Question: From solely an ethical perspective (not a legal perspective), is terminating Elena and Viktor the right thing to do? What other options should be considered and why?  Considering all the relevant factors, what is the best solution? Use ethical theory and analysis to support your answer.

You decide to come in early on your first day back from your vacation. It’s a good thing you did, because Vice President Dodger is away himself, meeting with one of Colossal’s subsidiaries and he has scheduled a virtual meeting with you a half hour earlier than your usual start time.

“Sorry for the short notice about this meeting, but I wanted to inform you that Janet Yoon, CEO of Colossal Corporation, has appointed you to an international task force to examine a set of complex management issues arising from our global operations.”

“I’d like your team to advise Janet on how to handle four cases involving overseas operations. She will need advice on the legal, business, cultural, ethical, and practical aspects of the issues facing the company.

“Your task force will be composed of some of the brightest thinkers out there; trust and collaborate with them, I’m expecting your best work on this. I look forward to seeing what you’ve accomplished when I get back.”

Management issues can become quite complex, especially when they arise from global operations. As part of an international task force, you will investigate several nuanced cases that touch on the finer points of global management.

Project 5: Managing a Global Business
Step 1: Prepare for Group Work

The international task force has convened, and you begin working with an intelligent and talented group of colleagues. The CEO, Janet Yoon, has selected only the best for this task force, and you are honored to be among them. To address the issues at hand efficiently and effectively, you first need to complete the task force’s team agreement and project work plan. This is especially important because the task force is a new group of specialists that has never before worked together, and the members are living and working in different geographic locations with different time zones.

Every member of the team should submit the team agreement and project work plan to the dropbox located in the final step of this project for review and feedback. You should try to have these items submitted early in Week 9.

As you prepare for your work with the international task force, read the Jailed in China podcast, which will prepare you for the potential challenges of conducting business abroad.

In the next step, you will read more details about the first case the CEO needs the task force to analyze.

Step 2: Review the Employment Issues Case

URGENT MESSAGE (Special Assignment)

From: Janet Yoon, CEO, Colossal Corporation

To: International Task Force

Hello all, I hope your task force has come together nicely now that you’ve formed your team agreement and have decided on a sound project work plan.

I would like this team to review the Employment Issues case file and address the following questions regarding Colossal’s fully owned subsidiary, New Brands Design, Inc. (NBD):

• From solely an ethical perspective (not a legal perspective), is terminating Elena and Viktor the right thing to do? What other options should be considered and why?  Considering all the relevant factors, what is the best solution? Use ethical theory and analysis to support your answer.
• What laws would govern these employment issues if Elena, Viktor, Michael, and Beth all worked for NBD's headquarters in the United States? Describe each person's situation, the laws that would apply, and what rights each person would have. Be sure to include all claims and possible defenses.
• Do the laws listed in your answer to the previous question apply to Elena, Viktor, Michael, and Beth as employees of NBD in Serafini? Describe the laws that apply and the laws that do not apply to each of the four individuals as employees in Serafini and explain your reasoning. Be sure to include all claims and possible defenses.

To inform your analysis of these issues, read the background information on employment discrimination and cross-cultural ethical business decision making (specifically focus on the "Ethical Theory in Global Business" resources).

If anyone can provide us with guidance on this, it’s this team. Thanks everyone for your dedicated work.

Keep leading the way!

Janet

In the next step, write your report.

Step 3: Prepare Your Employment Issues Report

Using your outline and research notes, write a report for the CEO, Janet Yoon. Be sure to meet the following requirements:

• Include APA-formatted in-text citations and an APA-formatted reference list (do not format the body of the report using APA style, just the reference list). See references and citations for details.
• Include a specific recommendation on what action, if any, the CEO should take based on your analysis and conclusions.
• Support your conclusions with references to ethical theory, legal principles, and laws.
• The report should be no more than five pages (double spaced, 12-point font; the reference list does not count towards page limit).
• Title your file using this protocol: teamName_EmploymentIssues_date.docx.

When you have finished, follow the instructions in the final step of this project to submit your report to the Assignments folder. You should try to have this report complete by the end of Week 9.