HA100 : The Class : Management : Leadership : Class Discussion

Group Assignemnt: Class Discussion

To complete this assignment successfully, you should:

1. Study the assignment carefully
2. Complete the assignment as directed

Following are examples of ethical problems you might face in our industry, and I am going to ask you for solutions.

Already in the first exercise you will see that there are grey areas. To make ethical decisions is not as straight forward as many people want you to believe. These exercises are a way of having you brainstorm about ethical issues.

Please read the 13 scenarios, and put each of them into one of three categories:

13 SCENARIOS:

SCENARIO 1:

Manager's Salary
You have just received a 20 percent increase in your annual salary to $95,000. However, the club's board of directors refused to increase the club's hourly employees' average pay of $5.25 since the club is in "financial straits." You decide to quietly accept the pay raise.

SCENARIO 2:

New Menu
You have just approved a new menu, which contains several of your favorite high-calorie, high-cholesterol, high-sodium foods. No nutritious alternatives are on the menu. You reason that the club members like what is on the menu and that's why they will keep coming back as in the past.

SCENARIO 3:

Spotters' Spies
You have just contracted with Spotters Inc. to provide spotters to "spy" on your bartenders to determine if they are preparing drinks according to the standard recipe and if they are properly charging members for all drinks served.

SCENARIO 4:

Yard Word
You need yard work done at your personal residence. You approach one of the club's best maintenance workers and offer to personally pay him the same hourly wage he receives from the club for the desired five hours of work/week at your house.

SCENARIO 5:

Turkey Substitute
You are approached by one of the cooks about the chicken salad special listed on the menu. Due to circumstances beyond the club's control, an insufficient number of birds are available. The cook suggests using leftover turkey as a substitute when the chicken is gone. He added, "Under the salad dressing, our members will never know the difference." You approve.

SCENARIO 6:

Bumped Bookings
You have just been approached by a very influential member regarding a surprise birthday party he would like held at the club two months hence. Unfortunately the club is totally booked. The member, after reviewing the bookings for the targeted date, suggests bumping a new member who reserved the desired room yesterday. The influential member suggests you tell the new member "the club secretary made a major mistake in booking a room that had previously been reserved." You concur.

SCENARIO 7:

Roof Repair
The clubhouse requires a new roof. Three bids are obtained and the low bidder suggested privately he would be willing to shingle your personal residence for half price, and it just happens to need the attention. You find references that indicate the low bidder does excellent work. You go with the low bidder. The clubhouse roof is replaced and your house is shingled.

SCENARIO 8:

Job Openings
Your club advertises two job openings for cooks indicating the most qualified applicants will be hired. In the process, you are approached by a local minority advocacy group to give minorities preference in the hiring process. Since you desire to avoid what you view as possible negative publicity, you agree, and shortly thereafter hire two minority-group cooks whom you believe were less qualified than others.

SCENARIO 9:

Cashier's Integrity
You decide to test a cashier's integrity. The cashier has been with the club 10 years and has had a flawless record. You slip a $50 bill in the register receipts. At the end of the day, the cashier shows a $5 overage. Upon questioning the cashier, the cashier admits to you that he/she pocketed the $45 difference.

SCENARIO 10:

Fringe Benefits
The board of directors of your club recently provided full-time employees with "free" health insurance. In an attempt to maintain the club's profitability and your bonus, you have decided to reduce six full-time workers to three-quarter time workers. Three of the workers are single parents. The bottom-line result is considerable savings in the cost of the club's fringe benefits.

SCENARIO 11:

All-Male Club
City Club, a civic-minded professional business association, has had an exclusively male membership since its founding in 1928. Recently, however, local government, community, and business groups have begun to apply pressure to have women admitted into membership. The club's board of directors has asked you, the general manager, for your recommendation. You advise no action. "Our position is legal until we are forced to change," you replied.

SCENARIO 12:

Member Info
You belong to an organization, which, with apparently noble intentions, asks your cooperation in distributing educational material to your club members. You, being desirous of helping the organization, provide a copy of the club's membership including names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

SCENARIO 13:

Free Wine
You recently purchase 20 cases of wine for the club from a new beverage purveyor. Without your advance knowledge, the purveyor delivers one free case of wine to your residence. You decide to keep the free case for your personal use since it did not influence the purchase of the 20 cases for the club.

1. List the cases (just by number) and the category you choose in the conference center.

   For example:	1=Ethical,
   	2=Grey
   	3=Unethical, etc.

2. I am certain that you will have a couple of "grey" ones. Take one of the "gray" cases and explain to your peers why you labeled this case "grey."

3. I also want to see a discussion among the class about some of these cases. Please respond if one of your peers labels a case completely different from you, and explain why you labeled it differently. Ethics can be a touchy subject, please keep the discussion polite, and keep an open mind about other people's values.

Each student in the class should have several individual entries (labeling of the 13 cases, explanation of a "grey" case, and participation in the discussion). Entries will earn you points toward your final grade.