Ethics and Management Education: A Protestant Reference in Management Education

This teaching case, based on real events, describes the story of Pedro, a former human resource management student at Christian College. The college belongs to a Christian Community that has operated for years in the educational field in the city of Uberlandia, Minas Gerais. Pedro chose human resource management to develop a career in a major clothes company in the city. The company doesn’t have its own brand and doesn’t sell their own products, but does show a history of ethical business decisions. Its main objective is to work as outsourced manufacturing for major national and international retail department stores that operate in Brazil. Their employees are men and women of low income and limited education. Under pressure from the inability to close large deals the company submitted their workforce to poor working conditions analogous to slave labor. As HR director, Pedro doesn’t agree with these measures, since they don’t align with management ethics. Throughout his life, based on the beliefs and values learned in college, Pedro refuses to conform, because the decisions place the company at a greater risk that could destroy its corporate image and dishonor corporate ethics. His decision provokes doubts among managers, delaying a final decision.