The Skeleton in the Corporation Closet Case Alisa Zhazhieva, Anh N. Vu, My T. Duong, Anh N. Cao, Thuy T.

Nguyen, Hang K. Nguyen, Chau M. Nguyen International School BUS 444 Strategic Management Jos A. Torres

1. At GPC, is it possible for the right thing to be a lie? Is Hap Parker obligated to disclose the contents of the letter? Consider the ethical material in Chapter 11 when responding to this question. A lie can be the right thing in many situations as long as it does not break the law and bring more benefits and desirable outcomes than revealing the truth. What is said to be the right things can be very different among individuals as well as organizations because the differences in beliefs, national, ethnic heritage, family practices, community standards, educational experiences, and friends and neighbor. The priority of a leader is managing to bring benefit to an organizations stakeholders. Concerning ethical issues, a leader has to take personal responsibility, set an example of himself/herself for others to believe and follow, in order to create and maintain an ethical standard inside an organization. A high ethical organization has its employees well educated, responsible for their action and high level of integrity inside the organization. In GPCs case, Hap Parker the current leader, is not obligated to disclose the contents of the letter. The letter had opened a possibility, but as his legal adviser Newland Lowell had said, it was not enough to prove the assumption, that Karl might be the true owner of the innovation instead of the company founder. As long as it remains uncertain, Hap Parker does not have to disclose the information to the public.

2. What options does Hap parker have? Consider the governance material in Chapter 9 when responding to this question. Hap Parker has two options, either conceal the newfound information or disclose the contents of the letter to public. If this letter is kept secret, the company will continue to be run smoothly as it had always been. The company will remain its competitive advantage over its competitors for it longtime reputation in the business world. The founder will remain a hero, being both an excellent leader and the GPCs original product inventor. The organizations culture will remain strong with high ethical and responsible workers, high level of integrity. If the secret is revealed, all bad things will break loose and the company will be put into a very risky situation. The public and Media are willing to believe in the worst. Violating the company core value will cause a serious damage on the company reputation. The company will soon lose the trust of its partners, suppliers, creditors, employees, shareholders and customers. This is an industry where competitors sell similar products. When a companys reputation goes bad, its competitors will soon take over. GPCs Sales would likely to decrease, so there will be less profit and more valuable employees will be lay off. There is only one hope that loyal customers will overlook the fact since it happened so long ago and new material has replaced the old ones. 2

3. What obligations does Hap Parker have to his multiple stakeholders? Consider the issues of mutually dependent stakeholder interests, the needs of the larger community, and acting in a socially responsible manner. Hap Parker has many obligations in this case considering their shareholders, employees and the company itself. As for stockholders, they invest their money to the company with the hope to gain, having good faith in its reputation and goodwill. The responsibility of a manager is to bring its stockholders profit, but not a loss. And loss is exactly what will happen if the secret would reveal and the companys reputation get worse. As for employees, the company has longtime established working environment, high ethical standard and trust among employees, and their responsibility for work and duty. The company has acquired high quality and loyal employees. It is responsibility of a leader to maintain the working environment that way, and keep jobs for their employees. If Hap Parker would decide to publicize the news, it means that core value of GPC had been violated from the top. Employees would not know what to believe in and would lose their trust. Thus, the result would be bad working environment and reduction in productivity. Since the news will make the company lose its market share to its competitors, many of the employees will be laid off and become unemployed. Hap Parker has to think about what is the best for the company itself. More than often, what is best for a company might not be the best for others; it is Hap Parkers obligation to think on the company behalf, do what is the best for it. 4. What would you do if you were Hap Parker? Why? If I were Hap Parker, I will not reveal the news to the public. I may consider investigating some more to know the true who were really the creator of the material, but as long as the truth is not certain 100%, it is absurd to disclose the news to public and cause quite damage to the business. Firstly, by anyone standard, the company founder, Hudson Parker was a great leader that built a great company, was always innovative, trustworthy and well respected. Even Hap Parker could not believe that his grandfather did not give Karl any credit if it was the case. Hudson Parker deserved to have more consideration before getting accused of stealing and lying. Secondly, as mentioned above, Hap Parker, as a leader of a company, must think about what is the best for GPC, its employees and its stakeholders. The analysis indicates that concealing the bad news will bring more benefit for a larger community despite the fact that it might trouble some peoples ethical conscience or the Karl family. Overall, Hap Parker might find heirs of Karl Gintz, negotiate with them and offer some credit to GPCs profit. 3