Case Scenario: REALITY CHECK: 36,000 Feet over Texas A few weeks before Frank was to travel to Dodge City, Texas, for a consulting job, he received a call from Dr. Layblame: "Hi Frank. This is Dr. Layblame. Can you be ready for an early afternoon departure from Dodge City on Friday?" Frank replied, "Well you know we have been instructed not to leave early, and the last flight leaves at 4:30. I can get a flight Saturday morning." Dr. Layblame replied, "Well, it's only an hour early. If you do most of your work the night before and during lunch on Friday, we should be able to get out early. The airport is small and close to the hospital. Besides, we are driving and would like some time to get to the next job so the rest of the team can go out to dinner Friday night. I am the tour leader, so it should not be a problem." Frank made his flight arrangements and was able to get on the 4:30 PM flight home. On Friday afternoon, following the Texas job, when Frank was on the flight to Washington, DC, a voicemail message was being left for him by Bill, his manager. When he returned home at about 10:30 that evening, Frank retrieved his voice mail messages. Bill had left him a message at 4:30 PM that said, "Frank, call me as soon as you get this message. I will be in my office until about 5:30. If you miss me, you can reach me over the weekend. My cell phone number is xxx-xxxx." Frank called Bill that evening and the next morning; however, Bill never answered, nor did he return his call. Frank called Bill Monday morning. As fate would have it, Bill was out of the office for the day. Frank called Bill again on Tuesday morning and Bill answered. Frank said, "Bill, you called?" Bill replied, "Yes, I did. How were you able to get to t he airport and catch a 4:30 PM flight, without leaving your job early? I had your flight schedule and you left the survey early. You could not possibly have traveled to the airport in time to catch your flight without leaving early." Frank replied, "I did not schedule the exit time from the survey. The physician team leader determined the time of the exit. He said that he was conducting a system tour and would like to get the exit briefing started as soon as possible. He asked for everybody to be ready to exit by having draft reports ready the night before." Bill replied, "Dr. Layblame told me the team had to exit early because you scheduled an early flight.

1. Discuss the ethical issues involved in this case.

2. Discuss what you would do if you found yourself in Frank's situation.

3. What should Frank have said if his manager said, "You should have reported Dr. Layblame"?

4. Discuss the ethics behind Bill's management style.

5. Discuss how would you describe Bill's management style.