Instructions (you will write your response on the template provided below):
The C. T. Bauer College of Business has identified written communication and ethical reasoning as major learning outcomes for all of the undergraduate degree programs. This Business Writing Evaluation uses ethical reasoning as the basis for a writing assignment that will be used to evaluate your competency in written communication.
The Bauer Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct stresses honesty, respect, accountability, and integrity. Keep those principles in mind as a general basis for considering and responding to the ethics mini-case below. You are expected to make and communicate a decision to a specified audience in an appropriate manner.
Using the template file provided, write the correspondence as required. The well-organized correspondence should be between one and two pages in length.
The correspondence will be evaluated based on overall clarity, the quality of the ideas generated, and the professionalism of the presentation (including conforming to conventions for standard English usage).
You are Rosie in the following scenario:
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, June 2007.
Client Obligations and Handling your Boss
By Jessica Silliman
Rosie Alexander had recently lost her job from the dot-com bust when she decided to switch industries and join a medium-sized consulting firm where she helped individual clients manage their personal portfolios. Although the firm wasn't the top in the market, the firm had several long-term clients who gave them a good reputation amongst peers.
One long-term client, Betty Fitz, emailed Rosie's boss, Conor Hall, asking a few questions about a recent acquisition of stock. Conor forwarded the inquiries to Rosie, asking her for help. Rosie, new to the job and not fully aware of Ms. Fitz's financial background, wasn't able to answer all of Ms. Fitz's questions--they needed to be put to someone with more expertise. So she wrote an email back to Conor, letting him know that she needed more information before she could fully evaluate Ms. Fitz's situation. She explicitly stated in the email to Conor that her reply was an inquiry for further information and was not meant to be forwarded on to Ms. Fitz. Rosie felt her
answer was still in an informal, rough form and left many questions unanswered.
A few days later, Ms. Fitz emailed Conor again, asking if he had gotten her questions answered. In a rush, Conor forwarded Rosie's email to Ms. Fitz. Later, he told Rosie that he felt her response was good enough and that he didn't have the time to waste composing a whole new document. When Ms. Fitz complained about the lack of detail in the response, Conor placed the blame on Rosie, his "clearly incompetent assistant."
"He messed with my reputation," said Rosie. "I don't normally like to create commotion, but I felt this was a necessary battle I had to fight." In Rosie's mind, Conor had not only lied to a client and implicated her, he had also damaged her professional reputation with a longstanding client. She looked unreliable. Rosie approached Conor the following day and said that all he needed to tell Ms. Fitz was that he had forgotten or hadn't gotten a chance to look at it yet. Either way, each answer would have made him appear busy--something completely justifiable to the client. And even if Rosie had messed up, she told Conor that she would expect him to either fire her or cover for her--not damage her reputation and leave her unable to defend herself.
Surprisingly, Conor agreed and apologized to Rosie--and later apologized to Ms. Fitz. Three weeks pass and Rosie receives the following email in her "Inbox" from Gil Jackson, Vice President of Operations.
From: Gil Jackson
To: Rosie Alexander
CC:
Subject: Complaint Review
Dear Rosie,
We have on our records a complaint from Betty Fitz. The reason for the complaint is listed as "Poor Communication." Although it says the situation has since been resolved, I would like to know how you think the situation could have been handled more efficiently. Please consider the following questions:
How would you describe the communication between you and your supervisor, Mr. Hall? How could you have handled Ms. Fitz's case more effectively? Did you act fairly to Mr. Hall? Did he act fairly to you? What impact did your and Mr. Hall's decisions have on Ms. Fitz, the client? I look forward to your reply and I appreciate your interest in keeping our company honest and productive.
Gil Jackson
Vice President, Operations
In a formal email, please respond to Mr. Jackson's inquiries. Use the template below to write your response.
From: Rosie Alexander
To: Gil Jackson
CC: Subject: Re: Complaint Review