Boss Who Now Has to

¶ … boss who now has to decide whether to present her subordinate's work as her own and recognize his efforts by promoting him and granting him a raise in his salary or give full credit to her subordinate. Janice is a qualified researcher who is heading the research and development department in a company. She has an assistant named John who is not being paid much for the work he does. John, however, works hard in order to make both ends meet.

His performance appraisal indicates that his performance is more than satisfactory. During one of the research projects, John comes up with unique software which can cater to all the needs of the company. He informs Janice about his invention in the hope that this would pave the way for his much required promotion and that through this he will become eligible for a raise in salary too.

This software is what Janice's boss had wanted her to develop but Janice somehow could not get the time for it due to the work load. Though the work done by John is quite innovative, Janice has other plans for it. A lot is going through her mind at this time. This presents Janice with a chance to complete the work assigned to her by her boss by presenting the software to him as her own work. Janice has two alternatives in mind.

If John does not agree to this idea Janice can intimidate him by telling him that she would temper with his performance appraisal which will eventually result in his termination if he talked about it. This way, John will not be able to do anything for his family and this threat would be enough to keep him quiet. If he agrees to it then she would nominate him for promotion and a raise in salary.

What is she supposed to do now? Janice requires a solution which is suitable for everyone. Ethical Dilemma This is an ethical dilemma which many of us face every day in our respective fields. This dilemma gives birth to some questions.

Is Janice right in taking credit for something she has not done? Should she even go as far as threatening John to terminate his job if he speaks up for his rights? And most importantly, even if John agrees to this scheme of Janice's without much ado, will it be fair to John? While facing such a dilemma one needs to make sure that ethical concerns are addressed and the rights of the parties involved are not violated.

The questions arise: Is the software property of John only? Does being the supervisor Janice also becomes the owner of it? Or is the software property of the company only and it is totally on the discretion of the company to deal with it the way it wants? The software developed by John is his property but if it is developed using the resources of the company then the matter becomes complex.

In such a case, John will still retain some rights as the software was originally his idea and should be given due credit for it. Janice is wrong is taking the credit for it as she has not contributed much to it. Moreover, it would be unfair to John if Janice presented his work as her own. The alternatives which Janice is thinking about are both not fair. In either way, the rights of John will be violated. Alternatives There can be three alternatives to this situation.

One: Janice could present John's work as her own. Two: Janice and John can work as a team and give the work to the boss as a team work. Three: Janice can give complete credit to John and get it published in a way which works the best for both of them. Let us examine each alternative in detail and weigh its pros and cons. The first alternative is not suitable because it is ethically wrong.

If Janice takes the credit for John's work then John would not be treated fairly. There will always exist a feeling of mistrust between Johan and Janice. Despite getting promotion and a raise in salary, John will feel demotivated because his work was not recognized. There is a chance that he may become reluctant to present his creative ideas in the future fearing that the same will happen again.

As a result of this, his performance will suffer and there will come a time when there would be no choice for the company but to fire him due to his low performance. If John leaks this to anyone inside or outside the company then the company's position would be tarnished. Existing employees will doubt the intentions of the company. As a result, the company would lose competent and talented employees.

Moreover, this theft of John's work will keep haunting Janice and she would not feel comfortable working in the research department. However, sometimes it happens that conscience can be self-regulated by creating justifications for one's actions. This concept is explained by Bandura through his theory of self-regulation. Here, Janice herself is feeling insecure. Janice knows that if she gave all the credit to her subordinate, he will be praised by her boss and there is a chance he might be made in charge of the research and development department.

Moreover, if ever in the future, it is leaked that Janice had given John's work as her own then Janice's reputation will be tarnished completely. She would not only be terminated but will also not get job anywhere else. If Janice wants to choose the first alternative, then she has to take John into confidence. She should try to tell him that his talent would be recognized sooner or later and that he should now choose between promotion and acknowledgment of his work.

She should try to convince him that some way or the other he will be acknowledged for his software as he knows best how to operate it and in case if the software malfunctions then John would be able to make changes to it. His promotion would indirectly indicate that his efforts have been appreciated. In this way, this alternative can work for both Janice and John. The second alternative will involve tact on the part of Janice.

She will try to present the software as a team work through which she and John would both get the credit for this work. This would be suitable to an extent that Janice will get compensated for the work which she never did but was assigned to her. John will get the credit as well as due salary amount which will help him do something for his family. This would again prove to be demoralizing for John because he would not receive acknowledgement for his creativity.

The second alternative is based on the concept of utilitarianism which seeks the solution which is best for everyone or in other words tries to accomplish the greatest good for everyone. According to the concept of utilitarianism, a decision is morally and ethically right only when it proves to be the best for everyone or bears the best results for all. Utilitarianism requires that the outcome of the decision on every stockholder be assessed before a decision is taken.

In this alternative, Janice benefits by presenting the software as her own and manage to obtain a good position in her boss' eyes while John gets his much awaited promotion pay raise. Here, John will have to compromise and priorities what he really wants- the promotion and the pay raise or the acknowledgement for his creative software. The company gets good software which is unique. Everyone is satisfied and gets benefits from this decision.

The third alternative will give the due credit for each of the stakeholders involved in this situation. John will get the due credit and compensation for his work. He will feel motivated because his work is recognized. This would give him both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The recognition and promotion would provide intrinsic motivation while the pay raise will result in John getting extrinsically motivated. Thus, John's rights would not be usurped. He will continue working with the same fervor and his performance will also be boosted.

John will also be better able to do something worthwhile for his family. Janice's position would also look good with the way she has presented John's work and she would also be praised by her boss. The company would also fare well as it would now be widely acknowledged that the company appreciates and duly compensates the individual contribution and highly rewards the creative employees. This would also boost the morale of the other employees in the company. The third alternative conforms to the principle of universalism. According to.