ETHICS

Case Study: Your Star

Salesperson Lied. Should He
Get a Second Chance?
by Sandeep Puri
FROM THE SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2019 ISSUE

RYAN GARCIA

SIDDHANT’S HOME, THURSDAY NIGHT

NOVACIB HQ, THAT MORNING
Surprising News
 1

CASE STUDY CLASSROOM NOTES

1 Research from the University of Arizona shows that sales goals can cause tunnel vision, leading

people to make unethical choices to achieve their targets.

2
2 From 2007 to 2012 the Indian pharmaceutical industry grew at a compounded annual growth rate

of 15%. The rate then slowed for several years but was back up to 9.4% in 2018.

3 Harvard Business School professor Stephen A. Greyser advises that brand identities be

straightforward, authentic, and timeless.

“Something Doesn’t Feel Right”
 4

4 Should Shraddha have kept a closer eye on her top performer?

5 What are the ethical implications of checking up on employees by tracking their activity on social

media?

NOVACIB HQ, FRIDAY MORNING

Now What?
 6

6 Numerous studies show that people have an ethical “blind spot” when it comes to their own

behavior.

7 How often do zero-tolerance policies result in bad outcomes? Do they force leaders to take action

when a better solution could be found?

 8

8 Small offenses may seem harmless, but research shows that they can breed problems by

desensitizing our brains to the negative emotions related to unethical behavior.

9 What options should Siddhant consider besides firing Uday or overlooking the infraction?
NOVACIB HQ, FRIDAY AFTERNOON
A Second Chance?
Question: Should Siddhant fire Uday? The Experts Respond

Faiza Hughell is the vice president

of sales at RingCentral.
Mohammed Isaquddin Kureshi is
the managing director of Maha
Research Labs.
HBR’s fictionalized case studies present problems faced by leaders in real companies and offer solutions
from experts.
A version of this article appeared in the September–October 2019 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Sandeep Puri is an associate professor at the Asian Institute of Management, in the Philippines.

This article is about ETHICS

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Related Topics: Human Resource Management | Firing | Human Resources

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4 COMMENTS

JACK FLANAGAN 16 hours ago

The article is tagged as being about Ethics. I'd suggest that it's more about Integrity. Uday has shown
that his integrity was challenged and he resorted to dishonesty. He could have talked with his
manager about his personal circumstances and sought special consideration given his family
circumstances. Instead he falsified company records.

This is a particularly interesting case study given the recent publication of "Bottle of Lies" by
Katherine Eban. Eban writes at great length about rampant falsification of records in the generic
drug manufacturing industry in India and the global impact once a company accepts, then tolerates,
then engages in such actions.

In my retailing career I had to terminate some top performers for falsification of records. My
observations were: 1) their replacements soon performed at that same level once given the
opportunity, 2) others (often many others) were well aware that corners were being cut by the
terminated individuals and 3) perhaps most importantly, others wanted to see if the company would
indeed stand up to its stated principles.

Uday's manager might engage in some introspection as to why he was unwilling to ask for some
temporary (and 'official) relief from the mandated schedule.

The company might want to ask if its seeming rigidity of Zero Tolerance has more costs than
benefits. If yes do the organization a service and change the policy to something the company will
actually abide by.

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