HALL OF FAME

ROUND-2

THE ETHICAL DILEMMMA : WHOM TO TRUST ?

It was a Saturday evening and Sanjay was working late that day. There was a deadline
approaching in 7 days and this was a crucial account for the company so there wasn't any scope
for any mistakes. He had put the four best people in his team on this project and now because of
misunderstandings between them it seemed like meeting the deadline would be a difficult task.
He was confused as to how to handle this situation now.

BACKGROUND:

Mr. Sanjay Mittal, the Project Manager of Opera Enterprises, a leading national engine
manufacturing company for racing cars, had been working for Opera for the past decade and has
delivered more than 9 successful projects. He was also seen as a very considerate boss, which is
why his team had also been performing very well. Such reasons made him well respected in the
organization.

Anita, Bharat, Chetan, and Dhwani were the best performers of Sanjay’s team. Anita and Bharat
had been in the organization for 4 years each and Chetan and Dhwani for 5. All four had the
image of dedicated workers and they always sought to find out-of-the-box solutions for their
clients. As a guide, Sanjay had a big influence in shaping them, which is why he had their utmost
respect. Being the best performers, there was also a strong sense of competition between the
four within the organization. All four of them had never worked on any project together up till
now. Competition grew day by day and now had come a point of jealousy between the four.
Since it was a demanding project, Sanjay had decided to put all four of them together this time. It
had been four months since they were working on this project. But he had not anticipated that
this would take such an ugly turn.
HAPPENINGS OF THE DAY:

Sanjay had come into the office looking forward to the day. Today his team was supposed to
present the final report for the project due next week and trusting the capabilities of his team, he
knew that it was going to be great.

After getting to his office he straight away called the team to get an update. As soon as they came
he could see there was some problem. He asked if there was anything wrong but there was no
answer. He didn’t probe further, thinking that he will talk to them later about this. When he
asked about the update on the report, after some silence again, Dhwani replied that it wasn’t
ready. He was shocked to hear what he just did. His mind started running, thinking about many
things at once – why was the report not finished, what was happening between these four, how
will it be completed in just one week, what if I do not have anything to show to the client next
week, but most importantly what was going on between these four that they did not complete
the project.

He asked for an explanation and again Dhwani replied that there was some misunderstanding
going on within the team which is why they didn’t want to work together anymore.

He knew they would not speak openly in a group so he decided to talk to them individually. He
decided to start with Anita.

Anita- I don’t want to do this anymore.

Sanjay- What is the matter? I understand that time is less but we will manage, we make a good
team.
Anita- No, we don’t. And I don’t wish to work in the same team as Chetan.
Sanjay- Chetan? I thought you both gelled along well, have seen you both together a couple of
times.

*Silence*

Sanjay- Is everything okay? You can tell me.

Anita- Chetan tried to molest me. He had always tried to be over-friendly and I never thought
about his ill intentions behind it but a week ago, he proved what a leech he is.
*silence*
(In an agitated tone) I don’t wish to say any further. I request you to kindly assign me to a new
project.

Sanjay- *offers her a glass of water* Calm down Anita! We shall look into this. Our company
has strict HR policies and we ensure all our employees feel safe and secure.
But are you sure, his intentions were bad? I mean there could be a possibility of
misunderstanding. Did you try talking to him?

Anita- (In a rather angry tone) No I did not! And I don’t think I need to do it. I understand the
difference between a friendly gesture and an in-decent behavior. I know what a good touch and a
bad touch is.

Sanjay- Please sit down Anita. I can understand your annoyance. We shall take this up with the
HR head.

*Anita walks out*

.
.
Still comprehending what just happened, he calls in Bharat. Sanjay knew that Chetan was a fun-
loving guy and liked to joke around once in a while but he never thought that he could do such a
thing.

Bharat walks in and Sanjay asked him to have a seat.

.
.
Bharat: I was planning on meeting you anyway. Since the past few weeks, Anita has been acting
quite differently. She was having meetings with the client without informing any of us. We are
working together, and we expect that she keeps us on board with everything. Initially, I thought
that she is acting in such a manner because she is very ambitious and assertive in nature. But
eventually I realized that something fishy is going on. She began avoiding us completely and
started telling us that the client wants to meet her personally to discuss an important issue. Few
days ago, while looking at the billing records, I realized that Anita had billed the company for 4
meetings with our client in a single week. This made me suspicious because it is unlikely that the
client would meet her so many times without informing us. Also, in the records it was mentioned
that she had taken permission to take company documents outside for the meeting. When I
called up the client, I got to know that they had met only once and that too on Anita’s personal
request. This is very alarming and I think that Anita is providing confidential information to the
competitor of our client.

This information came as another shock. Was it possible? Sanjay trusted Anita and she had been
part of major projects before as well as handled confidential information.

He thanked Bharat and said that he will look into it. After he left, Sanjay called Chetan into his
office. He decided that instead of confronting Chetan about Anita’s accusations he would first
like to listen to what Chetan had to say.

Chetan entered and had a seat.

Sanjay: Yes Chetan. What’s the matter?

Chetan: I have been waiting for an opportunity to talk to you. Things have turned ugly in our
department. People in our team have forgotten the definition of trust and honesty in business. I
hope you remember that last week we received two identical supplier tenders from Ashoka Inc.
and Franko Manufacturers with a difference of just Re 1/unit in the base cost between the two.
Despite rigorous investigation of the matter we couldn’t discern how this was possible. But
today, I can lucidly explain to you what had happened and why none of us managed to get close
to the root cause. All this was possible because one amongst us shook hands with the supplier to
reap personal monetary benefits against this tender. I hate to say this, that I think that team
member is Bharat. I caught him discussing the details of our received tenders with the Supply
Chain Lead of Ashoka. We need to act immediately. Firstly, we have to cancel the order with
Ashoka and open the auction again. Secondly, we will have to fire Bharat before things turn
messier. I understand that with the dismissal of Bharat, our team’s productivity will take a hit but
we have no other way out of this situation. We cannot allow such disrespect for ethics.
This information came as another blow. Sanjay recalled the day the tenders were received and it
was a mayhem as to how such a thing was possible. But due to urgent requirements of supplies
he had to pass the tender with the lower bid. He thanked Chetan and told him that an action will
be taken after the matter is looked into.

He didn’t understand how all of a sudden there came so many accusations. He decided to talk to
Dhwani as well.

Sanjay: Have a seat, Dhwani. What is going on?

Dhwani: Sanjay, this team just isn’t working out. There is practically no-one taking up
responsibility of the team and leading this project. It seems that my teammates do not want to
work with each other. I have never seen such a thing in our organization, and I can take the lead
if you want me to and get everything in order.

She politely stood, and walked out, leaving Sanjay even more confused. Sanjay knew that this is
not the correct time to allow Dhwani to lead the team.

Sanjay thought about a solution the whole day. While sitting in his office late in the evening, the
pressure of the deadline next week was building up.

Consider yourself as Sanjay. Analyze the problem from every angle and come up with a
feasible solution.

Your video should ideally contain:

• Complete Analysis of the situation, i.e. what is your understanding and take on this
problem
• Solution to the problem so that all things get back into order

Also keep the following things in mind:

• Generic Solutions are not encouraged

• State your assumptions in the starting itself (can be attached in a separate
document, if required)
• Do not exceed the time limit, this may invite penalty
• All team members should present the solution in the video
• Scoring would be done on following parameters: ability to comprehend and analyze
the problem from all perspectives, solution which is feasible and implementable
immediately, presentation skills
• The video link must be mailed to the official e-mail id of Hall of Fame before 25th
December, 2017 EOD. (Note: No submissions would be entertained after the
deadline)
• If the video size exceeds 25 MB, you can upload your submissions on google drive
and share the link