The Case of the Unidentified Crew

Mrs. Laughing Pants began her new training session with the upbeat music of “YMCA.” Participants danced as they made their way back in the room. The music played for two minutes and then exuberant silence filled the room. Everyone beamed with new energy.

Mrs. Laughing Pants cleared her throat and said, “Hmmmm.” All eyes turned to her as she said,” Mr. Bonus would you please re-read your question ball to refresh our minds?”

“Sure! I don’t mind at all,” replied Mr. Bonus. “The question asked how do you manage projects that are shipped overseas? What if it’s top secret and you heard about it by accident? Billions of dollars are involved. It’s the Turkey Brief. I guess I’m in danger as we speak.”

People sighed, gulped and shuffled their feet, followed by uncomfortable silence. Mrs. Laughing Pants scanned her audience and noted the expressions on their faces. While she waited for a verbal response, she re-read the question and emphasized the words top secret and danger. When she finished reading Mrs. Albeit raised her hand.

“I would like to chip in,” said Mrs. Albeit. “It’s funny the other day I read about a similar case posted anonymously by a Chief MIS officer located in Cameroon. He described working for a bank during a change process as they switched froman old computer system to a newer system. During the process, the bank hired a consulting firm from Canada to handle their deployment. In the midst of the system upgrade, the Canadian firm’s ownership changed, which bogged down the transition process. The MIS officer approached the general manager of the bank and asked for him to take some action in relating the urgency of their project to the new company. The general manager proved to be unsupportive because he was involved in unethical behavior. The MIS officer discovered that the general manager engaged in some underground deal. Disgusted and uncomfortable with the turn of events, the MIS officer quit his job.” (http://snipurl.com/1j05l)

“Whoa!” echoed Mrs. Crisis management. What a story. “I think if you’re working in a situation where you feel that your job is being compromised it is time to get out of that situation. There are certain things that are beyond your control. Your life is important.”

Mr. Troubleshooter chirped in and said “Business leaders today have to deal with ethical standards, which govern their organizations. Making decisions in organizations can have moral implications for both mangers and employees. It is imperative for managers to uphold ethical standards at all times.”

Mr. Energizer added, “To create an ethical working environment, businesses need to offer ethical training across the board to all employees. This will help to deflect unsavory behavior in the workplace.”

Mrs. Laughing Pants chimed in, “Good perspectives. Now I’d like to hear how you’d approach this situation.”

Mrs. Meditation offered her input and said, “I would conduct investigations and find out about the project and who is in charge of it. Next, I’d try to arrange a meeting with the individual (s) in charge and explain my stance. I would then make my escape if needed.”

“This is really a tricky case if you have the CEO breathing down your back and you’re getting hate mails from unidentified sources after discovering the secret,” offered Ms. Knows-it-all.

Ms. People-oriented voice turned grim as she said, “This is a serious case and you need to get the FBI involved. If this is a top-secret case and you’re threatened by the higher ups, it is clear you’re fighting a losing battle. Get out of dodge.”

Outsourcing has some drawbacks in that American jobs are shipped overseas. On the flip side, you learn about other people’s culture when you interact with them on the phone. My computer crashed the other day and I connected with technical support in India. We spent an hour on the phone. During that time, I learned about my technician’s culture. I learned we’re so similar and yet so different,” Mentioned Mr. Solve-it.

“With reference to the question at hand, I would talk to my manager about this underhanded deal. I would want to find out his/her views on it to get a clearer picture as to where I stood in the whole scope of things. Based on this interaction I would make my next move,” offered Mr. Animated.

“Great discussion!” mentioned Mrs. Laughing Pants. “I would like all of you to think about what have you learned from this discussion. Let’s take a break.”

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