Analyses: Sycamore Pharmaceuticals and The Boy, The Girl, the Ferryboat Captain, and the Hermits - Case Study Example

5 March Case Analyses: “Sycamore Pharmaceuticals” and “The Boy, The Girl, the Ferryboat Captain, and the Hermits” Sycamore Pharmaceuticals The case was all about the upcoming backlash against the Sycamore Pharmaceuticals after proceeding to market its Osteoporin product with full knowledge that its effectiveness is obscure. The discovery about its effectivity was unearthed and disseminated through a CNN report. The rest of the case detailed the exchange between the two employees of Sycamore’s communications department, Cole Dominguez and John Blake. Apart from their discourse about the company’s culpability in the Osteoporin, circumstances supporting their reasons for participating and apparently ignoring their corporate social responsibility or CSR were revealed -- the bonus. In response to the nearing onslaught, the company instead wore a defensive mechanism: instilling ‘commitment’ (in the company’s blog statement) and insisting Osteoporin’s effectiveness through an “illusion” (Daft and Lane 189). The dilemma then sits in the afternoon interview with the FDA representative; Blake’s conflicting thoughts continuously plagued him (Daft and Lane 190). An Advise. I would advise Blake to spill the truth. He himself recognized and admitted what was wrong: “We knew we were taking a risk, Cole ...” (Daft and Lane 189). The repetitive dereference in this statement through the pronoun, ‘we,’ is a form of responsible admission. Apparently, Blake and the company were given the chance to correct this breach they just did. All Blake had to do was reveal the truth and his guilt, which was captured through this statement: “This just feels so wrong,” can somehow be driven out (Daft and Lane 190). Being honest with the FDA have several pros and cons to offer. However, depending with one’s perspective, the pros seemed to outweigh whatever cons it has. The cons may include, but are not limited to, (1) no quarter bonus; (2) demotion; and (3) dismissal (Daft and Lane 190). On the other hand, the pros involved here can be described collectively as the ‘opportunity to start with a cleaner slate.’ Blake can somehow clear his name through the admission of his participation. Otherwise, he and his resumé will forever be tainted and associated with Sycamore’s Osteoporin fiasco. Moreover, choosing to tell the truth and act as a witness usually lessens the sanctions. Otherwise, with Osteoporin’s obscure effectivity and the likelihood of being proven guilty, sanctions will be relatively heavier than those of the witness. Lastly, the bonus is not even sustainable if it was based on falsifying and other bad practices. With the company’s penchant for deception, big bonuses seemed analogous to losing both sleep and peace of mind. Courage. Indeed, it would require Blake all of the courage he has to reveal the details of the Osteoporin fiasco. Evidently, it was never easy to admit the wrong things one committed. However, to help Blake muster enough courage to spill, he may look and solicit the assistance of another trusted person, who unlike him, have no potential for any conflicts of interest. He may also talk with a lawyer specializing in such matters; maybe, knowledge of what sanctions are waiting for the company and him (in relation to his participation) may make him think twice about lying. Going Along. The possible reasons behind Dominguez and Blake’s participation include (1) the fact that the CEO and the top management ‘ordered’ them to do so; (2) the big bonus; and (3) risks regarding their positions (fired or demotion). If I were them, I would not participate (and resign before they could fire me). Participating in such deception will not just taint my personality but my resumé, as well. The Boy, The Girl, the Ferryboat Captain, and the Hermits The case was much about the journey of a girl from her island to the boy’s island. To reach her destination she was proffered two options: the first option, and the easiest, was to cancel the journey and not see the boy; the second was to sacrifice herself (to the ferryboat captain) and be able to see the boy. While the former option was hardly an option, the latter entailed a great sacrifice (in the girl’s perspective). Then facing the boy’s rejection of her, after the ‘sacrifice’ was made known, she had to think of a way to go back to her island. The accountable reason why she had to face these misadventures was her lack of the fare required to make such journey. Moreover, her adventures were marked by the ‘participation’ of two hermits. Character’s values. I most like the girl and the second hermit (of the boy’s island), and I least like the first hermit (of the girl’s island), the ferryboat captain, and the boy. The values that governed my choice of ‘likes’ are courage and compassion. The girl had been courageous to make the journey and defile herself ‘in the name of love’ while the second hermit exhibited such compassion to the girl. Moral development. Both the girl and the second hermit have a higher level of moral development. The girl recognized the moral wrong of offering herself as payment, yet she knew what mattered most for her and was willing to defy this moral wrong. The second hermit’s moral maturity was marked by the fact that he did not take advantage of the girl’s distress and, instead, extended his hand to help her. The characters -- the first hermit, the ferryboat captain, and the boy, all have a poor level of moral development. Unlike the second hermit, the first hermit failed to ‘intervene’ and wash herself of the girl’s indecision. On the other hand, the ferryboat captain proceeded to take advantage of the girl’s distress while the boy was the opposite of the girl. While the girl was courageous, the boy was coward; he was too coward to accept the defiled girl who, at the first place, chose to defile herself for him. Courage. The girl had the highest level of courage, and next to her was the second hermit. As aforementioned, she was courageous to face and conquer the unknown in lieu of her seeing the boy. The second hermit was not scared of intervening and offered all that he could offer (shelter, food, bed) as well as take an extra effort by begging money for the girl’s fare (Daft and Lane 191). The second hermit, ferryboat captain, and boy have the lowest levels of courage. The second hermit was too scared to ‘intervene’ or help the girl while the ferryboat captain had no scruples and was not scared to be held accountable of doing such abominable acts (as taking a girl’s body in exchange of the fare). As aforementioned, the boy did not have the courage to be associated to a defiled girl (even if the girl was defiled only to see him). Work Cited Daft, Richard L., and Patricia G. Lane. The Leadership Experience. 5th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Read More