John Deer Case Study Analysis In Terms Of Utilitarianism Theory
The company has been reviewing applications for the new regional manager position, which involves overseeing and controlling a vast part of the Western United States, over the last month. The decision is finally made on the most qualified candidate on Friday, but it he will not be notified about it until the upcoming Monday. On Monday morning, the company receives a call from the candidate’s wife explaining that her husband has been stressing over the new regional management position and that he took it out on her by beating her up. For that reason, she proceeds to beg you to give the management position to her husband so that their family routines could go back to normal. After calling the shelter that the wife claimed to be staying at, it is confirmed that she was telling the truth. The candidate is supposed to be notified about receiving the regional management position later during the day at noon.
Utilitarianism is a theory that focuses solely on the outcomes and whether they are right or wrong. This theory basically states that anything that causes more pain than pleasure is wrong and anything that causes more pleasure than pain is right. This concept is further explained by Hedonism, the Utilitarian standard of value, “the only thing good for its own sake is pleasure and the only thing bad in itself is pain. Thus, ac”cording to Utilitarianism pleasure is good and pain is evil. The parties involved in this situation are John Deer, his wife and children, and the company. Edith has mentioned on the phone, “Over the years, John has hit her on numerous occasions”.
We also know that the beating was so severe that Edith had to take her children with her out to “the Chicago shelter for battered women”. These facts make it evident to us that John has been having a toxic and abusive relationship with his family over a long period of time. John’s physical abusive behavior is directly effecting his wife and children causing them both physical and emotional pain and trauma. In this scenario, the parties interests are different. For instance, Edith seeks safety through begging the company to give the job to her husband so that way he might stop physically assaulting her in front of her children. John wants the new management position because he believes it’s a great opportunity for him to grow his career further. Lastly, all the company wants is an appropriate candidate who is able to coordinate a vast part of the western side of the United States.
In this case, the relevant options available to us as management are either to reject John Deer or Offer him the regional manager position. If we reject John Deer, we know that based on what his wife described the situation at their house is not going to get any better and there is a high possibility that it might even get worse. On the other hand, if we accept John Deer, we cannot tell for sure if the situation with his family is going to improve for certain. We also do not know if he will have the same abusive behavior towards the employees he would be overseeing. What we really know is that we want to avoid all possible future lawsuit and turnover costs, because we highly value our reputation and do not want our skilled and valued employees to leave the company because of John Deer.
As a utilitarian manager who is in charge of hiring John Deer and making the decision on whether he should be hired or let go by the company, it is crucial for to look at all aspects of the two options we have. We know that Mrs. Deer’s request over the telephone was an apparent choice that she was technically coerced into making in order to put an end to her husband’s abusive behavior. However, we do not know that he is actually going to stop assaulting his wife after getting the job since his abusive behavior has been going on for a few years now. Thus, keeping John Deer to free Mrs. Deer would be unjustified. On the other hand, we are certain that John has portrayed abusive behavior and it is not something that we tolerate in the work environment. Also, John’s behavior could easily cause dissatisfaction among the employees and stakeholders at the company and it might even cost us on the long run if we keep him.
In summary, even though John seems like the most qualified candidate that we have interviewed so far, hiring him as the regional manager would cause more pain and suffering to others (his employees, family, company, and the stakeholders) than simply letting him go. Therefore, letting go of John Deer and start looking for another qualified candidate would be our best bet.
