PCA Dave Ellis

OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet
Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the four ethical communities
2. Apply the ethical communities to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

I worked as a maintenance supervisor for the company in the situation. The situation

occurred after we recently hired a new mechanic to fill a slot on the team on the third shift.

During the interview, the candidate seemed like a perfect match and the department was more

than eager to welcome him aboard. However, after the first few days of training, we received

reports from the human resources department claiming that they were accusations made against

the employee. The situation was quickly addressed, and the new employee stated that the report

was simply a result of miscommunication. A few days later we received even more complaints

that resulted in him getting an additional warning all within his first three weeks with the

organization.

After those first two incidents, everything seemed to be going well, then the other mechanics

started complaining about his work performance. Hoping to avoid any long-term issues my

manager decided that it was my responsibility to keep a keen eye on him for any more

infractions as it would justify his termination before the end of his probationary period. Avoiding

the company, a lot of trouble in the future if his performance didn’t improve. Shortly after, I

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began working with him to improve his performance. But when another employee found him

dozing off during his shift, I was instructed to terminate him the following week.

2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

The organization developed its mission and values around be loving, caring, and above

all understanding. Before I started working for that organization, I worked in the military, where

I felt unheard and underappreciated. So after starting the new position I just felt it would have

been significantly different. The soul of the organization struggled to recover and the mural of

the team lowered temporarily.

The reason it impacted morale so much was that the other employees were being

manipulative. Soon after that employee was terminated everyone become on edge and started

wondering if their actions would cause retaliation, or if they would start turning on each other in

order to make their personal lives easier at work. This went against the very mission and purpose

the organization thrived so hard to establish.

3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical communities for an alternative
course of action regarding your case.

I would start by remembering that we were a family and caring about each other. By

doing this I would have applied the family community of caring and love. Which is “the primary

glue and purpose that holds a family together”. (Bolman 2017). If the other employees began by

treating the new hire as a part of the family maybe all of this would have available.

People hate change and fear what they don’t know. Their lack of knowledge and

confidence in his ability made it next to impossible for them to support and help him get on

board at the facility. As demonstrated in the Southwest Airlines case study, simply stating what

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your values and beliefs are, isn’t really worth much until you can live and demonstrate it in real

life.

4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about ethics.

First of all, I would have to lead the charge in understanding the needs of the individual

and getting to know them a bit more before rushing to terminate them. I would have also

mentored the other partners that photographed him sleeping and shared it with everyone else

about teamwork and unity. I would work with my management team and the HR teams to ensure

that people were given a fair opportunity to earn their keep. Especially in a situation where this

person was just starting out on an off shift and might have had a hard time transitioning to the

new shift schedule.

Being considerate and caring doesn’t have to mean that your weak or that you’re giving

up your power. And as managers and leaders, it is important to try and empower people to be the

best version of themselves possible. The organization was so concerned with its overall image

that it neglected to follow its own policies and instead used policy loopholes to expedite the

employee’s termination.

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Reference or References

Bolman, Lee G., and Terrence E. Deal. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and
Leadership. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand, 2017.