{"id":116,"date":"2014-08-16T20:38:42","date_gmt":"2014-08-16T20:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/orgbehavior1xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=116"},"modified":"2015-07-22T15:38:36","modified_gmt":"2015-07-22T15:38:36","slug":"11-8-exercises","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/cerritos-humanrelationsba107\/chapter\/11-8-exercises\/","title":{"raw":"Optional Exercises","rendered":"Optional Exercises"},"content":{"raw":" \r\n
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Ethical Dilemma<\/h3>\r\nHerb\u2019s Concoction (and Martha\u2019s Dilemma): The Case of the Deadly FertilizerJeanne Enders, Portland State University. Used by permission of the author.<\/span>\r\n\r\nMartha Wang worked in the Consumer Affairs Department of a company called Herb\u2019s Garden Products. Martha was a relatively new employee and had only worked there 6 months, while most employees at Herb\u2019s had been with the company since its beginning back in 1958. She enjoyed her job and hoped to be promoted at her next performance appraisal. One especially exciting part of working at Herb\u2019s was that they had made a public commitment to protecting the environment. There were regular meetings at work about the choice to brand the organization in this way, sell their products at \u201cgreen\u201d markets, and capture some of the growing consumer market for natural products. Martha\u2019s values were closely aligned with this mentality, so she really loved her new job at Herb\u2019s Garden Products. How quickly things change.\r\n\r\nOne day, Martha received a call from a dissatisfied customer who complained that Herb\u2019s Special Fertilizer Mix killed her dog, an expensive and beloved toy poodle. Martha knew that the fertilizer was made mostly of fish byproducts and chicken manure, but she had also heard there was a \u201csecret ingredient\u201d that had only been revealed to long-time employees. The company had advertised the product as \u201csafe enough to eat for breakfast\u201d and \u201cable to work wonders on any plant.\u201d However, Martha had used the product only once herself. Shortly after applying the fertilizer, Martha found several dead birds near the garden where she had spread the most fertilizer. At the time, she convinced herself this was just a coincidence. Listening now to this customer describing the death of her small dog after lying on the soil near the fertilizer, Martha began to wonder if those birds had perished for the same reason. Martha took the customer\u2019s name and number and went immediately to her boss.\r\n\r\nMartha\u2019s boss was Herb\u2019s nephew, Mac. Once Martha explained her story about her own experience with the fertilizer and the customer\u2019s claim that it killed her dog, Mac began to smile. \u201cSome people will complain about the littlest things,\u201d Mac said. Martha protested that it was her job as a consumer affairs officer to address the serious concerns of this customer and follow company procedure to ensure the safety of future customers and their pets. Mac laughed and said, \u201cYou really believe that something is wrong with our product? We\u2019ve been selling this fertilizer for 35 years. People love it! Now and again someone whines about finding dead animals, but that\u2019s just their imagination. After all, we use all-natural ingredients!\u201d Martha thanked Mac for his help and slowly headed back toward her cubicle. She felt extremely confused and torn about her role at this point. What should she tell the customer when she called her back? Was the fertilizer safe? Should she worry about working in a place with potentially dangerous products? What about quality issues for the company\u2019s products in general? Were Herb\u2019s other products unsafe or of poor quality? What might be the environmental impact of this product as it runs off into lakes and streams? As her head began to spin with the difficulty of the task ahead of her, the phone suddenly rang. It was Herb himself, the owner and founder of the company. \u201cMartha,\u201d the voice on the other line whispered, \u201cHerb\u2019s Special Fertilizer is our best seller! Don\u2019t let us down.\u201d\r\n\r\nNOW It Is Your Turn\r\n