Business Ethics Assignment Narmada Case Study

1. How was Norming Done? We started with discussing each rank one by one and then at each rank, each member in the group put forth his view point about the ranks and at the end if there was a conflict then through arguments, examples and questions the reasons behind those conflicts were discussed in depth. In every rank there was at least 1 person who either changed his opinion due to the discussion or decided to compromise on his ranking to come to a consensus as a group and to formulate a group ranking. 2. How has that affected performance? There was major dispute in the rankings of Ashok, Yadav and Vishnu. There were some aspects which were missed by the group members in different cases which became more clear during storming and helped in norming. It threw light on the different ways in which people evaluate situations, personal ethos which they stand by, balance between left brain and right brain, value of human emotions and ability to step into the shoes of the character and understand the circumstances in which the acts took place to better rank the characters in the case. It helped in looking at a situation from many more view points and widened the perspective, and ethical barometer of evaluation and helped in going deeper in the case. As said by sir, the presence of a girl did change the perspective of the group to a large extent. It was observed that the men in the group thought from a more logical view point and had less cognizance of the essence of complex emotions which run through this case which were brought forth more by the lady in the group. 4. Extrapolate the view on likely possible action? Extrapolating the case our evaluation of Ashoks ethicalness was based on what he does later after Roshna leaves his place. If he understands the entire situation and realizes his mistake, his impulsive behavior and apologises to Roshna and accepts her back then he is morally correct and less offensive however if he abandons hers after all she has done to come to see him then there are serious doubts about Ashoks love and he would be a short sighted, conservative, chauvinist. In the extra polation, it could so happen that after all this, Roshna feels extremely guilty and stupid about all the pains she took to meet Ashok. She will be broken and sour but at the same time will learn a lot about life and will become mature for the future.

5. Our Initial rankings and the final group rankings are below: Characters Laxman Ashok Yadav Vishnu Roshna Pradip Siddharth Jairath 1 3 5 4 2 6 Shikhar Saurabh 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nimit 2 1 3 4 5 6 Priyanka 1 4 2 3 6 5 Rakesh 1 2 4 3 6 5 Group Rank 1 4 2 3 6 5

Laxman [Rank 1]: Everyone agreed that Laxman was the most offensive as on one hand he said he really loved Roshna, and on the other hand instead of comforting and helping her he took advantage of her by sexually harassing her. This means that it was just lust and not love and is an evidence of his shallowness. Yadav [ Rank 2]: Yadav was a pure opportunist and did not consider helping Roshna at all. He demanded 10 times the regular fare looking at the pain and longing she was in. He could have made one more trip for her, or with the help of some other alternatives carried her across the river for the regular money out of human compassion. Also since he was the ferry man it was his job to take people across the river, of which he tried to take advantage in times of distress. Vishnu [ Rank 3]: He being a common friend of Roshna and Laxman had responsibility towards Roshnas well being. He could have told Laxman that If he does anything wrong, he will tell the village about his act but he chose to completely ignore the whole thing. We see that not doing anything does not mena that you are not a culprit, not doing anything when you could have helped someone is extremely wrong. Ashok [ Rank 4]: Ashok reacted impulsively and started hitting her when she admitted the the truth in front of him, being totally honest with him, instead of pacifying, comforting, understanding her and making her understand as well. He did not deal with the matter maturely and was rash in his actions. But his overall offensiveness is subject to what action he takes later. Pradip [ Rank 5]: As Ashoks father saw that he hit Roshna without asking anything he started beating up Ashok which is not the most righteous way to behave and treat your children. The males in the group were of the view that it is fine and justified to beat Ashok but the lady in the group was not okay with Pradips act of beating up Ashok. Roshna [Rank 6]: The group agreed that all she did, she did out of love for Ashok and fear of his death which is an extreme situation and one can lose his stability in times like these. She can marked as silly and immature but her actions or intentions are not malicious. She becomes a victim of the circumstances which play out.

Submission by Nimit Varshney (Roll No. - 88) Initial Ranking :Name Laxman Ashok Yadav Vishnu Roshna Rank 2 1 3 4 5 Reason Laxman took benefit of the situation. He was an opportunist. He should have understood that whatever Roshna did was for him, instead he reacted. It hurts more when the person you care for is ignorant of your feelings. He could have helped her. If carrying food was important, asking for Rs.100/was not justified. Vishnu being a common friend should have helped Roshna. He simply chose to remain out of the situation. Roshna was innocent throughout. She took all the pain to cross the river to check the well being of Ashok. Her smile at the end is just the immediate reaction to the pain inflicted on her by Ashok. Pradip did not care whether Ashok was his son or not. He saw his son beating Roshna and he helped her.

Pradip

Ranking after Group Discussion :Name Laxman Ashok Yadav Vishnu Roshna Pradip Rank 1 4 2 3 6 5 Reason He was an opportunist and tried to take benefit of the situation. Ashok could have also reacted out of love. He cannot say if he was not ready to accept her after what happened. I did not consider this perspective earlier. His demand for Rs.100/- was not justified. Either he could have helped or refused. Being a common friend it is his duty to help Roshna. She took all the pain to check well-being of Ashok. She loved him. Pradip should have stopped Ashok and tried to clarify things first before starting hitting. Hitting his son with belt without knowing the situation was unwarranted.

Submission by Priyanka Agarwal (Roll No. - 104) Initial Ranking :Name Laxman Rank 1 Reason I found him to be most offensive, shallow and an opportunist. He claims that he loves Roshna and then sexually harasses her, forces her into doing something for which she might have to bear grave consequences, also will face emotional trauma. This kind of love is barbaric and is basically unchecked lust. I felt that although his reaction was wrong, it was out of deep love that he has for Roshna. He is possessive and protective about her and her actions in someway hurt him and he takes it out by hitting her. His reaction holds less water as he is not able to see the love behind all her actions and judges her by her actions instead of intentions.

Ashok

Yadav

Vishnu

Roshna

Pradip

Yadav is the 2nd most unscrupulous character here as he without any emotions demands money from Roshna and doesnt put an iota of effort into helping her in any manner. He leaves her stranded when she is not able to pay him 10 times more than the regular fare. Vishnu is a big blot on the name of friendship and either has no guts to tell Laxman what he is doing is wrong and protecting his friend Roshna, his conscience allows him to conveniently ignore what wrong is happening Roshna in my view point is a victim than the culprit of wrong doings. She goes through a tumultuous journey or traumatic emotions and has just one goal in the mind, to see if Ashok is fine. Her actions are blinded by the fear of his death and love for him. In the end she smiles, it could be because she feels a sweet revenge after realizing that the one she loves and did all this for hit her after knowing everything. But this momentary emotion does not make her offensive. He hits his son without knowing the matter which is an immature action.

Ranking after Group Discussion :My rankings after the group discussion remained the same. I was able to change the view point of the group by sharing my perspective with them and questioning their reasoning. The emotional aspect of the characters in the case was missing for a few of the other members while evaluating the case where I put in my part.