Scenario

Julia Hernandez, Director of Human Resources at Wicker Park Legal Associates, stood up to greet Marcus Johnson when he entered her office.

The Employees:

Julia Hernandez, Director of Human Resources at Wicker Park Legal Associates, has been with the firm for 18 years and worked her way up from an administrative assistant to Director of Human Resources. She was originally hired without a college degree, but attended an online university where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Business with an emphasis on Human Resources.

Marcus Johnson, paralegal at Wicker Park Legal Associates, has been with the firm for 2 years. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies from one of the top historically black colleges in the nation. He is planning to go to law school to become a practicing attorney.

Julia's desk was empty except for one file — Marcus’s work record. She was surprised to find that Marcus's performance was not outstanding. When he had worked on a past project with her, he performed very well. Now, she found that he recently received a poor performance evaluation. Perhaps this interview would explain the discrepancy. Marcus was planning on leaving Wicker Park Legal Associates.

"Have a seat," Julia said and gestured to a chair across from her desk. She liked to adopt an informal style with employees. "So, let's talk about why you're leaving Wicker Park Legal Associates. Frankly, I'm surprised to see you go. You always struck me as a dedicated worker."

Marcus shifted in his seat and gazed out the window briefly. Then he looked back at Julia. "Do you want the official answer or the real one?"

"The real one, I should hope," said Julia, with some concern. "If there's any problem in our firm, I want to know about it."

"Well, it's a long list," said Marcus, with some hesitation. "To begin with, my supervisor, Paul McMannon, told me that if I wanted to go to law school, I would have to take additional preparatory courses because my preparation at a historically black institution was not up to par. I found out that none of the other paralegals were suggested to do this. I also had a series of very discouraging experiences working on collaborative projects. I was hoping for rapport with my coworkers, but none of my coworkers asked for my opinion on the projects."

"Did you offer your opinion?" Julia asked.

"I did, but they seemed surprised whenever I participated," replied Marcus. "I was even accused of not completing my section of the project by the assigned due date, when it was completed on time. My last performance appraisal was less than average, even though I worked just as hard as my peers. Also, I was always left out of social events with the other coworkers in the department. It's hard to be the only African-American paralegal in this firm, Julia. It's very isolating."

Julia was disturbed by Marcus’s remarks. "Marcus, if this is true, this is a serious problem. We certainly don't want to have a discriminatory environment at our firm. We have paralegals from different races and ethnic backgrounds, and none of them have complained about this type of treatment. I'm Latin American, myself, and I have never noticed this kind of behavior before. Would you be willing to document what happened?"

Marcus shook his head. "I don't think it would help, Julia" he replied. "I'm leaving, and maybe in a few decades things will change, but I'm not going to stay around and be treated this way. I'm going to look for work with another firm. There are some progressive companies that have good diversity policies. I'll be more welcome there." He stood up to leave the office. "I did the best I could," he said, quietly.

Julia escorted him to the door. "Take care, Marcus. Good luck," she said.

Questions for Discussion

1. Analyze the ethical decision-making challenges presented in this case. How are the ethical principles discussed in this unit’s Reading challenged? Specifically address the ethical principles of accountability, integrity, and responsiveness.

2. What should the Director of Human Resources do in this situation? Explain your reasoning of what can be done to resolve these ethical challenges.

3. Evaluate the role managers have in maintaining a high level of integrity in ethical decision making in professional contexts.

5. Reflect on your past experiences working collaboratively on a group project or task. Did you ever encounter a time when you were faced with an ethical challenge? Discuss your experience and offer suggestions for analyzing the situation and applying decision-making skills to addressing this ethical challenge.