As an administrator, Bernard conducted yearly evaluations of his subordinates. The evaluations were weighed heavily in management promotion decisions.  Recently, two of Bernard’s subordinates Apple and Barry were competing for a new administrative post.  Bernard worked well with Apple but Apple’s performance was average.  If Apple worked alongside Bernard as a peer, she would not challenge Bernard or threaten his position in the firm.  Barry, by contrast, was outstanding; but his tendency to shake things up and push for changes made it very difficult for Bernard to work with.  Foreseeing Barry’s potential in the company, Bernard was worried that his position in the company would be threatened if Barry got promoted.  On the other hand, Bernard also knew that his peer administrators kept average-performing supporters to themselves through the staff evaluation process. 

Should he write a strong annual evaluation for Apple but an average one for Barry?  Between Apple and Barry, who would be better for the firm and who would better off with Bernard?

Flora was a production supervisor of a Hong Kong handbag manufacturer at its Mainland production plant.  Expansion programmes were being drawn up and much of the firm’s production in the Mainland would move to Vietnam where rent and wages were relatively lower.  But reducing the factory size in the Mainland involved a large amount of severance pay.  Flora’s boss told Flora to make it easier by cutting off the central air-conditioning so that the workers would find it intolerable to continue working in the heat, thereby resigning on their own.  Flora found it difficult to carry out the orders without qualms.  But her boss emphasized that the most important thing was to meet targeted rates of return.

Should Flora follow the instruction?  Should she at least let the workers know the company’s plan?  Would it be detrimental to her own career development by so doing?

Jonathan was a very task-oriented young computer programmer employed by the Galaxy Electronics Ltd for two years.

One day, his supervisor asked him to design a programme for a digital answering machine.   Jonathan turned it down and explained that he was extremely busy at that time.  The job was then contracted out to an outside software house named Leo Systems Company.

It so happened that Leo, the proprietor of Leo Systems, was an old friend of Jonathan.  He rang Jonathan and told him of the job offer.  Actually, Leo and his staff had their hands full at that time but would not like to turn down Galaxy when they made the offer.  What Leo wanted was to maintain a good relationship with Galaxy all through so that in future when their jobs again had to be contracted out, they would come to Leo Systems again.

Leo asked if Jonathan would consider lending a hand in designing the programme in his own spare time.  The contract money could be split, with Jonathan taking a share for the part that he did and Leo taking the share his men worked on.

Jonathan thought hard.  He could certainly sacrifice a few nights' sleep to get a part of the programme written up.  He knew what the requirements were.

Should he say ‘yes’ to Leo?  He would be earning extra money at the expenses of his boss.  Would this weigh heavily on his conscience? Or was it a stone that could be lifted easily?

Edmond introduced his friend Anthony to work under his wing in a small I.T. company.  Felix, the company boss, had complained to Edmond for several months about Anthony’s work performance.  Anthony’s procrastination and being unnecessarily thorough was well-known in the company.  Felix just managed to tolerate the situation because he did not want to upset Edmond who brought large profits to the company.  Felix also told Edmond in confidence that Anthony was not the person whom the company needed and could be replaced by someone who was more efficient and yet cheaper.

As a friend, Edmond wondered if he should personally warn Anthony in advance so that Anthony could get prepared.  If Felix was right, terminating Anthony might be for the best interest of the company as well as for Edmond to maintain a good relationship with Felix.  On the other hand, leaking out the news in advance might also damage Felix’s trust and affect staff morale.

To tell Anthony or not to tell Anthony? That was the question worrying Edmond!

Tom and Jerry were mechanical engineers of the Clark Gable Company Ltd (CG Co).  The two were the same batch and had been with the company for only a short time.  Recently, due to the re-organisation of the firm, some people would be laid off.   Mechanical engineering work would then be vested with a larger company, the Rock Hudson  Ltd.  The first ones to go would be those who came last and thus Tom and Jerry's jobs would be in jeopardy.

Tom tried to find a way out for the two of them.   They persuaded two friends, Sam and Tim who had similar training and background, to set up an engineering company called the Catch All Engineering Ltd (CAE).  This would serve as a fallback in case they were really sacked.

Shortly after CAE was set up, the bad news released.   Tom and Jerry were given notice to leave CG Co but, to their great surprise, Rock Hudson Ltd., which had taken over CG Co, offered to employ them to undertake their old duties.

Both of them were overjoyed.  But then they had another problem.  The two would have no more time to take care of matters related to CAE.

So one evening Tom and Jerry treated Sam and Tim to a sumptuous meal and told them that they could no longer share the business with them. Sam and Tim were outraged.  They reprimanded Tom and Jerry for making use of them in the first place and then leaving them in the lurch.  Trying to find a way out, Tim then made a proposal to Tom and Jerry.

Rock Hudson, as a major company, could provide many work opportunities.  The only thing that had to be done was to get CAE on their approved list of contractors.  Tom and Jerry could try to arrange that in whatever way possible.  After all, CAE provided quality service and it had to survive.

Tom and Jerry were in a quandary. They counted themselves most fortunate to be still in employment and with an even larger company. And they wished they could help their friends out.  Should they agree to add CAE to the approved list no matter what and no matter how?  It would do Rock Hudson no harm anyway.

What would happen if they refused?  Would they be indebted to Sam and Tim for the rest of their lives?  How should they handle that?

Eva was a clever and efficient staff member working on a fixed-term contract in a large firm.  She could easily complete her assignments before the deadlines; but she preferred not letting other colleagues know about that because she did not want extra workload given to her and making other colleagues look less capable.  Being a fixed-term contract staff member, she understood that she would leave the firm at the end of the contract.  Hoping to make her mark one day and to secure future income, she was thinking the possibility of developing her side-business during the office hours by using the firm’s resources while pretending working on certain projects in the office. 

Eva thought to herself: it was not her fault that she was more efficient and capable than other colleagues.  She was only a fixed-term contract staff member and would leave the firm one day.  She needed to prepare herself for the future.

Was that justified for Eva’s secret plan?  What about the interest of the firm?  What factors does Eva need to consider before taking her course of action?

Felix, a production manager of a large toy factory, had two assistants, Gigi and Gordon.  Gigi was the favourite because she was a young charming lady and also a cousin of the General Manager while Gordon was not because he was brash and sometimes outright insolent.  They were both responsible for handling the overtime claims for workers on the toy production.  The Finance Department had complained to Felix a few times about Gigi and raised queries over some overtime claims forwarded by Gigi.  There were widespread rumours that Gigi might have overstated the overtime hours and even forged claims by using ghost workers.  Yet, Felix could not bring himself to ask Gigi for explanations but went easy on her by telling her to be more ‘prudent’ when handling the overtime claims in the future.  On the other hand, the Finance Department contacted Felix again but this time was about Gordon.  They had questions about some discrepancies on the hours of the overtime claims forwarded by Gordon.  However, Felix treated Gordon more strictly and was much firmer on the occasion.

Was Felix being equally fair to his assistants when handling the queries from the Finance Department?  Would it upset the General Manager if Felix was not kind to Gigi at work, which in return affected Felix’s work prospect?  How would it affect his professional image in the eyes of other colleagues?