Please Consider My Daughter
The Blue-Ribbon School District (BRSD) is a well-respected and desirable place to find employment. Ten years ago, the public-school district found itself on the losing end of a federal unfair labor practice lawsuit. After the outcome of the case, the district adopted two new hiring policies. The first created an interview protocol including a six-member committee for each new position that comprises at least one parent, one teacher, one staff member, and one administrator. The school board also sends an impartial member to serve on the committee. The committee screens and interviews applicants based on a clear set of agreed-upon criteria and then recommends the two top-ranked candidates to the board. The board is required to follow the ranked order of the recommendations provided by the hiring committee or reopen the position for additional applicants. The second policy involves a public role-call vote for each new hire.
The BRSD is currently in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation of its secondary school complex. John Starsley, the principal, and Kelsey Halston, the athletic director, are in constant communication with the construction manager, Joe Warsman. The project was slated as a 20-month project and has 3 months remaining. John and Kelsey have managed most of the headaches from the projects and communicate weekly with Joe. All three feel the project has been a great success and communication has been open and honest.
Recently Joe’s daughter, Shelly Warsman, graduated from college with a secondary science teaching degree with a minor in recreation education, and wants to work in the BRSD. Coincidentally, the BRSD just posted an opening for a middle school science teaching position and will conduct interviews early next month and hire the following month. Joe, wanting to see his daughter be given an opportunity to be hired, approaches Kelsey to discuss the teaching position, pointing out that Shelly could also help the school by coaching field hockey. Joe raves about Shelly’s outstanding achievements in high school and college, says he knows that Shelly would be an asset to the school, and adds that he would appreciate Kelsey’s help with getting her an interview. Kelsey explains the two board policies to Joe and emphasizes that there is nothing she can do to help. Kelsey encourages Joe to have Shelly apply and then allow the hiring process to take place.
Joe, wanting so much to help his daughter obtain her dream job, calls John to set up a private meeting at a restaurant out of the area. John, thinking the meeting is about the construction project, agrees. In the meantime, John has already assembled the interviewing committee for the science teaching position and set dates for the review of all applications. He is encouraged by the number of candidates in the applicant pool who are of high quality and already have several years of experience.
At the lunch meeting, Joe and John’s conversation starts off in the normal tone and with the normal type of discourse. After a few minutes, though, Joe starts to frame a scenario. “John, you know how important our children are to us in life. All parents want for their children is for them to be successful and see their dreams fulfilled,” he says. After a thoughtful pause, he adds, “My daughter Shelly has applied for your science teaching vacancy. Not only is she a great teacher, but she can be a huge asset to the field hockey program. I am aware of the board policies on hiring, but I also know you have great influence on the outcome of potential employees. As you know, in the construction of the new building, I have made many changes that were not in the contract without charge and helped you and Kelsey save a lot of money, which makes you look good to your board. It is only fair that you give my daughter very serious consideration.”
John is caught off guard by Joe’s request. “Joe, I am taken back by your attempt to exploit our working relationship in this manner. You are asking me to ‘stack the deck,’ and I am really not comfortable doing so,” John replies.
“You know it is unlike me to ask such a favor, but I am at my wit’s end,” Joe says. “My wife was most recently diagnosed with advanced cancer, and she so wants to see my daughter succeed. I know you are still over budget on the building project, so I am more than willing to continue to help you and Kelsey trim costs by using materials that may not be up to code but would be adequate for the school.”
“Joe, I am so sorry to hear about your wife,” John says. “You know I lost my mother last year to cancer, and it is a hard thing. But to even consider this is a huge gamble for me. If anyone found out, I would be risking everything.”
Joe assures John that the school project would be completed under budget and that he would make sure the school passes all building inspections. All he wants from John is that his daughter be given special consideration for the new teaching position.
Questions:
Advanced Questions
4. Using the three different theories of making decisions based on moral conduct (ethical egoism, utilitarianism, and altruism), explain the impact to other people of John’s decision.
5. Could this situation be an example of the Dark Side of Leadership? Explain your answer.
6. If Shelly is hired and proves to be an outstanding teacher and state title–winning field hockey coach, could it be argued that the decision was an ethical one? Defend your answer.
1. If John does decide to help Joe's daughter, the only seeming reward is John's reputation in getting the school building constructed. The possible risks involve the board finding out about the skewed selection process, losing trust in John and perhaps even having John removed from the post of the principal. The school could also land up in another suit if any of the candidates decide to sue them for unfair hiring practices.
2. John is on Stage 4 Maintaining social order (Conventional Morality), where he seems to focus on the bigger picture-considering the school board as a whole, obeying authority and prescribed the set rules and performing his duty. Joe is on Stage 2 Individualism and Exchange (Pre-Conventional Morality), where the focus is purely on serving his own interests. Reciprocity is based on how well one's interests are served.
3. The five principles of ethical leadership are -Respect, Serving others, Justice, Honesty, and building a community. Therefore, while respecting Joe's predicament, John should strive for giving an Equal Opportunity to All the candidates -which includes giving Shelly her due as a good teacher and athlete. Due process of the selection should be followed. While he may not be able to guarantee the desired position in school, he can definitely help in guiding her towards appropriate placements.
4. If John does decide to help Joe based on his own interests, he may end up giving up many more favors to Joe which may give Joe and unequal advantage over him. If he adopts a utilitarian approach or altruist approach, he may as well end up straining his ties with Joe, which can impact the construction of the school building. The school will stand to benefit better with respect to getting the right candidate(whether or not it is Joe's daughter) if John uses either a Utilitarian or an Altruistic approach. The possibility of John losing his reputation if he uses Ethical Egoism exists if the school boards were to find out about his bias, or the school being caught in another lawsuit because of unfair hiring practices. The fact that Joes' daugher shelly too would remain in school would be questionalble after that.
5. This situation could fit the example of the dark side of leadership only if John were to show a repeated pattern of abusing or misusing his power to satisfy his personal needs while putting organizational goals and progress at risk. There needs to be a pattern on the basis on which one can conclude it to be a Dark Side. If he were to help Joe's daughter by giving her special consideration, his actions could be at best be classified as Unethical.
6. Whether the decision was ethical or not depends solely on the process in which she was hired. If she was hired without being given any special consideration the decision is ethical, otherwise, it is not. Her being good in sports and being a good teacher after being hired does not make the decision any more ethical-the same probability ofexists for any other candidate with a similar experience being hired.
Please Consider My Daughter The Blue-Ribbon School District (BRSD) is a well-respected and desirable place to...