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Conflicting Loyalties: Friends Helping F...

Gentile, Mary, Lop...

Case

Conflicting Loyalties: Friends Helping Friends? (B)

Gentile, Mary; Lopez-Jimenez, Liliana; Guevara-Zuluaga, Manuela; Aguilar-Pulido, Juliette

OB-1376 | Published February 9, 2022 | 1 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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As a senior project manager for the Colombian office of a consulting services firm, Lucia is responsible for hiring decisions regarding junior consultants. During a recent recruitment process, Lucia found out that a candidate who had achieved a perfect score at the written test had cheated, with the help of Lucia’s subordinate and close friend. She further learned that this candidate had been motivated to commit fraud because of the medical needs of his young daughter. The A case asks students to step into Lucia’s shoes and figure out an action plan that is both developmental (rather than merely punitive) and true to her values; this B case presents students with Lucia’s actual solution to the value conflict. This case set is intended for undergraduate students taking leadership, human resources, or ethics courses. The approach is based on the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum authored by Mary C. Gentile.

1) Recognize individual- and organizational-level factors that might enable or hinder ethical action in a business-related value conflict. 2) Identify the stakes, interests, and potential rationalizations of the various actors involved in or affected by a business-related value conflict. 3) Prepare strong counterarguments against common rationalizations. 4) Practice developing action plans aimed at improving the chances of effectively solving a business-related value conflict. 5) Practice giving feedback to other people regarding their own ethical action plans.