UNIVERSAL HUMAN VALUES IN MANAGEMENT

CE - 2

Case Studies of UHVM

Name: Ankita Mahato

Enrol No: 1-20-018

Submitted to: Dr. Prashant Parekh

Batch 2020 – 22
 Case study 1

A manufacturing company provides jobs for many people in a small town where
employment is not easy to find. The company has stayed in the town even though it
could find cheaper workers elsewhere, because workers are loyal to the company due to
the jobs it provides. Over the years, the company has developed a reputation in the
town for taking care of its employees and being a responsible corporate citizen. The
manufacturing process used by the company produces a by-product that for years has
flown into the town river. The by-product has been considered harmless but some
people who live near the river have reported illnesses. The by-product does not
currently violate any anti-pollution laws. What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law
posed in the case study? What options does the company have, and what should it do
and why?

Ans: As the company has not committed any illegal actions nor they have violated any law,
this matter is not bided by law. Though the company is providing jobs in small towns where
it is difficult to find a job where the worker's loyalty is solely due to the lack of employment,
which resulted in the company's good reputation and has become a concern about their
integrity. The company has no right to pollute the environment and river of the town, even
the company has not done any illegal activity nor violated any law because the by-product
produced was freely released into the river as it was considered harmless, their production
has harmed the town's residents' health mainly, those who live near the river. According to
the environmental law, it is a punishable offense to pour the polluted by-product into the
river, as few people living near the river have reported illness this situation can go worse for
both humans and aquatic animals which will also lead to polluting ecosystem as well.
Keeping all this is mind the company should first inform all the people living near the river
about the by-product they pour in the river is harmless and then they should relocate the
people near the river. After that, they should find another route to dispose of their by-product.

Case Study 2
A woman died recently, after a short, unhappy life. She wanted her ashes to be
scattered in the ocean near a place she lived during one of the brief happy times of her
adult life. Her parents and immediate family had already passed away, so she discussed
her wishes with her mother-in-law, who said she would comply with her daughter-in-
law's wishes. In her will, the woman gave control of her estate to the mother-in-law. The
will stated that the woman's ashes should be scattered in the ocean, as described above.
Instead, her mother-in-law buried the ashes in a family plot near her home, because she
wanted to keep the ashes close to her because of her own grief.
Assume that the mother-in-law is legally required to follow the wishes stated in the will,
but that no one will check and it is very unlikely that the mother-in-law will have any
problem with the law. What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case
study? What options does the mother-in-law have, and what should she do and why?

Ans. In this study, we see that the mother-in-law's behavior is not that of her deceased
daughter-in-law. This case indicates that the mother-in-law's character is lacking. That his
late daughter-in-law wanted him to scatter the ashes in the sea, When he has fond memories
of his life that is why he has faith in his mother-in-law that he will fulfill his last wish but
mother-in-law. he did not perform the ritual that the bride wanted as his last wish but the
mother-in-law did not have the morals or feelings to fulfill her last wish for her daughter-in-
law. And to carry out these actions shows that in this case, the mother-in-law is doing
something that is not in line with the behavior of the deceased bride.
Integrity based on trust and emotion is at stake. If the promise is not fulfilled, it is a breach of
trust between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law.
The will of the deceased must be fulfilled even if he or she is sympathetic to the person, or he
or she will be sued in court for failure to comply with the will.
Here are the ways in which the mother-in-law is present: Fill the ashes with the family plot:
In this way, she would feel that her daughter-in-law was close to her but in so doing, violated
her law and morals.
Scatter the ashes in the sea: If the mother-in-law makes this choice, the legal and moral value
will remain, but will she feel away from her beloved daughter-in-law?
Keep part of her ashes to her and spread some on the sea: In this way, she keeps part of her
daughter-in-law to her and completes her part of the contract. He is no longer legally bound
or morally bound.

Case study 3
An undergraduate course required for graduation has a reputation for being extremely
hard to pass, much harder than similar courses. When posting materials to the class
website, the teacher accidentally posts a test with answers indicated at the end. The
teacher notices the error immediately and deletes the test, but before she does so a
student downloads the test. The website does not allow the teacher to see whether the
test was downloaded and because she deleted the test with the answers so quickly, the
teacher later uploaded the same test without the answers and required students to take
the test. The Student Code of Ethics prohibits students from taking a test when there is
a reason for them to believe they have confidential information regarding the answers
to a test they are not supposed to have. Violations of the Student Code of Ethics are
punishable. What are the issues of integrity, ethics, and law posed in the case study?
What options do the teacher and the student have, and what should they do and why?

Ans: In the given situation, the Student Code of Ethics is tested. The student's morals are in
question, where he is at a crossroads where he can break the code and cheat in the exam,
breaking the integrity of the student code, thereby risking being punished. The legal
implications are pretty simple. The broken code will lead to punishment and further action for
the student because the code of ethics is taken very seriously. The student might have chosen
to what is morally wrong, but in his case, he just did what is best options subjectively in order
to pass the exams and graduate later on. The teacher at this point can either cancel the exam
for every student or report to the authorities the fault on his part. This may get the teacher
reprimanded and be taken further action against but the choice of cheating will be taken out
of the student’s hands. Or the teacher can remain silent, watching as the events unfold. The
decision will remain in the student’s hands and he will face the consequences of his deeds.
This will test the ethics of the student but the nature of the teacher will come into question.
As ideal teachers, they should bring their students on the right path. On the other hand, the
student can either choose to cheat in the examination, so they can immediately take and pass
the examination in order to graduate on time, even if it’s against ethical standards. Or the
student may have ethical and logical thinking not to copy the answers included in the test
exams. The reason may be because they may behave in fear of losing their integrity or in a
state of conscience.

Case study 4
A woman is sexually harassed by a top-level senior executive in a large company. She
sues the company, and during settlement discussions, she is offered an extremely large
monetary settlement. In the agreement, the woman is required to confirm that the
executive did nothing wrong, and after the agreement is signed the woman is prohibited
from discussing anything about the incident publicly. Before the date scheduled to sign
the settlement agreement, the woman' s lawyer mentions that she has heard the
executive has done this before, and the settlement amount is very large because the
company probably had a legal obligation to dismiss the executive previously. The
company however wants to keep the executive because he is a big money maker for the
company. What are the issues of integrity, ethics, and law posed in the case study?
What options does the woman have, and what should she do and why?

Ans: The issue of integrity as we can see that the senior executive used his position of power
to abuse one of his juniors. This is also abusing the position and authority the company has
given him. And the company is bribing the woman essentially to buy her silence which is an
unethical practice in itself. And last but not least to any extent, the harassment itself is enough
to warrant the senior executive to be sent to jail. Women can stay silent and take the
monetary compensation for their emotional and physical grievances. But as this will enable
the Executive to abuse other women in the future, this puts the ethical integrity of the woman
in serious question. As a woman and a victim, it’s her moral responsibility to prevent the
crime which has been committed from happening again. So the other route for her is to refuse
the settlement and continue the case and send the senior executive behind bars.