Hiding Real Story at Midwestern Community Action Case Study

Recently, life at Midwestern Community Action has been anything but smooth. The nonprofit runs a variety of programs in a midsized city, including preschools, teen drop-in centers, a food pantry, a medical clinic, and low-income housing.

Health problems forced founding executive director Sally May, who was well loved by staff, to quit after 20 years in her position. The board then appointed Josiah Lang, who had served as the manager of a local government service agency, as the next executive director.

When Lang arrived at Community Action, he discovered that May had been a hands-off leader. She allowed coordinators to run their programs without much supervision.

Used to operating on their own, they resisted Lang’s efforts to institute performance evaluations, to evaluate the effectiveness of each program, and to reallocate funds between programs. It didn’t help that Lang made little effort to get to know his subordinates and has an abrasive personality. Three coordinators and a half dozen front-line staff quit.

Lang has the support of the board, which believes that the organization needs more structure and accountability, but staff morale is low. Employees have lost faith in the organization’s leadership. However, they remain committed to helping the disadvantaged and to Community Action’s mission.

For that reason, they largely keep their frustrations to themselves and are careful to protect the organization’s public image. Community Action continues to be well regarded by clients, government officials, donors, and the public at large.

This week Community Action will interview an applicant for its housing coordinator position, a vacancy created when the previous coordinator left in frustration.

This is the most important open position to fill. The housing coordinator oversees three apartment complexes with 200 tenants and manages the most employees. Failure to fill the vacancy soon could reduce Community Action’s outreach to the homeless. The applicant, Albert Singh, appears to be highly qualified.

If he takes the position, Singh will move his family from out of state. He has no idea that Community Action is dealing with significant conflict and poor morale.

Singh will make a brief presentation to the entire staff during his visit and then meet for an extended time with the current program coordinators. During this session, the coordinators (without the director present) will question him and present an overview of Community Action. Albert will also have an opportunity to ask questions of the coordinators.

Discussion Probes

1. What ethical duties are in conflict in this situation?
2. Are Community Action employees justified in keeping their concerns “in house,” out of the public eye? Why or why not?
3. If you were one of the current program coordinators, how much would you reveal about the turmoil at Community Action to Singh?
4. As a coordinator, what would you say if Singh asked why the previous housing coordinator quit? How would you answer if asked your opinion of the executive director?
5. Is withholding the truth as damaging as lying? Why or why not?

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