Breaking the Bro Code
Sexual Misconduct at the C-Level
Alexis Babb, Hackworth Business Ethics Fellow
Arnold is the Chief Operating Officer of a multibillion-dollar public company in Silicon Valley. The staff is predominantly male, and holds quarterly upper management meetings offsite. Arnold attends one of the meetings, along with the company's CEO, CFO, and numerous VPs. The opening speaker is the Vice President of Operations, Jordan Tompkins, who was brought into the organization by the CEO, having been close friends in college.
Jordan, who has college-age daughters, starts his presentation by sharing that he was out late the night before "partying," and that he “threw together” his slides. His first slide is a photo of a cheerleader from a local team—in a hot tub. He jokes that he is a big fan of this particular team. He goes on to cover some highlights of the company's recent performance. His last slide, however, is formatted to resemble a motivational poster. Entitled “Opportunity,” it is a photo of an apparently intoxicated college girl lying on the floor wearing only her underwear.
Despite the widespread laughter, the consensus was that Jordan had pushed the envelope too far, but no harm, no foul. The CEO covered for Jordan, stating “That's just Jordan being Jordan.” Arnold was the exception, finding Jordan's behavior to be completely out-of-line and deserving of immediate termination. Arnold, being the COO, technically has the power to fire Jordan at any time, but it is clear that he is under the protection of the CEO.
What should Arnold do?