CASE 3
\n1
\nGeorge Campbell, Helpant vice president in mergers and acquisitions at Kirkham McDowell Securities, a St. Louis
\nunderwriting and financial advisory firm, looked up as Adam Lawson, one of his most promising associates, entered
\nhis office. Adam, 29 years old, had been with the firm for only two years but had already distinguished himself as
\nhaving great potential. Recently, he had helped to bring in an extremely lucrative deal, and in six weeks, he and
\nseveral other associates would be honored for their efforts at the firm’s silver anniversary dinner.
\nAs Adam closed the door and sat down, he said, “George, I’d like to talk to you about the banquet. I’ve thought
\nabout this very carefully, and I want you to know that I plan to bring my partner, Robert Collins, as my escort.”
\nGeorge was taken aback. “Well, Adam,” he said, “I don’t quite know what to say. I have to be honest with you; I’m
\na little surprised. I had no idea that you were gay. I would never have guessed.” He looked at Adam for clues on
\nhow to proceed: his subordinate did seem nervous but not defiant or hostile.
\nThough only a 50-person operation, Kirkham McDowell had long since secured its status as one of the region’s
\nleading corporate financial advisers. The firm’s client roster included established and successful regional companies
\nas well as one of the country’s largest defense contractors, a very conservative company for which the firm managed
\npart of an impressive pension portfolio. Representatives of Kirkham McDowell’s major clients and many of the
\narea’s most influential political and business leaders were expected to attend the banquet. All this raced through
\nGeorge’s mind as he asked Adam, “Why do you want to do this? Why do you want to mix your personal and
\nprofessional lives?”
\n“For the same reason that you bring your wife to company social events,” Adam replied.
\nA look of confusion flickered across George’s face while Adam continued. “Think about it for a moment, George.
\nSuccess in this business depends in great part on the relationships you develop with your clients and the people you
\nwork with. An important part of those relationships is letting people know about your life away from the office, and
\nthat includes the people who are important to you. Some of the other associates already know Robert. Whenever
\nhis schedule permits, he accompanies me when I’m invited by one of my colleagues to have dinner with his or her
\nspouse. Granted, that isn’t very often — Robert is a corporate attorney, and his work is very demanding — but he
\njoins me whenever he can.”
\n“But, Adam, a wife isn’t the same thing as a –”
\n“It is the same thing, George. Robert and I have made a commitment to each other. We have been together for
\nalmost five years now, and I would feel very uncomfortable telling him that I was going to a major social event
\nalone — on a weekend, no less.”
\n“Well, I’m sure you’d agree that it wouldn’t be appropriate for an associate to bring a date — someone he barely
\nknows — to such an event.”
\n“Come on, George. I think you know me well enough to realize that I have better judgment than that. If Robert and
\nI had known each other for only six months, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you right now. But, as I
\nsaid, we’ve been together for over five years!”
\nGeorge thought for a moment. “Adam,” he said slowly, “I’m just not sure you should try to make an issue of this at
\nsuch an important time for the company. Why bring it up now? Think of our clients. We work with some very
\nconservative companies. They could very well decide to give their business to a firm whose views seem to agree
\nmore with their own. You’re not just making a personal statement here. You’re saying something about the culture
\nat Kirkham McDowell, something that some of our clients might fundamentally oppose. How are they going to
\nreact?”
\nCASE 3
\n2
\nAdam leaned forward. “This is only an issue if people make it an issue,” he said. “I have resolved never to lie about
\nmyself or about anything that is important to me — and that includes my sexuality. Since I joined the firm, as I’ve
\nbecome comfortable sharing details of my personal life with certain colleagues, I’ve come out to them and often
\nintroduced them to Robert. If people ask me if I’m gay, I’m honest with them. Likewise, if people ask me if I have
\na girlfriend, I tell them about my relationship with Robert. With the silver anniversary celebration coming up, I
\nthought the time was right to speak with you. This is the first large social event the company has held since I started
\nworking here. And after a lot of discussion with Robert and some of the associates here, I’ve decided that I need to
\nbe as open at the banquet as I have tried to be in other areas within the organization.
\n“It’s not a decision that I’ve taken lightly. I’ve seen what has happened to some of my gay friends who have come
\nout at work. Even at much less conservative companies, some are never invited to important social events with
\ncolleagues and customers, no matter how much business they bring in. They’ll never know whether or not their
\nbonuses have been affected by prejudice related to their sexuality. I know my career could be adversely influenced
\nby this decision, but I believe that my work should stand on its own merits. George, I’ve been a top contributor at
\nthis firm since I walked in the door. I hope I can rely on you to back me up in this.”
\nAdam stood up but waited for George to reply. “You’ve given me a lot to think about,” George said. “And I don’t
\nwant to say anything until I’ve had a chance to consider all the implications. I appreciate the confidence you’ve
\nshown in me by being so open. I wish I had something conclusive to say at this point, but the fact of the matter is
\nthat I have never had to face this issue before. I am one of your biggest supporters here at the firm. Your work has
\nbeen exemplary. And, until today, I would have said that you could look forward to a very successful career here.
\nBut I’m concerned about how this will play with our clients and, as a result, about how senior management will
\nreact. I personally don’t have any problems with your being gay, but I’d hate to see you torpedo your career over
\nthis. It’s possible that this could jeopardize some of our relationships with significant clients. Let me think about it
\nfor a few days. We can have lunch next week and map out a strategy.”
\nAfter Adam left his office, George sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to make sense of the conversation. He
\nwas unsure of his next move. Adam clearly had not come into his office looking for permission to bring his lover
\nto the banquet. George realized that he could do nothing and let events simply unfold. After all, Adam had not asked
\nthat Robert be included in his benefits coverage nor had he requested a specific managerial decision. There was no
\ncompany policy on paper to guide him through his dilemma. But Adam wouldn’t have come to him if he hadn’t
\nwanted a response of some kind. And shouldn’t he at least tell his superior in order to head off any awkward moments
\nat the banquet?
\nJust how negative an effect could Robert have on Adam’s career with the firm and on the firm’s relationship with
\nits clients? Wasn’t it possible, even likely, that the party would come off without incident? That the issue would
\nblow over? That even the firm’s most conservative clients wouldn’t realize the significance of Adam’s guest or
\nwould simply decide that it was a personal issue, not a business one? Or would George’s worst fears be realized?
\nAdam had to recognize that the potential risks were great. It was one thing for him to come out of the closet at the
\noffice. But wasn’t he pushing things too far?
\nHow Should George Respond to Adam’s Disclosure?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CASE 3 1 George Campbell, Helpant vice president in mergers and acquisitions at Kirkham McDowell Securities, a St. Louis underwriting and financial advisory firm, looked\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9033,7586,1386,7589,9034,9031,7587,7588,7584,7585,9032],"tags":[8809,7838,8811,8808,8813,8807,8806,8814,8810,8812],"class_list":["post-107757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-assignment-help-uae","category-best-dissertation-writing-service-in-australia","category-best-research-paper-writing-services-in-usa","category-capstone-project-writing-service","category-cheap-essay-writing-services-china","category-essay-writing-service-usa","category-legitimate-phd-dissertation-writing-services-usa","category-term-paper-writing-service","category-thesis-writing-service-in-canada","category-uae-best-dissertation-writing-help-service","category-write-my-essay-australia","tag-best-master-thesis-writing-service","tag-best-thesis-writing-services","tag-cheap-thesis-writing-services","tag-master-thesis-help","tag-master-thesis-writing-service","tag-thesis-help-online-free","tag-thesis-writing-help-online","tag-thesis-writing-services-cost","tag-thesis-writing-services-near-me","tag-thesis-writing-services-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyproessays.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}