IIMS Managerial Communication - I Case Handout: Silver Mine

Silver Mine

By S. Lee Owens & Allan Reddy of Tennessee Tech University

Background

The New Way Printing Company was organised by Barto Bean in Chicago
in 1950. In addition to Mr Bean, the owner, the company had two other
employees. The New Way Printing Company was a commercial printing
company which catered to small business firms in the City.

Over the years the company prospered. In the early 1960s, the name of
the company was changed from The New Way Printing Company to The
Key Printing Company. In 1972, Mr Bean sold the Key Printing Company
to Imprint, Inc., of Rockford, Illinois. Thus the Key Printing Company
became a subsidiary of Imprint, Inc.

Several years later, at the writing of this case, the Key Printing Company
employed a total of 46 officers and employees. Of these 11 worked in the
office and 35 worked in the plant.

Tom and Doris

Tom Watson (age 25) had been an employee with Key Printing for four
years. Tom worked in the Plate Room of the Camera Department. Out of
the corner of his eye, he saw Doris Templeton (supervisor of the Camera
Department, and nine years with Key Printing) coming towards him. Tom
thought to himself, “Now what is wrong?” When Doris spoke, though she
tried to control her voice, Tom could tell she was angry.

Doris placed a make-up plate1 on the desk before Tom and proceeded to
point out three errors in the plate. Then she said, “I am getting awfully
tired of having to bring work back to you. It seems to me you could get
things right the first time.”

Tom said, “ Most of the time I do get them right the first time. Besides,
one of these errors is not mine; and I can explain the other two.” After an
additional exchange of words with Tom, Doris returned to her office.

Tom turned to Bill Scott, another employee in the Camera Department,

and said, “Did you hear that? Doris burns me up. I can never do anything
to please her. All she ever does is find fault. This is the second time this
week she has chewed me out. One of these days I am going to tell her to
take this place and go jump.”

Silver Recovery

One Saturday night at about 9:00 pm, some two months after the above
event, the telephone rang in the home of Mary Bella, Executive Secretary,
1
A plate is a square metal printing device

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IIMB Managerial Communication: Case Handout: Silver Mine

Office Manager and member of the Board of Directors. Mary had worked
at Key Printing Company for 20 years. Mary answered the phone. Tom
Watson was on the line.

Tom said, “ Mrs Bella, I have quit my job.” Mary, surprised, said, “Why?
What happened?”

Tom responded, “I got fed up. I just couldn’t take Doris Templeton any
longer.” Tom went on to talk about how he had been poorly treated by
Doris Templeton.

Presently Tom said, “Mrs Bella, there is something going on in the Camera
Department that I think you ought to know about.” Mary said, “Why, Tom,
what is it?”

Tom said, “ First you must promise me you will not tell who told you.”
Mary promised not to tell.

Tom said, “Now I want to make it clear that I am not telling you this to
get even with the Camera Department. It is just that I think you should
know what I am going to tell you.” Mary assured him that she understood.

Then Tom said, “Several months ago, in February I think, the employees
in the Camera Department went in together and purchased a silver
reclaiming unit.” 2 Tom further explained that the employees were then
selling the silver flakes to a silver refining company and were dividing the
money from the sales among themselves. Tom said, “The reason I am
telling you this, even though I received my share, is that I do not think
this is right. I think that money belongs to the company, not to the
employees.”

Mary asked Tom a number of questions about the silver flake selling deal
and, after they had talked for some length, Mary thanked Tom for telling
her this. She told Tom she would investigate this and decide what to do
about it.

The Investigation

Mary did investigate. Her investigation revealed that Tom’s story was
indeed true. In her investigation she obtained a copy of a one-year
contract, signed in February by Doris Templeton, with the Silver Bell
Refining Company of Chicago. In this contract, Silver Bell Refining
Company agreed to install without charge, on a loan basis, a silver

2
When film and plates are processed, the silver on the film and plates normally go down the sink drain.
The recycling unit was designed to reclaim the silver before it went down the drain. An electrolytic
process machine recovered the silver. The waste fluid from the fixer was accumulated in a large five-
gallon container. A negative and positive electrode from the electrolytic process machine were inserted
in the container. The silver ions in the waste solution had a positive charge and thus, the silver ions
migrated in the solution to the negatively charged cathode (electrode). Some of the silver stuck to the
cathode and some fell from the cathode to the bottom of the container. The silver was at intervals
scraped from the cathode or strained from the waste solution. The reclaimed silver was in the form of
silver flakes.

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IIMB Managerial Communication: Case Handout: Silver Mine

reclaiming machine, and Doris Templeton agreed to sell (to Silver Bell
Refining Company) all reclaimed silver flake recovered at the market price
published daily by the Day and Day Company. Doris further agreed in the
contract to collect and sell scrap film to Silver Bell Refining Company.

Mary’s investigation revealed that the sale of accumulated silver flake and
used film took place two to four times each year. For example, she
discovered that one sale in February for accumulated silver flakes
amounted to $175. Another sale in August for accumulated silver flakes
was for $214.60, and another for accumulated scrap film $63.70; for a
total of $278.30. No record could be found of any of this money having
been turned into the company. Instead, the money was divided between
the people (including the supervisor) in the Camera Department. One
employee admitted that he received $15 to $20 each time a sale was
executed.

Things became a bit complicated when Mary discovered that the East
Plant Manager, Harry Hall (who had been working for Key Printing for 16
years) knew about the silver endeavour for some time. Indeed, he said he
would assume responsibility for the whole affair.

One evening at home, near the end of Mary’s investigation, Mary

discussed the silver selling problem with her husband. Mary said, “I have
not yet reported my findings to Mr Armstrong (Robert Armstrong,
President, Key Printing Company). I feel strongly it is my duty to do so.
Yet, I am afraid if I do report my findings that Doris and Mr Hall will be
fired. I would feel badly if they were fired.” Mary’s husband said, “Yes, I
see what you mean. Another point to consider is if you report it and they
are not fired, they may be very angry with you and may even seek
revenge. It’s a tough decision, honey, and I don’t know what to tell you to
do.” Mary responded, “It’s a tough decision and if I am to tell Mr
Armstrong I must do it soon.”

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