Dilemma at Devil’s Den
Develop a response to the following questions about “Case 21: Dilemma at Devil’s Den”: Describe the Culture at Devils Den? This case deals primarily with ethics and the individual’s personal system and the way it affects his or her perceptions and actions. It also looks at rewards and punishments and their influence on behavior.
The culture is very shady. They have employees stealing food, friends stealing, and no management in place. Susan is having a dilemma because she is a moral, ethical person who feels uncomfortable with the current work environment.
While she did mention some of the problems with theft to one of her student managers, Mack, she feels that he halfheartedly yielded her complaints. Identify and discuss the drivers of unethical behavior at the Devil’s Den. Referring to the strategy execution of the management team is poorly structured and they have failed to make a team with an experience background and technical skills.
Because of the low wages, the personnel that they choose are students who can work inconvenient hours without saying anything.
There are no rules and strict guidelines. Employees cannot from their own have boundaries. When they don’t have the appropriate supervision and they can do whatever they want. Susan witness employees taken food off the premises that hasn’t been paid for.
Discuss how the organization may go about changing its ethical standards? First, the company must recruit and retain quality employees. Engaged, happy employees offer a competitive advantage and can lead to improved efficiencies and higher profits.
The company should provide written policies and procedures to incoming managers in order to avoid confusion and to aid in the cohesiveness of the work unit. Managers should display ethical behavior at all times and use punishment and rewards more consistently and effectively. The case also raises questions of a company’s ethics and responsibility for creating, or allowing, a climate that tolerates at best, and encourages at worst, illegal, criminal, or unethical behavior.
Discuss what Susan might do with her knowledge related to the freebies, favors to friends, and employee snacks? In the case, iff Susan wants to remain at the Den and one day becomes a student manager, Susan must continue to seek a solution to the problem. Since Susan has already spoken to Mack about her concerns, to no avail, it is now time for Susan to have a discussion with the day manager. Susan is finance major, and as such could produce a cost/benefits analysis of retaining talented, dedicated, and ethical employees as opposed to the current way of doing business.
Susan would also like to see students work harder, finish what is assigned to them on the night shift, and be punished for stealing from the cash register. Discuss the fears about being a whistle blower and how it may impact an organization’s ethical standards. If Susan becomes a whistle blower it may cost her a job.
Susan felt like no one really cared and may be frowned upon for taking action. Susan felt that talking to the student managers or other employees would be useless. Employees were abusing the rules themselves or were clearly aware of what was going n and just ignored it.
Susan fells if she tells it would make her work environment uncomfortable. Susan is faced with peer pressure to do things that violate their value systems.
References: Johnson, K. ; Cohen, A. (2000, January 1). Dilemma at Devil’s Den – Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review Case Studies, Articles, Books.
Retrieved November 17, 2010, from http://hbr. org/product/dilemma-at-devil-s-den/an/BAB081-PDF-ENG Thompson, A. A. , Strickland, A. J.
, & Gamble, J. E. (2010). Crafting and executing strategy (17th ed. ).
New York: McGraw-Hill-Irwin.
