Parr Center 2005

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Parr Center - 2005

• The Kathryn McNeil Case the Business of Case
  Teaching
• Prof. M.B. Metzger

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The Case

• First, lets do the case, with you playing the
  role of students.
• Well split into teams, and give you some time to
  discuss the case with your team members.
• You should nominate a spokesperson for your team,
  who can brief us on your teams perspective on
  the case.
• Your job is to, at a minimum, answer the
  questions set out for you.

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The Questions

• How would you evaluate McNeils performance so
  far?
• How well has Walters managed McNeil?
• Should Foley fire McNeil?
• Would you like to be an employee of Sayer
  MicroWorld?
• Does this case raise any basic questions about
  the negative side of competitive economies?

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Kathyrn McNeil Things I look for in a case
discussion

• On McNeils performance
• Shes not performing up to expectations
• Her performance is causing some problems
• There are some questions about the reasonableness
  of those expectations
• Is this merger being accomplished on the backs of
  employees? Will they share in the increased
  wealth in a proportionate way?

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Kathyrn McNeil

• On McNeils performance
• Although she was deceived about the work
  expectations at Sayer,
• She was honest about disclosing her situation,
• She may have to change some things if shes going
  to hold onto her job (e.g., move closer to work)

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Kathyrn McNeil

• On McNeils performance
• McNeil may also have to consider finding less
  demanding ( less well paid) work if shes going
  to get a better balance between her work
  personal lives. She simply may not be able to
  have it all in this instance.
• As things stand, McNeil is effectively asking
  others to pay the price of her commitment to
  Scott her desire to live in Gloucester this
  probably isnt reasonable over the long haul.

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Kathyrn McNeil

• Has Walters managed McNeil well?
• No
• Lied to her about the time demands (Why do
  employers do this? Is it good management?),
• Allowed her to be hired knowing her situation.
• Failed to honestly communicate her concerns to
  McNeil on several occasions
• Possible self-justification resentment are
  playing a role in Walters handling of McNeil?

8
Kathyrn McNeil

• Should Foley fire McNeil?
• If he doesnt have the power to change the
  pressures operating at Sayer, he probably has to
  replace her.
• Given the way she was hired how hard she has
  tried to meet expectations that were unreasonable
  given her known circumstances, he should probably
  encourage her to leave if there isnt a less
  demanding position shed accept she wont
  consider moving.

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Kathyrn McNeil

• Would you like to be an employee at Sayer
  Microworld?
• Is this any way for anyone to live?
• Are these people being paid enough to justify
  having no life for an extended period?
• Will the years they didnt spend with spouses
  children ever come back?
• How will they feel about this if they end up
  losing their jobs anyway after another merger or
  down-sizing round?

10
Kathyrn McNeil

• Does this case raise any questions about the
  negative side of competitive economies?
• Markets do lead to increased efficiency, which,
  in some cases leads to increased human
  well-being.
• But theres a human cost too if people come to
  live to work rather than work to live,
• The logic of competition can lead to more and
  more demands on workers.
• Do white-collar workers need maximum-hour
  legislation today like that blue-collar workers
  received in the early 20th century?
• What, if anything, does this have to do with the
  different trade-offs Europeans seem to want to
  make between productivity leisure?

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• Why cases?
• Immediacy cases simply seem more real to many
  students, presenting issues in a context more
  like that in which theyll have to work and live.
• Cases expose students to some things that are
  distinguishing features of that context, such as
• Uncertainty
• Complexity
• Constraints on decision makers
• Lesser of evils /or rights vs. rights decisions

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• Why cases?
• Good cases allow us to raise a broad range of
  issues. This case can be used as a springboard
  for a discussion of a host of issues, e.g.
• Managerial responsibility to employees the
  personal costs bad managers impose on their
  employees
• Truth-telling
• What to do when our own interests and those of
  others appear to be in conflict?

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• What to do when you ultimately may not have the
  power to substantially change the outcome?
• Work/life balance issues (and the nature of the
  Good for man)
• Cognitive issues self-esteem maintenance, and
  its role in shaping human behavior (why is
  Walters so hard on McNeil?)
• The next level how did you perceive the case
  why?
• Corporate ethical issues the limits of the
  managerial duty to shareholders
• Systemic ethical issues ethical foundations of
  markets

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• In fact, it wouldnt be too hard to use a case
  such as this one to springboard an entire course.
  Start the first day by teasing out the issues
  wed have to answer to make an informed judgment
  about the ethical constraints/imperatives in the
  case.
• If we did it that way, then some other basic
  questions would have to be addressed, such as
• Is it all relative?
• What are some basic perspectives on ethical
  issues (ethics theory)?

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• Issues of technique
• Why use teams?
• Promote discussion intra-team discussion can ?
  greater involvement in the case, which can
  ?greater discussion participation in general
• Disabuse those suffering from the illusion of
  unanimity No, Virginia, everybody doesnt see
  these questions just like you do.
• Get you more out of the picture (the exec ed rule
  the more they talk the less you do, the
  better).

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• Issues of technique
• Why pose questions in advance?
• To anchor intra-team and general discussion
• To help students structure thinking deal with
  complexity
• To help ensure discussion can serve as a
  springboard for a deeper exploration of target
  subjects/issues

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• Pitfalls
• Its hard work
• Finding the right case means reading a lot of
  cases
• Less structure means more anticipation
  preparation
• Less structure means more on-your-feet thinking
• Less structure imperfect control over
  discussion may mean that everything doesnt get
  covered

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Kathyrn McNeil the teaching perspective

• Questions?

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