Case Study # 2
Odd One Out: Confronting Corruption in the Workplace
Jenny recently completed her MPA degree and was extremely excited to be hired for her dream job working for the local county
government. During her first year, she began to notice that funds from grants were being mismanaged and misallocated. Some of her
coworkers were also using county-owned materials, including cars, for personal business.
However, Jenny was most shocked by the hiring practices she witnessed at the office. Prospective applicants were supposed to take
exams that were proctored by government employees. The results of these exams determined whether or not the applicants were hired
and what they were hired for. Jenny began to notice that the proctors were allowing applicants to cheat on the tests because the
applicants had already been chosen for the job. Many of these pre-chosen applicants were friends of current employees.
Jenny reported what she witnessed to Matt, the department’s business manager, who was second-in-command to the department head.
Matt told her, “You heard nothing, you saw nothing, you say nothing.” Jenny was absolutely shocked; not only by the corruption, but
that it was deliberately being swept under the rug.
Jenny felt trapped. She really needed the job to pay off loans from graduate school, and she loved the actual content of the work
she was doing. She was also concerned that it would look bad to leave her first job out of school in less than a year, as well as
tarnish future chances to work in government. On the other hand, she felt extremely uncomfortable in her work environment due to
the culture of corruption.
Case Study Analysis Template
Case Study Number and Name
Introduction Give a brief review of the case, including the main characters.
State the Ethical issue or problem. Who is/are the “moral agent(s)” in this case? Who is/are the
doer(s) of the action(s) in question ? There can be more than one.
Was what they did illegal? What ethical system were they
following? What philosophical school of thought is that most
aligned with?
Kohlberg stage of Moral Development What stage of Moral Development is each of the main Moral
Agent at? What actions, statements or indicators make you think they are in
that stage?
As the Moral Agent(s) did they: (Address each actor identified above)
Act with integrityProvide a high standard of serviceAct in a way that promotes trust in the profession or office
Treat others with respectTake responsibility
What would you have Done? Would you be content for your actions to be made public in the newspapers or on the internet?
Alternative Actions What are some other actions they could have taken in this situation?Are these
optionsin line with ASPA or ICMA codes of Ethics?