Grace missed the first class in one of her part-time MBA courses, Strategic Field Report. She noticed that Professor Doshi had posted an announcement online saying the first class would involve introductions, understanding the course and assignments, and team forming for the major assignment, a three-month in-depth study of a real-world organization that ends with the production of a strategic recommendation report. Grace decided she could miss this first class, which wouldn't be that important in the long run. She had a lot of work to catch up on from her job as Manager of Inclusivity for a large nonprofit organization.

It's now the second week of the course, and Grace comes to class on time. The professor starts to give a mini-lecture on recent developments in strategy post-Mintzberg. Grace scans the faces in the room. She recognizes only one other student - there must not be a lot of other students from the Human Resources stream in this course.

Just before the break, the professor says he needs to place students who missed Week 1 on a team for the major assignment that's coming up. He says to Grace, "Please work with Emily, Nadia, and Jacob. They need a fourth. That's them behind you in the far corner".

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Grace doesn't turn around to make eye contact with the team. She fidgets with her iPhone instead. The professor says "Grace - could you please introduce yourself to your team?" Grace does a half turn (only her head, not her body) and briefly looks toward the far corner. She sees a man and two women looking at her intently. Carefully, she looks over their heads, not making eye contact.

"Okay", she says to the professor.

The professor has to deal with other team situations, but he does notice Grace walking over very slowly toward her team.

When Grace gets to the far corner, her new teammate Jacob announces in a loud and authoritative voice, "Hi there. I'm Jake. We've already exchanged numbers, email, and Whatsapps. What's your contact info?"

Grace is a bit put-off by Jake's in-command tone, but she gives her new teammates her contact information. She begins to say, "What have you guys done so far..." but Jake interrupts and says that Grace's task in the assignment will be to interview senior managers in HR at their chosen organization (a credit union) and analyze the interviews in terms of strategic theory. He tells her the assignment criteria are online in the assignment handout. "Add it to our Google Docs by next Sunday at 9 pm - preferably earlier - that's what we've agreed", he says.

*

On that next Sunday night Grace is busy doing research for the major recommendation report she's working on at her job. She's been asked to research and recommend an inclusivity strategy for the next five years, and the pressure is high. There never seems to be enough time in the workday to get her work done, between meetings, training, and phone calls, so she finds herself doing work on weekends. Added to her responsibilities in the part-time MBA, she's feeling overwhelmed.

When she puts the finishing touches on her research at 10:45 pm, she's tired. Her son is staying with her mother, so at least she doesn't have to worry about putting him to bed tonight. She'll call and check in with her mother first thing Monday morning.

She flicks on her tablet, opens her MBA email inbox, and sees three emails from Jake, her team member in the Strategy course. Each of the emails is marked "high priority" and the subject line of the latest one, typed in all caps, is: "WHERE IS YOUR PART OF THE ASSIGNMENT?" Grace notices Jake has copied their teammates Nadia and Emily, as well as Professor Doshi.

Grace has not got the assignment done; she hasn't really thought about it since she talked with the team last Friday night. She realizesp91she's screwed up, but the way she figures it, the final strategic recommendation report isn't due for five more weeks - she doesn't understand why there's this rush to have small pieces of the work done in stages weeks ahead of time. Pieces that are only worth 5% of the total grade...

She sends Jake back a one-line email: "Relax Jake. I'll get it done". She doesn't copy Nadia or Emily or the professor.

*

It's now three weeks later, Week 5 of the course and one week before the team's interim literature review and primary research presentation is due (this smaller assignment allows the professor to see if the team is on track or not to complete its eventual strategic report).

Without telling Grace, Jake, on behalf Nadia and Emily, has asked Professor Doshi to "intervene" with his team, because according to him, Grace "hasn't attended a single virtual team meeting or replied to any of our emails or other messages or submitted any work".

At break in the Week 5 class, the professor meets with the team members outside in the hallway.

"I don't understand why I'm being made to feel like I've done something so wrong", Grace says, in a tone Professor Doshi can only describe as unprofessional. "I told Jake I'd get the work done, and it's done", she says.

"That's not the point!" Jake exclaims. "The point is that you didn't work with the team the way you agreed to the first time we met. You haven't sent us any work over the past two weeks, you haven't checked in with us once online, and you haven't participated in putting together next week's interim presentation. We want you off the team!"

"This is ridiculous!" Grace says. "It's not like I'm the only one in this team who might be problematic. You", and she looks at Jake, "are manipulative and bullying!"

The professor steps in and says that because it's one week before the interim presentation is to be given, he can't allow the team to break up. Instead, he instructs the team to leave class after the break, iron out their differences, and put together their presentation.

Professor Doshi ends on an ominous note: "You may have forgotten, but the effectiveness of your teamwork is worth 10% of the final assignment - and I reserve the right to assign failing grades on that criterion if I choose to. In the real world, the consequences might be significantly more serious..."

Her teammates are staring at her with barely suppressed anger. Grace folds her arms across her chest and looks away.

Question : How can concepts from ethics be applied to think through the problematic behaviours/attitudes demonstrated in this case and to offer solutions?