Operations Management and Ethical Issue

Operations Management and Ethical Issue According to Aquilano, Chase, and Jacobs (2005), "Operations management (OM) is defined as the design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm 's primary products and services" (p.19). Operations management is a dynamic field and presents exciting new issues and challenges for operations managers. For example, Maura Sprenger, human resources director at Techno Inc., a fast growing information technology company, is faced with a very difficult issue between winning a multimillion dollar business contract with Apex Company or run the risk of causing a very knowledgeable and valuable employee to quit. Sprenger faces a dilemma on ethical issues related to diversity in the workplace. And the risk of losing a deal with Apex company, a large client. In addition, Techno presents a false expectation to Apex Company to close a deal which would run the rise of losing the contract deal. Jack Ridge, Techno 's vice president for sales and marketing department tries to sell a major contract to Apex and with a visit to was Apex 's headquarter Ridge is impressed with Apex 's diversity program. Ridge is under the impression that executives at Apex are very proactive about the diversity of its workforce and likes its vendors to reflect the same commitment. Techno has its own employee diversity committee, staff training, and recruiting efforts, however, the staff 's diversity is very limited. Because Ridge does not want to send the wrong message to Apex and prevent a lucrative contract he decided he needs to have a player from a minority group, therefore, he picked James Tellis, an African American who is Techno 's rising star from the research department who knows the technology and industry and has met with other clients before. Tellis knows that he ask to be at the sales presentations because he is a minority and he will not be allowed to participate in working on

References: University of Phoenix.(2005). Operations Strategy and Managing Change [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Aquilano, et al. (2005) Operations Management (11th ed.). New York: McGraw- Hill Companies, Retrieved October 13, 2005, from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT 554. Operations Management. Website: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp Taguchi, S. (2002, April). A question of appearances. HR Magazine, 47(4), 54-57.