Top Management Influence - A Manager's Dilemma
The Together Support (TS) charity is a well-known charity in the region. Senior management is often involved with TS at a community level. In fact, the company has decided to make a sizable corporate donation this year, and is running an employee payroll campaign to complement it. Top managers have asked employees to make individual donations through payroll deductions. You know that several of your employees can't afford to make donations due to legitimate financial hardships. You've also heard that the top management checks the list of individual contributors to see who is and isn't supporting their "very important cause".
It's Monday morning, and you're already in your seat for the weekly Manager's meeting that begins in a few minutes. This campaign has created quite a buzz, and several other managers are talking about it:
Kelly - "I'm going to donate, and require my employees to as well. There's no way I want anyone working for me to be on that bad list!"
Chris - "I have heard that the TS organization has been filled with corruption, and I don't think it's right to give to them. I will work with my employees to find another charity to support. If anyone from top-management asks me why my employees don't support the TS foundation, I'll show them the information I have. I'll also ask them to support their own!"
How are you going to handle this request with your employees? What do you say in response to Kelly and Chris? They are looking to you now for a response.