Suggested Case Studies for Use in Small Groups

After Part I

The Case of “Successful” Sam

Despite all of his business success, Sam is not succeeding in God’s eyes. Not even close. As a Christian, he knows he needs to do something to turn around his relationships with his wife, his kids, his employees and with God. But what can he do?

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After Part II

When the Golden Rule Yields No Gold

Zach Jordan's New England Spring Company has been in the red for five years and is facing increasingly stiff competition from overseas. He's considering selling the company, but these days, there are few people interested in purchasing an unprofitable manufacturing company. He has the option to sell off the company in pieces -- to sell the equipment, the inventory, the customer list, and so forth -- but parceling it off this way means that the business will no longer exist and that his employees will lose their jobs. They are like family to this paternalistic, "Golden Rule" manager, so the thought of putting them out on the street in a bad economy is aberrant to Zach. Selling may mean selling out the employees; not selling may mean everyone loses in the long-run.

After Part III

How Gay-Friendly Should Your Workplace Be?

Master’s Software Solutions has a problem. A Christian company for twenty years, it now faces its first openly gay applicant. The selection committee hotly debates the merits of interviewing this candidate, raising broader issues of whether non-discrimination implies validation and acceptance of the gay lifestyle. Further, they raise questions about the business implications of not becoming gay-friendly in their personnel and marketing/sales policies.

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After Part IV

How to Work With People You Don’t Like

Fresh out of a Christian college, Rachel has now worked at City News for twelve months. The year has been educational in several senses, most of all, perhaps, in that it’s revealed the harsh reality that in some workplaces, people can be unpleasant, obnoxious, even malicious. At the end of her emotional rope, Rachel confides to a trusted co-worker: “I hate some of these people. I’ve never felt this way in my life, but some days, I really hate these people.” She is committed to staying with her job, but she needs advice about how to deal with people she strongly dislikes in a way that reflects godly character.

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 After Part V

When a Good Worker is Poor, How Much Should You Pay?

Based on a true story, an arresting story of a single mother who, because of her poverty, is forced out onto the street with her four children. When tragedy strikes all of them, her co-workers are left questioning whether things would have been different had her employer paid her a living wage.

 After Part VI

The Management by Proverbs Layoff Exercise

A powerful exercise, tested and refined by dozens of MBA students. Your company is downsizing and you have been charged with laying off two of your five employees. Using whatever criteria you deem best, please select from among the employees on this list. All of them work at the same level (job title: “generalist”) in the human resources department of your company.