You are a leadership and organizational development consultant. You utilize your expertise with various entities during your consulting career. You have just been assigned to go to work providing input and support for a company called Highpoint Industries. Highpoint Industries is a manufacturing company that manufactures, sells, markets, and delivers, high-quality, portable basketball rims and backboard sets. Highpoint has been known for their high levels of quality and have been around for approximately twenty years and have been known for their high levels of quality. They have been able to capture a unique space in the market in that their rims and backboards are uniquely affordable yet still of high quality. Many of the customers at this point have come as a result of word of mouth. With that said, there is a bit of trouble in paradise. The greatest concerns appears to be coming from inside. There are approximately 100 employees with this company. Almost half of those employees are involved in the manufacturing side while the other half focuses on marketing and sales. While the manufacturing side appears to be in good shape, the fifty or so employees in charge of running the company appear to be struggling as of late. The CEO has brought you in to discuss some of the challenges. Darleen Simpson is the President of Highpoint Industries. She has called you in because she recognizes at this point from a systems standpoint the organizational culture simply isn’t what it used to be. You have only had several meetings with her, but you have taken copious notes and you are have been very clear about some of the issues and challenges she has brought to your attention. Of greatest concern at this point appears to be somewhat of a disconnect between pursuit of results and the ethical treatment of others. Most notably, you are recalling a story that Darleen shared with you wherein several high level executives sought to significantly reduce the manufacturing staff team by outsourcing major portions of the business. While there may have been some short term advantages to this approach, Darleen was a bit dubious about the decision. Although she still hadn’t decided yet about the opportunity, she was worried in such a small but productive company the significant reduction of staff on that side of the business might lead to some disconnect in terms of owning the entire process. She also worried that by firing that many employees, the community might suffer and overall goodwill that Highpoint had developed might somewhat be hindered. But, what she hadn’t decided was whether or not that challenge was representative enough of an issue to keep her from taking action. Between that decision point and the fact that overall the management, marketing, and sales side of the company just didn’t seem to be as productive as they should be, Darleen recognizes that she needs your help. Write a scholarly essay, playing the role of business consultant. In this reflective essay we would like you to prepare to work with Darleen on these important and somewhat elusive challenges.

• Component 1: How important is the pursuit of results in a modern organization?

• Component 2: What role does finding an ethical balance (or ethical imperative) have in modern business today?

• Component 3: How should organizations work today to be sustainable for tomorrow? What cultural considerations do they need to keep in mind?