John Doerschuk

OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet
Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the four ethical communities
2. Apply the ethical communities to your personal case situation

1)             Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and my role.

            The plant and more specifically the quarry where I work did not follow the standard rules

for choosing a supervisor. This was due to either real or perceived conflicts with two of the

candidates and the foreman and manager. The foreman and manager convinced the haul crew

supervisor to apply for the job. Then they went to the plant manager and convinced him to not go

ahead with interviews since the one candidate was already a supervisor. Then once they needed

to fill the open position for the hauling crew they used flawed logic and simple questions that did

not ask what experience with blasting each candidate had to make their choice which

was someone who was already on the hauling crew. Once the decision was made they used me to

train and help both individuals on how to do the blasting operations and fill out the

documentation.

            My role in the organization is that I am a quarry equipment operator

that performs drilling and blasting. I act as the relief blasting supervisor when my supervisor is

not present or has to fill the role of relief quarry foreman. I applied for both supervisor jobs but

did not get either one.

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2)             How did the ethics of the organization influence the situation.

            We will look at the four frames in the ethical community which are structural, human

resources, political, and symbolic to see how they influenced or the lack of influence affected the

situation. The first frame which is structural also known as “a factory” on page 392 of the

textbook which is the ethical definition of excellence which is doing work effectively and

efficiently. (Bolman,2017) This situation is lacking as they did not use the most effective way to

select the supervisor nor in the process of letting the two that they did not get the other job. The

second frame is human resources which are known as “the family” on page 392 which is the

ethical definition of the family which is the care and compassion one has for others and the “love

for them.” (Bolman, 2017) This situation lacked the care or the compassion to even consider the

other candidates for the first job and the real reason for selecting the other person for the second

job.

                 The third frame political which is also known as “the jungle” on page 393 in the

ethical definition is “a politically charged environment of conflict and pursuit of self-interest.”

(Bolman, 2017) This one has the most influence in this situation which is what happened when

the foreman went to the haul crew supervisor and asked him to move over as he did not want to

consider the other two choices. It is also present in the fact that when he went to the plant

manager he was able to convince him to avoid the interview process altogether because he did

not want to address his perceived issues with the two candidates. The last frame is symbolic

which is known as “the temple” on page 395 in the ethical definition is a place for people with

shared traditions, values, and beliefs with a leader that brings genuine concern for the human

spirit. (Bolman,2017) In this aspect, the values, and traditions of having interviews when more

than one candidate applies giving a perception that each person valuable in the organization are

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lacking. Also, not having the concern to address the two candidates appropriately the first time

shows a lack of concern for the human spirit. Overall this situation shows a lack of ethics in

terms of not following normal set in writing, rules and not showing any concern or caring for the

two people who did not get the two jobs. 

3)             How I would use the ethical communities for an alternative course of

action regarding this case.

            In the textbook on page 393, it states that "No one can give everyone everything they

want, but it is possible to adhere to a value of fairness in making decisions about who gets what.”

(Bolman, 2017) This quote from the text highlights why I would choose to discuss the political

frame of ethics. I would have gone ahead with the interviews with the intent to find out more

about the reasons why there was an issue with these people in the first place. Everyone

deserves to be heard and it would have been important because the Human Resources

department is included in interviews. This would allow for a third-party to have input on

the issue that may have caused the doubt from the foreman.

            Justice is important in any political system even in ethics as it would help keep the

system of a fair selection process intact through the interview process. The two people and

the haul crew supervisor would have a platform to advocate for themselves to be selected for the

job thus giving them some power over the selection process. I would also use the human

resources frame to show that I cared for them in either situation by giving them a truly valid

reason such as the amount of time with the company why they were not selected instead of

creating doubt in the system thus losing faith in it. Also, giving them an outlet to discuss

concerns and their perspective on issues that occurred.

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4)             Reflection of what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned

about ethics.

            Since what I recommended has always been my take on the situation I would say that

what I have learned about ethics has strengthened my choice. On page 393 this statement stood

out to me “People stripped of power look for ways to fight back: sabotage, passive resistance,

withdrawal, or angry militancy.” (Bolman, 2017) This statement has aspects that pertain to

myself and the other person not selected in either process and is the reason I would not change

my choice of actions. We both have shown some withdrawal from the processes of the

organization and some passive resistance towards the people who made the decisions.

            On page 395 there is a statement that starts off by saying that “Justice requires that

leaders systematically enhance the power of excluded or vulnerable groups…” (Bolman, 2017)

this full statement highlights the importance of the interview process to allow the two other

candidates for the job to have access to the decision process allowing them to voice their side of

the incidents. Allowing the two people to voice concerns and give their sides of the story on the

incidents in question between them and the foreman and manager allows for a fair process. If this

was not done in the interview then this should have been addressed with the supervisor, foreman,

and department manager before the decisions that were made for the selection of a blasting

supervisor.

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Reference

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing  organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership

(6th  ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass