Case Analysis Paper FOXTROT PHONE SCANDAL

Trash or Treasure

You have known Commissioner Richard Mitchell for years. You attend the same church and volunteer at the same shelter for pregnant substance abusers across town. Mr. Mitchell and his charming wife have taken in many foster children throughout the years and have provided them with a loving and supportive home during difficult transitions in their young lives. Mr. Mitchell is quite the handy man and has donated much of his time and talents to refurbishing the older playgrounds around town.

Mr. Mitchell was familiar with your excellent record as Assistant Deputy Director of Transportation for the city of Middleton. You are a conscientious, hard worker who is committed to serving the public interest. In fact, Mr. Mitchell was instrumental in getting you your new job as Deputy Director of Transportation for the City of Sunville.

Unfortunately, your new boss, the Director of Transportation for the City of Sunville, Nick Kellogg, isn’t making your day-to-day work life very pleasant. Although he is an honest man and a competent manager, Mr. Kellogg has very limited social skills. You have fallen victim to his short temper on several occasions. As a stickler of the rules, Mr. Kellogg has made many job duties unnecessarily complicated and laborious. He has not always been fair nor kind to the staff and morale is at an all-time low.

A new computer system has recently been installed in the Sunville Physical Plant surplus warehouse. It tracks the inventory of the city’s agencies that is now being held in the warehouse. It has come to the attention of the City Council that thousands of dollars worth of property that was removed from the offices of the Department of Transportation over the last five years had not been delivered to the warehouse. Mr. Kellogg is in serious danger of, not only being fired but, facing changes of grand theft that will result in possible jail time. The City Council has made it quite clear that they will prosecute, to the fullest extent of the law, anyone involved in the theft.

Mr. Kellogg and the staff are in shock. First, Mr. Kellogg reports having no knowledge as to where the property has gone. According to him, all rules had been followed and the property should be at the warehouse. Secondly, everyone knew the property that was inventoried for the warehouse was worthless. Regulations did not allow for any other disposal of city property, except by way of the Physical Plant surplus warehouse, even when it was antiquated computers and broken furniture.

When you hear of the lost inventory you think your suspicions might be realized. Over the last few years, you have been more than impressed with the success of the shelter for pregnant substance abusers. Due to a great many anonymous donations, the shelter has managed to remain open, providing a vital service that has received national recognition and provided a great source of pride for the City Council and all of Sunville’s citizens. You realize, from a review of the computer inventory list, that the equipment and repaired furniture of the shelter is the city property from the Department of Transportation. You suspect Mr. Mitchell has been re-directing the city physical plant trucks to the shelter whenever they had a load of property in such bad condition that it would remain in storage at the warehouse indefinitely.

You are new to Sunville and the position of Deputy Director and are not suspected of having any involvement in this situation. You will be up for a promotion to Director with the firing, and possible incarceration, of Mr. Kellogg. You could certainly perform the job to everyone’s satisfaction and, with a new baby on the way, could use the raise.

During the regularly scheduled monthly City Council meeting, which you always attend, you are surprised to hear your name called. The Chairman asks you to approach the microphone.

While in front of the council and cameras from the local news station, you are asked to offer what information, if any, you have to share regarding the investigation. Everyone is awaiting your response.

Remember, you can’t move through time: You can’t avoid attending or talk to anyone before the meeting; you can’t feign Sensorineural hearing loss or Sudden Deafness; and, you can’t move into the future.

You are standing at the microphone. The camera lights are rather bright. All eyes are on you.

What do you say?