Page 41 - Business Principles and Management

Chapter
2 Social and Ethical Environment

of Business

2.1 Human Resources

2.2 Societal Values
2.3 Ethical Issues

RE ALITY CHECK

The Supervisor’s Secret

yler Eastman picked up the file folder and walked to his supervisor’s
office. He had finally saved enough money for the down payment
Tand closing costs for a small stone house on the lake that he had long
wanted. He now needed his supervisor’s signature on several documents
that the bank required in order to approve the loan money.
The Quest Company, where Tyler worked, was the main employer in this
small Ohio town. Because the firm paid high wages, the town had nice stores
and good restaurants. Taxes paid by the company supported the police and
fire departments, the public school, and the recreation center.
Recently, however, Quest had fallen on hard times. Sales declined and
unsold goods piled up. Some employees were let go. To survive, Quest had
to cut costs. Rather than continue operations in Ohio, Quest decided to
relocate to Georgia, where costs for taxes, wages, utilities, and raw mate-
rials were lower.
Only yesterday, Tyler’s supervisor, Rayshawn Clark, had been informed
that the town’s factory would shut down over the next 12 months. He was
being promoted but would move to the new Georgia plant. Many workers,
like Tyler, would lose their jobs.
Therefore, when Tyler excitedly asked Rayshawn to sign the bank papers
for his new home, Rayshawn was disturbed. Should he sign the loan papers
when he knew Tyler’s job would barely last a year? If he didn’t sign, every-
one would soon find out why. Morale among the employees would drop,
and they would look for jobs elsewhere. It was important to keep the plant
closure decision a secret as long as possible. The town would be devastated
when it learned that its main employer would be relocating. Rayshawn pon-
dered the dilemma he was in.

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