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?

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!

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?

As the Lunar New Year approached, Vincent, an experienced tour guide, expected many inbound tour groups would come and regarded this as a golden opportunity to earn tips from high-spending tourists.  Determined to maximise his earnings, he sought every opportunity to guide more tours.

Vincent carefully selected expensive dried seafood as a Lunar New Year gift for Victor, his travel agent’s manager.  He hoped Victor would give him preferential treatment and assign him to lead the high-spending customers when arranging tour groups so that he could earn more tips.

Recognising Vincent’s dedication and experience, Victor believed Vincent was the ideal person to guide these high-spending tours.  Moreover, he considered gifting during festive occasions was a normal social etiquette, so he did not see any issue with accepting Vincent’s gift.  However, Victor reminded Vincent that their conversation should be kept secret to avoid potential criticism.