Case Study 1: Faith Integration
In the situation with her technical assistant’s stealing, Dora should react according to both legal and ethical principles (Hill, 2008). It is almost impossible to leave this case without paying attention to it because the technical assistant’s behavior is unethical and illegal according to the norms and rules adopted in his workplace. On the one hand, Dora is obliged to punish the man and guarantee that there will not be similar situations in the future.
However, the punishment needs to be both just and ethical in order not to worsen the situation for the employee who can lose his job position. On the other hand, knowing about a problematic situation in the man’s family, Dora can feel moral obligations to contribute to resolving the issue. Thus, Dora should focus on finding the ways of assisting the technical assistant in addressing the issue and finding the required medications. If Dora’s decision is both ethical and legal, it is possible for the woman to achieve justice in resolving this challenging case without unethically penalizing the technical assistant.
The “loving” thing that Dora can do in the discussed situation is the selection of appropriate punishment for the employee and the provision of possible assistance in order to help him cope with the situation. Thus, Dora needs to focus on following the principles of love and justice in their combination. It is an obvious decision for a manager of the pharmacy department to fire an employee who steals and compose a report for human resource managers and police regarding the case, if required. However, this decision is mainly just in its nature because of following prescribed norms, and it has no component of love in it.
To guarantee that Dora does the “loving” thing, it is necessary for her to select the disciplinary action for the technical assistant that will still provide him with opportunities to earn money and help his family. Dora should act like a loving and understanding supervisor who will not ignore any offense, but whose reaction to it will be ethical; thus, she should refer to both justice and love.
Concerning holiness, Dora will demonstrate “unforgiving perfectionism” if she does not try to understand and accept her technical assistant’s motive for stealing (Hill, 2008, p. 62). This approach will not allow her to achieve mutual understanding with employees. While discussing the justice aspect, Dora is at risk of ignoring the man’s specific individual circumstances while focusing on standards and norms, and her indifference can cause significant problems for the employee. If Dora only refers to the perspective of love, she can close her eyes to the technical assistant’s misconduct, creating more ethical and legal problems for her and employees in the future.
The combination of these three lenses to discuss the situation provides Dora with specific guidance. Dora needs to act according to her holiness and justice; thus, she should investigate the case in detail and select the disciplinary action that will be correlated with the man’s misconduct, but addressing his individual circumstances. It is possible to reprimand the employee and deduct money from his salary during a certain period. Combining this decision with the love aspect, Dora preserves a job for the man, and she can collect information on charity programs to find the required money for the niece.
Case Study 2: Power and Influence
Ho Ching can be described as an influential leader because her decisions regarding the strategy and activities of Temasek Holdings have a significant impact on a variety of other companies and organizations located in Singapore and other Asian countries. From this perspective, Ho Ching’s opinion is respected and followed, and this public’s attitude is based on such factors as her education, experience, reputation, and family.
Thus, overseeing the portfolio over $50 billion in Temasek Holdings, Ho Ching can influence the development of other companies in the field, as well as the overall market (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 2015). Additionally, Ho Ching acts as an independent and influential leader even in her relations with her husband because she accentuates that all the decisions are made as a result of debates and discussions. This approach accentuates the fact that Ho Ching has a unique opinion regarding different areas in her life, and this position is typical of an influential leader who knows how to control the situation, influence it and other people, and promote the necessary change.
Ho Ching applies two tactics used by leaders to persuade others, and they are based on rhetoric appeals, such as logos and pathos. She starts her speech with providing statistics and facts regarding the development of Asian countries for several decades to persuade the audience that today India is appropriate for investment. Referring to factual data and figures, Ho Ching uses the rational approach to persuading the public. Thus, Ho Ching refers to logos in her speech and persuades people with the help of clear reasoning.
Another used tactic of persuasion is based on pathos as the appeal to the audience’s emotions. After describing benefits of entering India in numeric terms, Ho Ching accentuates benefits associated with the development of Asian countries in the future. The description of possible advantages is presented with the help of changes in the language she uses. Thus, Ho Ching appeals to the public’s emotion while motivating for working hard and smart and combining efforts to achieve higher results. This approach is associated with emotional persuasion, pathos, and the use of inspirational and motivational techniques. People become feeling proud of the Asian past, and they become motivated to accept changes to contribute to the future.
Being viewed as one of the most powerful female leaders in Asia, Ho Ching has such sources of power as expert power, legitimate power, and connection power. Having expert power, Ho Ching is able to utilize her unique knowledge, skills, expertise, and professional experience in decision making, problem solving, and strategic thinking. Furthermore, legitimate power allows Ho Ching to act as an effective leader in her organization because her authority is accepted not only in Temasek Holdings but also widely. This type of authority and impact is more effective in terms of influencing subordinates and partners than coercive or reward power.
Finally, Ho Ching actively uses information power while focusing on the position of her husband. The woman has access to significant information that her husband can share, and this aspect is advantageous for her. Moreover, Ho Ching’s information power is based on her wide family connections and social contacts because of her authoritative position. This female leader can easily access and use data that are not widely known or spread to achieve her goals.
References
Hill, A. (2008). Just business: Christian ethics for the marketplace (Rev. ed.). Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2015). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Irwin/McGraw-Hill Company.