best for the organization and the other people
who are related to the organization or should just focus on the challenge at hand which has
been provided to them by the manager of the company “InPace Solution” Ken Bodine (Zein,
Sabri & Mashar, 2012). Furthermore, even if Ali wants to reveal the unethical information
which Rudisell has gained access to the top managers of the company would only think that
to be an excuse for not taking up the challenge seriously and giving only excuses for not
living up the expectations of the company (Zein, Sabri & Mashar, 2012). Therefore, the best
option which is available to Ali is to take up the information which has been provided to him
by Rudisell and approach the higher authorities of the company as the plan which Rudisell
has devised to win the challenge is totally unethical and would cause a significant amount of
long term loss to the organization even if it provides a temporary benefit to the organization
at the current moment. Furthermore, the move of Rudisell is likely to affect the various
customers as well as the stakeholders who are related to the business organization. Therefore,
the best course of action which is available to Ali is take the files which has been unearthed
by Rudisell and report them to the higher authorities of the organization and more particularly
Ken Bodine, the manager of the organization and let them decide the thing which is best not
only at the current moment but also for the future as well (Gray & Schein, 2012).
Answer 3
The concept of Utilitarianism was originally propounded by Jeremy Bentham and has
gained much prominence in the present times particularly in the context of the business world
(Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). In the opinion of many people the concept of utilitarianism can

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be defined as the “ethical theory that states that the best action is the one that maximizes
utility. Utility is defined in various ways, usually in terms of the well-being of sentient
entities” (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). Furthermore, in the opinion of other people
“Utilitarianism is a version of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any
action are the only standard of right and wrong. Unlike other forms of consequentialism, such
as egoism, utilitarianism considers the interests of all beings equally” (Ford & Richardson,
2013). Therefore, in the present times many people use the concept of utility refers to the
“well-being of sentient entities” (Ford & Richardson, 2013). Thus, in the present times the
various people focus on the kind of activities which is likely to being the maximum amount
of good or pleasure or benefit to the people (Crane & Matten, 2016). The particular action of
Rudisell when viewed in this particular context would seem totally individualistic and aimed
solely to bring the maximum amount of profit to his individual self. It is significant to note
that this particular action of Rudisell is in total contrast to the normal precepts of
utilitarianism which aims to bring the maximum amount of benefit to the maximum number
of people. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the particular action of Rudisell not only in
opposition to the various precepts of utilitarianism but also individualistic. In the present
times it is generally seen that the people have become more individualistic and focus
primarily on their own personal gains as well as benefits rather than on the greater good of
the organization or the other people (Crane & Matten, 2016). Therefore, if the particular
action of Rudisell is seen in this particular context and also the culture of the “InPace
Solutions” is taken into consideration then the action of Rudisell becomes totally justified.

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References
Albee, E. (2014). A history of English utilitarianism (Vol. 1). Routledge.
Allen, K. (2012). What is an ethical dilemma. The New Social Worker, 19(2), 6-7.
Ball, D., Geringer, M., Minor, M., & McNett, J. (2012). International business. McGraw-Hill
Higher Education.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases.
Nelson Education.
Ford, R. C., & Richardson, W. D. (2013). Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical
literature. In Citation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics (pp. 19-44).
Springer, Dordrecht.
Gray, K., & Schein, C. (2012). Two minds vs. two philosophies: Mind perception defines
morality and dissolves the debate between deontology and utilitarianism. Review of
Philosophy and Psychology, 3(3), 405-423.
Smith, N. C. (2014). Morality and the Market (Routledge Revivals): Consumer Pressure for
Corporate Accountability. Routledge.
Zein, H., Sabri, Y., & Mashar, A. (2012). Implementation of Electricity Business
Competition Framework with Economic Dispatch Direct Method. Indonesian Journal
of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 10(4), 625-632.

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