Rio Grande Supply Company Case Study

The president of Rio Grande Supply Company, Jasper Hennings, is facing a dilemma concerning his chief of operations, Henry Darger. Per the company’s internet use policy personal tasks are not to be done on company computers. A female employee broke this policy by accessing another employee’s email and was subsequently fired by Darger. While speaking with Mr. Hennings this employee mentioned two things; that Darger is up to something when he shuts his office door and that she intends to hire a lawyer. Mr. Hennings approached Darger to gain clarification of what the female employee meant and Darger admitted that due to stresses in his personal life he has been using the company computer to view pornography while at work. The dilemma for Mr. Hennings is how he should address the contradictions in his company internet use policy, how he should proceed with his employee Darger, and what would be the best decisions for his company.
The most apparent environmental factor that led to the situation Mr. Hennings faces is inconsistency with the internet use policy. Management set out a policy stating that internet use on company computers is limited to business related activities. However, the company turns a blind eye when employees use their computers to check personal emails, check the weather and perform personal banking transactions. This sort of variation between what is policy and what is actually enforced facilitated Darger’s inappropriate use of company computers. He knew the internet use policy was lax and felt confident enough to break it. When deciding his course of action Mr. Henning’s needs to consider only the facts. Darger knowingly broke company policy. His personal situation that led him to make that decision is irrelevant. Also, Mr. Henning’s must consider the future of his company and that the recently terminated