Assignment Task
Part 2: Case study - 80% of the Total Marks
The Case:
You are a strategic planner for a multinational corporation with a HQ in London,
which owns and manages a tea plantation in China. The organisation's advertising
emphasises the organisation's 'partnership with the developing world'. In recent
weeks, the organisation has been the subject of a series of critical articles in a
national paper. The articles have contained detailed data about the pay and
conditions on the plantations and have described those pay and conditions as
exploitative. The newspaper has also commented unfavourably on the
arrangements, which the organisation has made with the country's government for
the repatriation of profits. The information in the articles has been accurate, and it is
evident that a member of the organisation has been supplying the information,
although the organisation has a rule that a member of staff 'must not disclose
commercial information to unauthorised persons' and another one which says that 'all
contacts with the press must be handed by the properly authorised officers.'
At a social function, a member of your department inadvertently makes it plain that it
is he who has been supplying the information to the newspaper. He immediately
recognises what he has done and says you 'must ignore what I've said or I'll be
sacked'. There are also reports that the plantation workers resent being managed by
a manager who demonstrates individualist cultural traits and knows little about their
culture, especially when one of the long serving planters is held in high regard by the
locals.
Part 2
The task:
As the strategic planner you are keen to ensure the company is free from scandal
and maximises its partnership opportunity.
Critically evaluate the ethical leadership issues raised in this multinational
corporation and any other ethical considerations in deciding about what to do in
response to the issues in this case. You should also consider the potential
challenges and solutions associated with cross cultural management. Justify your
recommendations drawing on the approach of other organisations to this issue.
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