It's Your Turn

1. A natural beginning question concerns ethics. Given what Tom now (thinks he) knows about Newfangled Software, should he take this job?

a. Yes, he should take the job.

• What Steve revealed is a mixture of hearsay and his own experience?

• Who’s to say Steve didn’t make some mistakes in his contracting?

• Why didn’t he confront the president when his behavior was destructive to the group?

• There are other instances suggesting that the organization does need to help and the right person and circumstance might yield good results.

2. Assume that you are Tom and you do decide to take the job. What issues or concerns would you have? Think about the following issues:

a. Who is the client? (Probably Irwin)

b. Who should the client be? (David Dyer)

c. How would you control the conversation with Irwin?

d. What terms or conditions would you insist on if you were to take this job?

e. What questions could you ask to confirm Steve’s description of the company?

f. How will you decide if you are the right person for the job?

3. Another interesting topic that this case raises is the power relationship between consultant and client. Assume you take the job and that the president, David Dyer, exhibits some of the same behavior Steve described in his e-mail.

a. Do you confront him or not?

b. How do you handle a professor, that you think isn’t doing an adequate