Problem: Management Team Decision

Dog Day Blues One of the reasons you accepted a management position at MicroTek several years ago was the company's laidback culture.100 A loose organizational structure enables employees to move freely between projects, and the open offi ce space encourages informal encounters and generates a feeling of teamwork. And among the very generous corporate perks is a policy allowing employees to bring their pets to work. It is not uncommon to see a small animal sitting in an employee's inbox drinking from a hamster lick. Several employees bring their dogs, large and small, to the offi ce. As the company has grown, thanks in part to its informal culture, more and more people are taking advantage of the pet policy, and problems are arising. Food is swiped from desks, animals are rooting through trash bins, and dogs are marking territory on the partitions that surround their owners' desks.

Visiting customers often try to mask startled (at best) or disapproving (at worst) looks when they tour your facility for the first time-and even the second and third times. During a recent breakfast meeting, when a board member refused to share her bagel with the CFO's dog, the dog relieved itself on her briefcase. At least one employee has complained of allergic reactions due to the high levels of pet dander in the office air, but rather than change the policy, you installed a high-power air cleaner. Despite the challenges, you have resisted changing the pet policy because it symbolizes both the company's relaxed culture and Micro Tek's commitment to its employees' work-life balance. This afternoon, however, you were notified by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that your office does not meet the required indoor air quality standards. Apparently, the cleaner you installed can't handle all the pet dander. To meet the standards, you'll need an even more powerful air cleaner that costs between $100,000 and $200,000.

That would be a significant investment in the pet policy! And who knows if it would solve the allergy problem. Is the policy worth the cost? In 2003, only 5,000 offices participated in "Bring Your Pet to Work Day," but the number doubled the very next year. Companies bigger than Micro Tek have figured out how to make pet policies work: IAMS Pet Food; Replacements Ltd., the world's largest supplier of old and new china; and Netscape, to name a few. A quarter of Burton Snowboards' 230 employees bring their dogs to work every day! Anecdotal evidence from those companies indicates that pets can spur creativity and lower occupational stress. You ask yourself, "How committed am I to the pet policy?" Is the pet policy just trendy (or avant-garde), or does it say something deeper about your company? For this Management Team Decision, assemble three or four students to act as the management team for MicroTek. Include both pet owners and people without pets to avoid any bias. Before you begin the exercise, have each team member privately write down answers to each of the following questions. By sharing your individual responses, you may be able to have a more varied and rounded discussion.

Questions: 1. Do you buy the expensive air cleaner, or eliminate the pet policy? Why?

2. If you choose to stop allowing animals at the office, what effect, if any, do you think the change will have on the company's culture?

3. Can you think of a way to allow people to bring pets to work without upgrading the air cleaner or running afoul of OSHA?