Case Study Analysis

7 Pages 1680 Words

Case Study Analysis

Janice is Chief of Research and Development and she is also John’s boss. John is Janice’s assistant. Janice is highly paid and John is underpaid. John is attempting to impress everyone with his new software package while Janice is just covering herself for not completing the project her boss assigned to her.
John, Janice and ultimately Janice’s boss are affected by Janice’s decision. John will be affected because he is hoping to receive a promotion and a raise as a result of his creation. Janice will either receive praise from her boss from a job well done or possibly criticism for having her assistant complete an assignment that was given to her. Janice’s decision is definitely an ethical one because it is based on right and wrong. Specifically, it’s based on Janice’s definition of right and wrong. On one hand she needs to fulfill her obligation to her manager and turn in a software package that will address the company concerns. On the other hand, she has an employee that has worked hard and deserves credit for what he has done. Taking credit for his idea would be wrong in the eyes of most observers but Janice has to weigh the ramifications of not completing her assignment with the idea of taking credit for someone else’s work.
Janice has the first and most obvious decision to make. She needs to decide if she should take credit for work that is not her own. If John will not go along with the idea of her taking credit for his work she has another decision to make about punishing him by lowering his evaluations and possibly firing him. John’s issue is different in that he can go along and get the promotion and raise he wants but no credit for the work he did. . John has to decide if he wants credit for his work or if he wants a guaranteed raise and promotion by letting Janice take the credit.
According to Kant’s categorical imperative an act is ethical only if it remai...