Dan Grayson felt physically and emotionally spent and was ready for a time-out from his daily office routines. He was a self-identified workaholic with broad experience and knew the responsibilities of his position. He was never given a project that he did not relish doing, but this orientation would soon become problematic. Accordingly, as the number of projects under his purview grew, he became stretched and stressed. Thus, it came as no surprise that he would be waiting with hurried anticipation for the Christmas–New Year break, a week of paid time off. Generally, Dan enjoyed his position as program director for the Credit Builders Association (CBA), a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provided training and resources for low-income clients with credit problems. He loved being able to help vulnerable people establish creditworthiness and have a lasting impact on the lives of others in this way. Although national in scope, CBA had a staff of only ten employees—a tight-knit group that Tina Murphy, the CBA executive director, often referred to as a family. Dan Grayson did not consider his associates part of his own family, but he did enjoy the cordial and caring working relationships he had established with them. He found the organizational culture of CBA to be inviting, warm, and flexible, but he was not terribly comfortable with its lack of structure and standardization; he preferred organizational formality. For example, although organizational policies governing hiring and procurement (purchasing) were in place, they were essentially copy-and-pasted from examples downloaded from the Internet. Though elementary, these policies had been sufficient to pass muster for a national audit that CBA had undergone several years earlier. The audit required mandatory written policies for the different functions and phases of human resources management, budgeting, and financial administration. However, the executive director and the board of directors did not look at these policies as amounting to much more than window dressing. In short, as one director quipped, CBA will comply until we die. It was also noteworthy that organizational decisions were rarely made on the substance of these boiler-plated policies. Dan had five years of experience with the national organization in CBA’s Prairie Island office and was the most tenured staff member other than Tina Murphy. The executive director relied on him completely as a trusted and valued coworker and sought out his advice and assistance when making hiring decisions, developing strategic partnership, and confronting organizational difficulties. Even though he would have preferred a more structured work environment, Dan often laughed to himself about CBA not being policy-bound. When asked for his advice on important matters by Tina, Dan would sometimes say jokingly, This isn’t in my job description, and it certainly is above my pay level! Dan had a few projects to finish before he left for the holidays. First and foremost, he had to prepare the agenda for the upcoming staff meeting at the end of the week. He would be meeting with staff from CBA’s other branch offices, and they would present their quarterly progress reports. Then they would have a holiday lunch, exchange some gifts, and head back to their offices to prepare for the anticipated break. Dan especially was looking forward to putting his feet up and taking off some well-deserved time. The time finally came for the staff meeting, which went off without a hitch. As Dan and his colleagues were gathering their materials and placing their laptops in the carrying cases inscribed with the CBA acronym, Tina Murphy nervously cleared her throat. She said, Excuse me, I have a couple of things I would like to cover that were not on the agenda. Taken aback, all eyes and attention turned to her as she slowly rose from her chair and began to speak in an authoritative voice. She informed her associates about a commitment she had entered into with Banker’s Loan and Trust (BLT) and how excited she was about the new partnership. She said, CBA would gain access to new revenue sources and much-needed credit lines. This will enable CBA to help qualified clients get reasonably low interest rates on their loans without meeting the ‘normally’ expected higher credit scores. Tina did not appear to be conversant with all of the details surrounding the newly formed agreement and did not itemize any of its positive or negative implications. However, she indicated that CBA would be moving ahead with the project because it would open some doors that had been closed and ultimately serve as a good source of unrestricted revenue. Her eyes darting around the conference table, she added that they would need to immediately staff up for the new venture and make a new hire. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, she told the group that she had already made the hiring decision: Mandy Murphy would be joining the staff and heading up the new initiative. While she elaborated, her staff responded with blank stares and stony silence; no words were exchanged, and no one made eye contact. She intoned with a raised voice, I realize that the decision to hire my daughter may raise questions, but please know that I have thoroughly discussed this appointment with Mandy, and I guarantee you that there will be no conflict of interest. Initially I had some reservations about this hire, but as I talked it over with Mandy it became obvious she was a great candidate and a good fit for the organization. Also, time is a factor if we want to capitalize on the BLT project. To reiterate, and I can’t say this more emphatically, there will be no conflict of interest or preferential treatment. As you get acquainted with Mandy, you will come to know that she is a perfect fit with our culture and staff. As she wound down her remarks, the staff began to fidget nervously with the paperwork they had received during the staff meeting. Tina then asked if there were any thoughts or concerns on the matter. Of course, how could anyone express their concerns or reservations at this juncture? After all, the issue at hand was the hiring of the boss’s daughter! After a period of uncomfortable silence—a quietude that seemed to last for an eternity—Tina thanked them for their attention, wished them a joyful holiday season, and then gleefully closed the matter: Okay, I just wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of what we have going on. I know Mandy looks forward to working with you. Who’s ready for lunch? I’m excited that we will have the opportunity to share some quality time together before we go our separate ways. Dan carpooled to the restaurant with two of his closest associates, in stark silence. As they waited to be seated, it was obvious that everyone was trying to erase from their minds what they had just heard at the staff meeting. Accordingly, they began to chitchat about their holiday plans and upcoming schedules. As Dan sat down at the long table set by the restaurant staff, arranging his napkin and adjusting his tie, Tina came over and whispered in his ear, Just give Mandy a week and she will show you why I hired her for the job. She’ll be great! Once more, Dan could not believe his ears. Tina had singled him out in front of the entire staff in order to inform him of her daughter’s greatness. Dan wondered if Tina actually thought that he was the only staff member who would question Mandy’s hiring; if so, she had totally lost her footing in reality. What a way to begin a vacation, Dan muttered to himself as he drove back to the office. As he reflected on what had just transpired, he began to feel nauseated. Dan knew that there were no specific state laws against nepotism, but he could not fathom why Tina had approached this hire so differently from past CBA hiring decisions. Tina usually never made a hire without first consulting him. This time the position had not been advertised to ensure a large candidate pool, it had been filled before the funding had been established, and a detailed recruitment and selection process had not been satisfied. The more Dan assessed what Tina had done the more his nausea turned into psychological disgust. He had a déjà vu moment as he recalled a conversation initiated by Tina six months earlier: she had told him that Mandy had been actively looking for a job the past year, without much luck. Obviously, Dan reasoned further, Tina knew this decision would reverberate throughout the organization. Why else would she have asked him to give Mandy a chance? Had Tina sprung this on the CBA staff right before the holiday lunch and their week off from work as a premeditated strategy? Or was the timing purely coincidental? Would any ill feeling, as Tina presumed, actually subside over time? Then Dan found himself wondering whether Mandy had submitted a resume. Was she qualified for the task at hand when a position description had not yet been written? And what would happen if the partnership with BLT failed? Dan knew that all of these questions needed to be probed, but who would risk jeopardizing their relationship with Tina by asking them? As Dan entered the city limits of his hometown, he thought about the awkwardness of the next staff meeting. He knew that Mandy lived in a city on the East Coast: would she relocate or telecommunicate from a remote office located in her home? Would she be provided with a subsidy for a residential office with a computer, printer, Internet connection, and office supplies? Would CBA authorize air travel for her to attend staff meetings at the home base? Dan thought about the first staff meeting with both Tina and Mandy present. Would this mother-daughter banquet have other, possibly even greater, repercussions on the CBA staff, organizational culture, and balance sheet? These questions would eventually be answered, but meanwhile Dan was not only tired but had just had the wind taken out of his sails. One last idea occurred to Dan as he pulled into his garage: with the holidays coming up, was there any better way to show love for a daughter than to hire her? Dan Grayson enjoyed his vacation despite all that had transpired earlier in the CBA office, and despite the fact that, as much as he wanted to put the nepotism issue to rest, it seemed to arise as his conversations with visiting friends and family members drifted toward work. When Dan told them about the recent CBA hiring decision, the most common reactions were shock and disbelief. The circumstances surrounding the hiring and the blatant disregard for both the spirit and the letter of Equal Employment Opportunity Act regulations would surely have to be dealt with later. After the holiday, Dan returned to his office and everything again seemed normal: mountains of paperwork to process, dozens of phone calls and hundreds of emails to answer—some important and some that should have been blocked. One of those emails came from a close colleague with the subject line Get a load of this! Attached to the email was a document entitled Credit Builders Association Conflict of Interest Policy (as displayed in Exhibit 1). 1. Is there any substance to Dan Grayson's questioning of Tina Murphy's hiring decision and the way it was done? Explain. 2. Identify and elaborate on the implications of nepotism, both positive and negative. 3. Assess the manner in which Tina Murphy announce the new hire. Was her timing premeditated, or was it coincidental that she announced her decision at the holiday staff meeting before a weeklong break

Dan Grayson felt physically and emotionally spent and was ready for a time-out from his daily office routines. He was a self-identified workaholic with broad experience and knew the responsibilities of his position. He was never given a project that he did not relish doing, but this orientation would soon become problematic. Accordingly, as the number of projects under his purview grew, he became stretched and stressed. Thus, it came as no surprise that he would be waiting with hurried anticipation for the Christmas–New Year break, a week of paid time off. Generally, Dan enjoyed his position as program director for the Credit Builders Association (CBA), a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provided training and resources for low-income clients with credit problems. He loved being able to help vulnerable people establish creditworthiness and have a lasting impact on the lives of others in this way. Although national in scope, CBA had a staff of only ten employees—a tight-knit group that Tina Murphy, the CBA executive director, often referred to as a family. Dan Grayson did not consider his associates part of his own family, but he did enjoy the cordial and caring working relationships he had established with them. He found the organizational culture of CBA to be inviting, warm, and flexible, but he was not terribly comfortable with its lack of structure and standardization; he preferred organizational formality. For example, although organizational policies governing hiring and procurement (purchasing) were in place, they were essentially copy-and-pasted from examples downloaded from the Internet. Though elementary, these policies had been sufficient to pass muster for a national audit that CBA had undergone several years earlier. The audit required mandatory written policies for the different functions and phases of human resources management, budgeting, and financial administration. However, the executive director and the board of directors did not look at these policies as amounting to much more than window dressing. In short, as one director quipped, CBA will comply until we die. It was also noteworthy that organizational decisions were rarely made on the substance of these boiler-plated policies. Dan had five years of experience with the national organization in CBA’s Prairie Island office and was the most tenured staff member other than Tina Murphy. The executive director relied on him completely as a trusted and valued coworker and sought out his advice and assistance when making hiring decisions, developing strategic partnership, and confronting organizational difficulties. Even though he would have preferred a more structured work environment, Dan often laughed to himself about CBA not being policy-bound. When asked for his advice on important matters by Tina, Dan would sometimes say jokingly, This isn’t in my job description, and it certainly is above my pay level! Dan had a few projects to finish before he left for the holidays. First and foremost, he had to prepare the agenda for the upcoming staff meeting at the end of the week. He would be meeting with staff from CBA’s other branch offices, and they would present their quarterly progress reports. Then they would have a holiday lunch, exchange some gifts, and head back to their offices to prepare for the anticipated break. Dan especially was looking forward to putting his feet up and taking off some well-deserved time. The time finally came for the staff meeting, which went off without a hitch. As Dan and his colleagues were gathering their materials and placing their laptops in the carrying cases inscribed with the CBA acronym, Tina Murphy nervously cleared her throat. She said, Excuse me, I have a couple of things I would like to cover that were not on the agenda. Taken aback, all eyes and attention turned to her as she slowly rose from her chair and began to speak in an authoritative voice. She informed her associates about a commitment she had entered into with Banker’s Loan and Trust (BLT) and how excited she was about the new partnership. She said, CBA would gain access to new revenue sources and much-needed credit lines. This will enable CBA to help qualified clients get reasonably low interest rates on their loans without meeting the ‘normally’ expected higher credit scores. Tina did not appear to be conversant with all of the details surrounding the newly formed agreement and did not itemize any of its positive or negative implications. However, she indicated that CBA would be moving ahead with the project because it would open some doors that had been closed and ultimately serve as a good source of unrestricted revenue. Her eyes darting around the conference table, she added that they would need to immediately staff up for the new venture and make a new hire. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, she told the group that she had already made the hiring decision: Mandy Murphy would be joining the staff and heading up the new initiative. While she elaborated, her staff responded with blank stares and stony silence; no words were exchanged, and no one made eye contact. She intoned with a raised voice, I realize that the decision to hire my daughter may raise questions, but please know that I have thoroughly discussed this appointment with Mandy, and I guarantee you that there will be no conflict of interest. Initially I had some reservations about this hire, but as I talked it over with Mandy it became obvious she was a great candidate and a good fit for the organization. Also, time is a factor if we want to capitalize on the BLT project. To reiterate, and I can’t say this more emphatically, there will be no conflict of interest or preferential treatment. As you get acquainted with Mandy, you will come to know that she is a perfect fit with our culture and staff. As she wound down her remarks, the staff began to fidget nervously with the paperwork they had received during the staff meeting. Tina then asked if there were any thoughts or concerns on the matter. Of course, how could anyone express their concerns or reservations at this juncture? After all, the issue at hand was the hiring of the boss’s daughter! After a period of uncomfortable silence—a quietude that seemed to last for an eternity—Tina thanked them for their attention, wished them a joyful holiday season, and then gleefully closed the matter: Okay, I just wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of what we have going on. I know Mandy looks forward to working with you. Who’s ready for lunch? I’m excited that we will have the opportunity to share some quality time together before we go our separate ways. Dan carpooled to the restaurant with two of his closest associates, in stark silence. As they waited to be seated, it was obvious that everyone was trying to erase from their minds what they had just heard at the staff meeting. Accordingly, they began to chitchat about their holiday plans and upcoming schedules. As Dan sat down at the long table set by the restaurant staff, arranging his napkin and adjusting his tie, Tina came over and whispered in his ear, Just give Mandy a week and she will show you why I hired her for the job. She’ll be great! Once more, Dan could not believe his ears. Tina had singled him out in front of the entire staff in order to inform him of her daughter’s greatness. Dan wondered if Tina actually thought that he was the only staff member who would question Mandy’s hiring; if so, she had totally lost her footing in reality. What a way to begin a vacation, Dan muttered to himself as he drove back to the office. As he reflected on what had just transpired, he began to feel nauseated. Dan knew that there were no specific state laws against nepotism, but he could not fathom why Tina had approached this hire so differently from past CBA hiring decisions. Tina usually never made a hire without first consulting him. This time the position had not been advertised to ensure a large candidate pool, it had been filled before the funding had been established, and a detailed recruitment and selection process had not been satisfied. The more Dan assessed what Tina had done the more his nausea turned into psychological disgust. He had a déjà vu moment as he recalled a conversation initiated by Tina six months earlier: she had told him that Mandy had been actively looking for a job the past year, without much luck. Obviously, Dan reasoned further, Tina knew this decision would reverberate throughout the organization. Why else would she have asked him to give Mandy a chance? Had Tina sprung this on the CBA staff right before the holiday lunch and their week off from work as a premeditated strategy? Or was the timing purely coincidental? Would any ill feeling, as Tina presumed, actually subside over time? Then Dan found himself wondering whether Mandy had submitted a resume. Was she qualified for the task at hand when a position description had not yet been written? And what would happen if the partnership with BLT failed? Dan knew that all of these questions needed to be probed, but who would risk jeopardizing their relationship with Tina by asking them? As Dan entered the city limits of his hometown, he thought about the awkwardness of the next staff meeting. He knew that Mandy lived in a city on the East Coast: would she relocate or telecommunicate from a remote office located in her home? Would she be provided with a subsidy for a residential office with a computer, printer, Internet connection, and office supplies? Would CBA authorize air travel for her to attend staff meetings at the home base? Dan thought about the first staff meeting with both Tina and Mandy present. Would this mother-daughter banquet have other, possibly even greater, repercussions on the CBA staff, organizational culture, and balance sheet? These questions would eventually be answered, but meanwhile Dan was not only tired but had just had the wind taken out of his sails. One last idea occurred to Dan as he pulled into his garage: with the holidays coming up, was there any better way to show love for a daughter than to hire her? Dan Grayson enjoyed his vacation despite all that had transpired earlier in the CBA office, and despite the fact that, as much as he wanted to put the nepotism issue to rest, it seemed to arise as his conversations with visiting friends and family members drifted toward work. When Dan told them about the recent CBA hiring decision, the most common reactions were shock and disbelief. The circumstances surrounding the hiring and the blatant disregard for both the spirit and the letter of Equal Employment Opportunity Act regulations would surely have to be dealt with later. After the holiday, Dan returned to his office and everything again seemed normal: mountains of paperwork to process, dozens of phone calls and hundreds of emails to answer—some important and some that should have been blocked. One of those emails came from a close colleague with the subject line Get a load of this! Attached to the email was a document entitled Credit Builders Association Conflict of Interest Policy (as displayed in Exhibit 1). 1. Is there any substance to Dan Grayson's questioning of Tina Murphy's hiring decision and the way it was done? Explain. 2. Identify and elaborate on the implications of nepotism, both positive and negative. 3. Assess the manner in which Tina Murphy announce the new hire. Was her timing premeditated, or was it coincidental that she announced her decision at the holiday staff meeting before a weeklong break? 4. In consideration of the CBA conflict of interest policy, what responsibilities, if any, do members of the CBA board of directors share in this case of nepotism? 5. Did the conflict of interest policy preclude the hiring of Mandy Murphy? Explain. 6. What are some of the considerations that the executive director should have weighed before hiring an immediate family member? Elaborate. Would you have made a similar decision had you been in Tina Murphy's position? Why or why not?