Authority, leadership and ethics.

A manager ordered to meet the following productivity level in 3 minutes.

Unit A with 4 workers to cut 60 apples.

Unit B with 15 workers to cut 20 apples.

Unit C with 30 workers to cut 90 apples.

The manager did not reallocate nor provide additional resources for the work to be done. Assuming that nobody in history has ever cut more than 1 apple in 1 minute, what is your thoughts on this manager?

Unfair? 

Ignorant? 

Lazy?

Personal motives? 

Favoritism? 

Now, what if the company needs to produce 2 apples in a minute to breakeven and ensure the sustainability of the 3 units?

Ethics! 

My friend who shared this case study did not think so even after I shared that the manager did not fulfill his duties towards the company and his responsibilities towards his team. After all, it is only money that were lost, he said.

So I changed the scenario a little. Assuming that the manager now supervise 3 teams of firefighters. In a fire rescue, he ordered the following without allocating any tools, machinery or strategize the rescue operation.

Team A with 4 men to save 60 people.

Team B with 15 men to save 20 people.

Team C with 30 men to save 90 people.

If on records, it takes 20 minutes to save a person from a burning building and the building starts to collapse after 45 minutes.

Authority, leadership and ethics.

Your say.