ONE PAGE NEEDED ANSWERING 5
Ethics Case Questions FROM CASE STUDIES ATTACHED:Fat Chance &Mommy-Track Backlash Case
Ethics Case Questions Fat Chance Case Questions: 1) Is Sid’s weight a relevant consideration in terms of his performance in this particular job? 2) Considering each of the ethical perspectives, would a decision to not hire Sid because of his weight be an ethical one? 3) How might unconscious biases play a role and how Sid is evaluated? Mommy-Track Backlash Case Questions: 4) How should Jessica handle the requests that Jana and Davis have made for flexible work arrangements? How should Jessica continue to handle the situation with Meagan? 5) Using equity theory, analyze how Jana and Davis might perceive a denial of their request HBR CASE STUDV Fat Chance by Bronwyn Fryer and Julia Kirby Sid has put his hat inthe ring for a client-serving position. He's got the skills andtheknowledge- the problem is, he's also obese. Can his weight be a factor in the decision? BILL HouciAN was three pages deepinto his spreadsheet when he felt the thud, thud, thud through the rough- hewn floor of the hallway connecting sales and marketing with the desktop publishing group. "Here comes Sid," he thought. The Seattle offices of NMO Finan- cial Services, charmingly situated in a quaint old building on a city wharf, were rather sensitive to the rattle of passing trucks-and to Sid Shawn's 400-pound footsteps. The door to Bill's office was open, so instead of just passing by, the obese man stopped and looked in. "How's it going, Sid?" Bill said. He no- ticed that Sid's face was a bit moist; he seemed short of breath. HBR's cases, which are fictional, present common managerial dilemmas and offer concrete solutions Jrom experts. MAV 2005 33 HBR CASE STUDY • Fat Chance "Going great," Sid replied, smiling and giving NMO's VP of sales and marketing a little salute. "Hey, did Terry happen to speak with you?" "Uh, yes," Bill said. "She put your r̂ - sxim^ and everything in the system. I'm supposed to be interviewing candidates over the next month or so." "Terrific," Sid said."Wel], I hope you'll keep me in mind." his last review he'd made it clear he was ready for something new, so it shouldn't have surprised Bill when Sid applied for the job that had just opened up. Still, when Bill got the e-mail from HR about Sid's interest, he was taken aback. Sid had applied for a consultant relations job - where his success, and not a small portion of his compensa- tion, would depend on impressing the "That really fat guy?...You're kidding! How can you even consider it? What kind of impression would he make?" "Sure, Sid," Bill responded, tuming to stare at his computer screen. "I'll keep you posted." He's a good guy. Bill thought, as Sid continued down the corridor. You can't blame him for coming by to help his cause. Or maybe it was the deII tray that had lured Sid down this hallway? A ven- dor had treated the production group to lunch that day, and there were sand- wiches and cookies left over for the rest of the staff. Almost as soon as that no- tion entered his head. Bill rebuked him- self for it. He leaned back and sighed, not happy about the decision he would have to make. A ten-year veteran of NMO and a mainstay of the pensions marketing group, Sid had always been a good, con- sistent worker. As a product specialist, he was an invaluable resource to the salespeople who called on chief invest- ment officers, treasurers, and others making the decisions about employee retirement benefits for their companies. Sid was also a resource to the consuitant relations managers, who tried to influ- ence the people advising those buyers. At this point, Sid was so steeped in NMO's products that those colleagues had come to depend on him to outline their talking points and pitch books. Amiable and sometimes funny, Sid gar- nered above-average performance re- views and regular pay raises. But during polished professionals at major bene- fits consultancies. Of course, he'd im- pressed them many times before-or his work had while he remained behind the scenes. But now the consultants would encounter Sid face-to-face, and that seemed a different matter. A Friend Weighs In Bill pulled his suit jacket from the hanger on his door and took the stairs to his friend Chuck Bell's office on the fourth floor. Chuck, who headed up the 40i(k) sales group, was on the phone, so Bill lingered in the hallway until he heard the conversation end. Then he tapped a knuckle on the doorjamb. "Hey, Bill,"Chuck said."You don't look so good. Something you ate?" "Nah, I just need some fresh air. You wanna take a walk?" Chuck immediately stood up and grabbed his jacket, and they headed for the elevator. A rainstorm the previous day had cleared the sky, and the city seemed to sparkle. As the two executives walked together down the wharf, Bill felt less oppressed. A pelican swooped over them, soared into the sky, and then dove to spear the deep blue water in a flash of white spray. "Can I ask you something, Chuck?" Bill asked, watching the pelican reclaim the air with its wriggling silver prize. "Shoot." "If you asked for a promotion and it was denied, would you leave?" Chuck's eyes widened. "You're not hankering after that EVP title..." " No, no," Bill insisted."This isn't about me. It's about a guy who works in my marketing department. He's angling for the consultant relations job that just opened up. He's a product special- ist now-really good at it,too-but he's done it for years, and he wants some- thing new. Consultant relations, though- that's a mtich more visible job. You know. It's got its own demands. I'm not sure he's ready for it." "Why can't you just try him out on the job? Can you get someone to work with him, show him the ropes?" "Well, there are...some issues," Bill said. "He has some health problems." "What kind of health problems?" "He's diabetic for one thing." Bill glanced at his friend. "See, he's over- weight, and I think that's why-" "Wait a minute," Chuck said. "You're not talking about that really fat guy?" Bill's uncomfortable silence answered the question. Chuck threw back his head and laughed."You're kidding! Howcan you even consider it? What kind of im- pression would he make for NMO?" Bill suddenly felt protective of Sid. "Well, I don't know. He's actually quite personable." "Oh, no doubt,"Chuck said, grinning. "You'd probably have to take a cross- town bus to get on his bad side." Bill gave Chuck a sharp look. "He knows the products better than just about anyone else in my group." "So send him over to new product development," Chuck suggested. "Well, he isn't going to make more money there, is he?" Bill responded. "He'd quit for sure." "You think so, huh?" Chuck coun- tered. "Who's gonna hire him?" Growing Concerns Back at his desk. Bill pulled out Sid's personnel file and began thumbing through it. His eyes fell on the Bronwyn Fryer (
[email protected]) ar^d Julia Kirby (
[email protected]) are both senior editors at HBR. 34 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Fat Chance • HBR CASE STUDY MAY 2005 HBR CASE STUDY • Fat Chance He recalled that Sid had already been on the heavy side when he started at NMO but nothing like he was now. At first, people ribbed him about his wife's irresistible baking; he frequently came to work bearing trays of chocolate chip cot>kies to share with his colleagues. Sid couldn't resist the cookies either; within two years, he'd gained more than 40 pounds. At one poi nt he went on a crash their dinner parties. That didn't seem to happen much any more. The work- group dynamic cried out for some kind of intervention, however subtle. "Di- versity training of some kind?" Bill wondered. The thought seemed absurd when he didn't even feel comfortable discussing Sid's weight with Sid him- self. Bill hated feeling so helpless as a manager. Sid was outgoing, always happy to strike up a conversation. But as oid-timers ieft the group and new hires entered, fewer and fewer peopie seemed to warm up to him. diet and lost a lot, but before long, he'd regained it and more. When his wife left him, Sid's weight ballooned. A couple of years ago. Bill noticed that Sid was calling in sick more. He hadn't exceeded his allowable days, but this was a business in which almost no one did. Eventually, Sid mentioned that he was battling diabetes, which ac- counted for at least some of the sick time. While preparing Sid's semiannual review. Bill wondered whether to broach the subject. The precedent he had in mind was the time he'd confronted Ron Darcy, an NMO salesman who clearly suffered from alcoholism. Darcy had made his numbers and then some, but there were signs that he was about to derail, personally and professionally. Bill liked to think he'd made a difference in that man's life, awkward as It was at the time. Still, when it came to Sid's review. Bill decided it was a conversation that could wait. Since then, even more troubling than Sid's health was the increasingly oblique approach people at work took toward him. Sid was outgoing, always happy to strike up a conversation. But as old- timers left the group and new hires en- tered, fewer and fewer people seemed to warm up to him. Bill recalled the days when Sid, particularly after his divorce, went out with colleagues after work for drinks, and people invited him to Just then he had a sickening thought: If Sid were passed over for the consul- tant relations job, could he sue the com- pany for discrimination? He thought of picking up the phone and calling Terry in HR. Then he realized that merely ask- ing the question made him sound like he had an issue with Sid's size - like maybe he was the problem. He stared at the receiver. Could he even bring up the subject? The Right Fit? A taxi was idling outside the office build- ing, and Bill kept checking his watch. "If we don't get going now, we'll miss the plane," he thought. Just then, Sid stepped off the elevator and into the lobby, pulling a remarkably large suit- case and a smaller bag. "Let's go," Bill said, holding the door open. Sid wheeled his bags out to the cab. Bill climbed into the backseat be- hind the driver. When Sid eased into the seat on the passenger side. Bill felt the