Susans Dilemma Critical Thinking Example

Susan was a human resource manager at Concreos, a software company. She joined the company soon after she had finished college and had been working with them for over a decade. When she joined Concreos, it was a startup with 15 employees. In the decade she had been with them, the company had grown leaps and bounds and now employed 250 employees. When she joined the company, she was the only woman and since the number of employees was really low, it did not really matter to her. As the company grew and they needed to hire new people, her department grew bigger too. She now had three people working in her department, two women and a guy. Although the gender ratio in her department was skewed favorably towards women, it was not the case for the rest of the company. True to every software company the workforce comprised of 80% of men. Although the company executives and heads did not show any outward bias towards hiring women, the fact remained that there were only a few women in the office. The women who did work there were either coders or other office staff. And none of them were in the managerial position. Although she had raised the issue of gender ratio in company meetings, her concerns were never taken seriously. Since all employees were treated equally, there was no problem for the human resources department for a long time.
But Susan’s relatively tranquil existence in the company and her complacent position on gender issues faced a problem when Monica one of the coders met her in the cafeteria one day and enquired about her application for a promotion. Normally she would have replied with a non-conformational reply and told Monica that she would get back to her in a while. But this time she could not do it as Steve, Monica’s senior manager had told Susan that they would not be promoting Monica because she was a woman. In private, Steve had told her that Monica could not be considered for the position as she would be overseeing a lot of men and this could cause some friction among her subordinates. He told her that since this position would require working late hours for most days, he was not sure if Monica would feel comfortable spending ungodly hours surrounded by men in the office. This confession by Steve put Susan in a spot. Company policy dictated that any private conversations between the HR manager and the senior executives be kept a secret. It was also company policy that there should be equal employment opportunities and wage opportunities for everyone regardless of their race, age and gender.
A human resource department in any company faces a bevy of ethical and legal issues. They have to deal with the guidelines set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and have to follow the guidelines and best practices set by the Human Resource Management Institute. On top of all this, Susan was also responsible and regularly monitored to make sure she and her department complied thoroughly on issues such as new hiring, promotions and terminations. Men and Women have different problems at the workplace and Susan had to be effective in dealing with it in order to not get herself or her company in problem. Thus this situation with Monica presented her with a moral and ethical problem. She could get into trouble for discussing details of a private conversation with Steve and she could be also in trouble with the HR guidelines if she knowingly passed over a female colleague for promotion.
. Susan knew that Steve’s decision was not based purely on a business sense but was also driven by a sexist agenda. He empathized with his other male colleagues and believed that answering to a female boss would bring about ego problems among his colleagues. Susan believed that this was an old-fashioned belief and that it should be curbed, lest this sets precedence on future hiring and promotions. Susan also knew that Monica was talented, hardworking and never complained about putting in extra hours at the office. Susan had gone through a similar situation earlier with Steve. The last time Steve had asked Susan not to hire, Lucy a talented manager from another company. His reason back then was the same and Susan had instead hired Dave. And now it was Dave who was in running for the same position Monica had applied for.
Susan was a firm believer in the fact that Gender equality in the workplace increased employee productivity. Denying Monica the promotion might make her work less or worse make her look for another job. But Susan knew that staying true to her beliefs and taking a stance in support of Monica would not only create strife within the ranks but also create problems for her and might put her own job in jeopardy. Telling Monica the truth and ask her to register a complaint with the Human Resources Department would not only get Susan a bad rap with the senior managers but it will also open the way for a lawsuit to be files against the company by Monica. Staying mum on the issue would also mean that Susan goes against her own ethical principles and that of the guidelines set by the Human Resources Institute and the Government on Equal opportunities for both sexes. Dave and Monica were equally qualified for the promotion and Monica even had a few months more of experience with the company. Susan was at a loss for an explanation that would placate Monica and not get the senior manager or her company in trouble. Susan felt that it was not fair that Dave should get the job only because he was a man.
This is an ethical and moral dilemma faced by many human resource professionals in companies all over the world and Susan is not the first to face it and probably would also be not the last. The decision to save the company against any liabilities and future lawsuits and the decision to work the benefit of the employees is a tug of war and presents the human resource manager with a push-pull dilemma that is very difficult to resolve.