Case Imagine you are a project manager at Caldndix Inc., a large technical firm. There are approxima

Case

Imagine you are a project manager at Caldndix Inc., a large technical firm. There are approximately 120 employees in your department. As part of a strategy for related diversification, the firm has recently announced a merger with one of its largest competitors. That firm has about 100 people in a similar department. Your firm will be the dominant partner in the merger, controlling about 56% of the new business. Your boss just informed you that you will be responsible for developing plans to integrate the two departments during the merger. He estimates that the new, combined department will need about 160 people, necessitating a layoff of about 60 people. Your most critical task, therefore, will be to decide who stays and who has to leave. Your boss has given you very clear instructions that you are to select the best people possible from the two current departments, regardless of the current company. After he gave you these instructions, however, he also lowered his voice and said, “Of course, we should try to take care of as many of our own people as we can.”

Questions

What are the ethical issues in this situation?

What are possible legal issues in this situation?

What criteria might you use in making your decisions?

What are your personal feelings about how to prioritize individual employees in a situation like this? What would you do?