12 augSocial Entrepreneurship and Ethical Leadership IV Term Assignment - 1 Notes to Participants: 1.

. This assignment is primarily intended to assess your understanding of the concepts and your ability to apply them. 2. You need not quote or acknowledge any source for your thinking or ideas. 3. The effort of the Instructors is to understand YOUR PERSPECTIVE with a view to enrich it rather than criticise you. 4. The grade/marks awarded are only a reflection of your effort in appreciating and assimilating ethical concerns as assessed by the Instructors. 5. You are welcome to discuss any issue that bothers you with the Instructors at any mutually convenient time. Following is a small note that explains the kind of an attitude that may be useful in understanding Susan. In offence of criticism By L K Bhambhani ALL OF US have experienced criticism in daily life, whether from our children, wife, parents, boss, subordinates and peers. We also pass on the same to our children, wife, parents, boss, subordinates and peers. On receiving, we take it as insult. On giving, we release our frustrations. If these are out of anger, then the situation goes from bad to worse. Nobody bothers about other's feelings. All feel they are right and justify their actions while blaming others. What is criticism? It is an opinion of others for our behaviour, our performance. It is an observation of our habits; hence the purpose of criticism is to point out faults. There is a big difference between what we say, mean and do. All do a lot of ta lking, but do they do the same? All this requires a constant exercise to think and go into details. It is suggested that when angry one should try and record his/her words and actions in their sequence. Then review these and identify what caused the burst and how he/she reacted. An analysis can point out how one must face similar situations. Circumstances are not in our control but the reaction or conduct is. How we react and handle the situation is up to us. We do hear but very often we do not listen. To begin with, all of us must first learn to listen. Listen carefully and listen with attention. Listening can provide deeper understanding. You may be called a great conversationalist even when all you have done is listened to someone talk, without doing any talking yourselves. A patient hearing (listening) releases a lot of depression and frustration, both, in you as well as others. Watch your stress level while talking and listening. You will hear well (listen) when you are relaxed. Put your belief systems aside. Ignore ego language. Do not try to put negative labels on others. Avoid self-righteous statements, blanket condemnation in your anger and frustrations. Destructive comments can well undermine the sense of well being. Therefore, it is suggested to avoid shouting, commenting, criticising, and expressing our frustrations. All these are non-productive behaviours. Efforts should be made on bringing about an open atmosphere where maximum participation can take place approaching and understanding each other to establish trust by working together on the ways to improve performance. (The writer is Senior Manager, HRD, Guiarat Insecticides Limited)

Susan Shapiro L.T. Hosmer (1987) has the case of Susan Shapiro, a Jewish girl who has a turbulent record of brilliance and conflict. Masters in Chemistry from the prestigious MIT, she joins the research division of ParkeDavis. She left this in a huff, as they were not ready for women as yet". She concluded this after "being asked by a male to fetch him coffee". Having to choose between a PhD and M.B.A, she whimsicallyconcludes that a chemistry laboratory is the wrong place for an angry and violent person like her as she might destroy expensive equipment all around. She joins the M.B.A. programmes of another well-known university, at Michigan. But she soon felt that marketing was a manipulative unethical subject. She liked Finance and Economics more. Further, being a Jew she would not work on Saturdays. During her summer she made a trip to Israel to work in the communal farms (Kibbutz). As the Arab-Israel war broke out, she overstayed her summer-break working at the hospital at Israel. I had to do my duty", she said. She joined back late at the university. All this resulted in her getting poor grades. She was in the bottom half of the class. She could not therefore get the placements she desired. Finance jobs were in the reach of only those with higher grade-point averages. Nearly towards the end of the placement period she did get two jobs offers in marketing from pharmaceutical companies. They chose her primarily because of her MSc and her experience in Parke Davis. Further, it seemed that by that time there was a swing in favour of hiring women. "And I hope my being a Jew did not hurt, but one never knows", she said. She and the nineteen others who joined the firm were taken on training trips. She felt superior to the others who were not from a background of chemistry. She also thought that the training was not satisfactory and very superficial. What can you learn just by seeing chemical plants? she said. She was also cold to all the information on the organisational structure of thecompany. At one of the divisions of the plant she noted that the benzene concentration must have been a 1000 in million parts. The US standards were 10. It smarted her eyes. Her professor at the MIT never allowed the concentration in the laboratory to go beyond 100. He had told her that there is a positive correlation between benzene concentration and the incidence of leukemia and defective childbirth. She asked one of the fat and jolly-looking foremen in the plant why they tolerated it. He good-humouredly said that the posting to the plant was a sign on job or temporary employees till they got permanent assignments. It was a transit camp so to speak. She complained of this situation to the Personnel Director back at the head office. He was more polite than the foreman was but he told her that she could not hope to change the company within a month of her joining and that she should not be a troublemaker right at the start. She poses the question to herself; "I do not want to continue in this Job at the expense of people getting leukemia and defective children. What should I do?" Assignment Tasks: Try to understand Susans dilemmas from an individual point of view and offer advice to her. Do not use the concepts of Erikson, Kohlberg, 5 Ps or ethical frameworks in your response. Use your own ways of thinking and understanding. A. You may broadly classify her behaviour as into two categories: that which you are sympathising with (means you approve of and even you could have behaved the same way) and that you are not sympathising with (means you do not approve of and you would behave differently). B. What are the attitudes and values towards her self, towards others and towards world at large underlying Susans behaviour? C. Keeping them in view, what is your advice to her? Do you think Susan would follow your advice? Do not exceed two pages (typed)
Comment [p5]: Not sym Comment [p6]: Not sym

Comment [p1]: Fault/-ve opinion

Comment [p2]: Amphe

Comment [p3]: -VE opinion emphe

Comment [p4]: Emphe

Comment [p7]: sym

Comment [p8]: notsym

Self Angry and violent Not Manipulative, clear and ethical Responsible (had do my work) Superior more intelligent and competent Strong in opinions Adamant Values/beliefs Non manipulative and ethical Jewish values hurt fear anxiety Responsible Adhere opinions others Parke-Davis not ready for women MIT professors +ve Worker at plan Nave ignorant the Personnel Director unconcerned about people World And I hope my being a Jew did not hurt, but one never knows fearful place, people are not friendly, ignorant not as intelligent even at top positions

I understand the behavior of Susan with following approval and disapprovals Assuming huffy situation at the Parke-Davis Susans conclusion that people there are not ready for women employees is natural. However, I do not approve her conclusion that a chemistry laboratory is the wrong place for an angry and violent person like her. I that way a person would not fit in any job. Being interested in subjects like finance and economics, I can approve showing slight disinterest in subjects like marketing but I would never approve calling it as unethical or manipulative. Given the difficult situation Susan was during MBA course, I sympathise her taking a marketing job. But once she had taken the job, she should refrain from showing dissatisfaction regarding training and structure of company. With expert knowledge of the field I appreciated Susans concern regarding benzene concentration and taking the matter to the Personnel Director but I do not appreciate her blunt reaction of discontinuing the work.