Case Study

Busymart is a well-known discount department store chain operating internationally. George Hall held a position as a District Manager responsible for overseeing the operations of 30 high volume stores in Western New York State. George started as a stock clerk at the Busymart Store in Erie, PA, 20 years ago. He worked his way up to store manager and was transferred several times to larger and larger stores until he landed his present position. Over the years, George became known as the "go to guy" for failing stores. He demonstrated great effectiveness in restoring success to struggling stores. Recently, George was offered an incredible incentive to move to China to reorganize a Busymart Super Store in that country. In doing so, he would gain valuable international business experience. More importantly, upon his return to the states, George would receive from the senior executive team serious consideration for a junior executive position. Of course, he accepted.

George has adapted quickly to his role at the very profitable store in China. The employees like him and he has fit in well. However, he has come to realize that the store is selling sub-standard baby furniture. Sadly, inferior products are common in China and almost expected. He soon learns that his District Manager offers bribes (another common practice in China) to the Chinese government officials to sweep under the rug any incidents caused by consumer use of this inferior baby furniture. This is very disturbing to George Hall who is a father of four children himself.

Given the above scenario, answer in 3-5 well-developed sentences the following questions:

1. Should George bring this discovery to the attention of his corporate office, which is located in North Dakota? Why or why not?

[Write your response here…]

2. If George does raise this issue, how might his District Manager in China react? Explain.

[Write your response here…]

3. Should George try, single-handedly, to lead a charge to improve product quality in the China Stores? Explain. If yes, how would he accomplish this?

[Write your response here…]

4. How might his whistleblowing affect the highly profitable China stores?

[Write your response here…]

5. Could he expect backlash from the corporate office? If so, what are his options for defending himself?

[Write your response here…]

6. How will the Busymart shareholders react?

[Write your response here…]