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    March 15, 2021 Organizational Behaviour - Ethical Leadership Group Assignment - Smoking Success Case Study

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    Aishwarrya Nanthakumar
    This document discusses a case study about Justin Hartfield, an entrepreneur in the marijuana industry. Hartfield has been involved with marijuana since he was a teenager and now owns businesses related to medical marijuana. He hopes to profit from marijuana legally as the industry expands. The questions ask about Hartfield's responsibilities as a leader in the industry. One response says Hartfield should educate consumers and consider health impacts, while also acknowledging issues with prohibition. A second response compares the industry to tobacco and alcohol, saying ethical leadership requires expressing values while staying loyal. A third response says taking a leadership role with an unethical product depends on ability to enact change, but change is difficult in large organizations.

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    March 15, 2021 Organizational Behaviour - Ethical Leadership Group Assignment - Smoking Success Case Study

    Uploaded by

    Aishwarrya Nanthakumar
    217 views3 pages
    This document discusses a case study about Justin Hartfield, an entrepreneur in the marijuana industry. Hartfield has been involved with marijuana since he was a teenager and now owns businesses related to medical marijuana. He hopes to profit from marijuana legally as the industry expands. The questions ask about Hartfield's responsibilities as a leader in the industry. One response says Hartfield should educate consumers and consider health impacts, while also acknowledging issues with prohibition. A second response compares the industry to tobacco and alcohol, saying ethical leadership requires expressing values while staying loyal. A third response says taking a leadership role with an unethical product depends on ability to enact change, but change is difficult in large organizations.

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    Case study for Organizational Behaviour

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    smoking success

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    This document discusses a case study about Justin Hartfield, an entrepreneur in the marijuana industry. Hartfield has been involved with marijuana since he was a teenager and now owns businesses related to medical marijuana. He hopes to profit from marijuana legally as the industry expands. The questions ask about Hartfield's responsibilities as a leader in the industry. One response says Hartfield should educate consumers and consider health impacts, while also acknowledging issues with prohibition. A second response compares the industry to tobacco and alcohol, saying ethical leadership requires expressing values while staying loyal. A third response says taking a leadership role with an unethical product depends on ability to enact change, but change is difficult in large organizations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    217 views3 pages

    March 15, 2021 Organizational Behaviour - Ethical Leadership Group Assignment - Smoking Success Case Study

    Uploaded by

    Aishwarrya Nanthakumar
    This document discusses a case study about Justin Hartfield, an entrepreneur in the marijuana industry. Hartfield has been involved with marijuana since he was a teenager and now owns businesses related to medical marijuana. He hopes to profit from marijuana legally as the industry expands. The questions ask about Hartfield's responsibilities as a leader in the industry. One response says Hartfield should educate consumers and consider health impacts, while also acknowledging issues with prohibition. A second response compares the industry to tobacco and alcohol, saying ethical leadership requires expressing values while staying loyal. A third response says taking a leadership role with an unethical product depends on ability to enact change, but change is difficult in large organizations.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 3

    March 15, 2021

    Organizational Behaviour – Ethical Leadership


    Group Assignment – Smoking Success Case Study

    “I’ve been high since I was 13”, Justin Hartfield observed, admitting
    that his resume includes a stint as a high school marijuana distributor
    and a member of a group of website hackers. Now in his 30’s,
    Hartfield is a successful entrepreneur and investor. So what if he is
    dealing in the same venues of his childhood passions – marijuana and
    websites.

    He says, ‘marijuana is not going to be profitable to make in the long


    term, it’s going to be a dollar a gram. And so someone…needs to step
    in and make it profitable to grow. I’m the best guy to do it.” Hartfield
    envisions himself as the top leader of a newly legalized industry.

    Obviously, he has no issue with the ethics of marijuana consumption or


    distribution. He created Weedmaps.com, a large directory for medical-
    marijuana users to find accessible doctors and dispensaries, and
    charges subscribers $295+ per month; his other business through Ghost
    Group invests in start-up marijuana operations. “I’m doing everything
    I can in this industry legally,” he said.

    Hartfield hopes recreational marijuana continues to gain popularity.


    He often says, “I care about making people happy and the most money
    I can make.”

    Questions – 5 marks each

    1. Hartfield is a leader in his industry, and he hopes to sell the most marijuana possible.
    Meanwhile a study published by the National Academy of Sciences indicated that New
    Zealand teenagers who were heavy marijuana smokers lost up to 8 IQ points. Do you
    think that as a leader, Hartfield has a responsibility for the health of his customers? If
    not, why? If yes, what is his responsibility?

    Cannabis misuse is a problem that deserves attention and study in order to help people safely
    consume cannabis at an appropriate age. However, this case study ignores the ethics of
    legalization and consumption. The disproportionate amount of black people jailed over small
    possession charges have their own ethical dilemma. This has caused many socio-economic issues
    based on race and legalization, which tends to be dominated by white, male entrepreneurs.
    Prohibition also has created issues with access to cannabis for medical purposes, such as those
    with traumatic brain injuries or cancer. Cannabis has also been studied in helping those with
    opioid addiction. The lack of information, access and ability to study the effects of cannabis for
    therapeutic use creates its own ethical dilemma. When it comes to Hartfield, he definitely has a
    responsibility to both his clients and the industry to move forward with legalization in a safe and
    appropriate manner. He definitely has leadership qualities helping distribute information but he
    also has a responsibility to understand his motivation beyond a financial motivation. By creating
    a platform that helps access, he should be respecting current science and regulations in each area
    in which his company operates. Additionally, his influence beyond weed maps should be that of
    educating people to make informed decisions. As someone with privilege in the cannabis space
    he has the ability to distribute current and relevant information in a balanced and ethical way.

    2. How do you think the ethical responsibilities of leaders in this industry compare to those of
    leaders in the tobacco and alcohol industries?

    ANS: As an ethical leader, you should build accountability into your position, whether it’s
    formal or informal, and be prepared to deal straightforwardly with the consequences of your
    decisions and actions. For ethical leadership to be effective, it is not enough for the leader to
    simply possess high moral character. After all, there is no universal standard for ethical behavior,
    and ethical norms vary by culture, by industry, and even sometimes within an organization.
    Leaders must be willing to express their ethical beliefs and persuade others to follow their
    standards. It’s really difficult for the leaders of the Marijuana industry to stay both ethical and at
    the same time loyal to one’s company,

    3. Would you take a leadership role in an organization if you had an ethical issue with its product
    or service? Why or why not? Examine differing views.

    That would depend on the nature of the organization. If I had an ethical issue with the actual
    product a company makes or sells, then I would avoid working at the organization in the first
    place. However, if for example I have an issue not with the actual product a company sells but
    with a part of the supply chain (Apple using slave labour for example) then I would attempt to
    make a change, provided that it is not impossible to do so. This is because I believe companies
    have a responsibility to be ethical in the way they develop their products. However, I also realize
    that making change is easier said than done and doing so is much easier in a smaller company, as
    opposed to being nearly impossible for 1 person to do in a very large organization such as Apple,
    Google, or Amazon. So while it is ideal for leaders to strive for change, doing so is not always
    possible.

    Questions Answered - Group 3

    Question 1: Kathleen Quinn

    Question 2: Aishwarrya Nanthakumar

    Question 3: Andrew Leuzzi

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