“Analysis of Gotta Love Those Bread & Butter Unions”
Originally Written by P. Nelson

The ethics triangle is a model to follow to help militate against unethical decision-making. If Mayor Burns used this model it might have helped him make better decisions. When there is no moral discernment of what is right or wrong, a public official or administrator needs to analyze the situation carefully. However, in the following case study this does not appear to be something Mayor Burns practiced. For the purposes of this paper the case study “Gotta Love Those Bread & Butter Unions” will be analyzed. The source for all subsequent quotes is from this case study.

The first unethical issue is that the newly elected Mayor Burns
Burns knows they have an agenda to get the police chief terminated. “Unspoken” desire or not Burns is aware these two officers “strongly disliked” the police chief (Thompson & Leidlein, 2009). “They fancied the notion that Burns would be able to rein in the police chief” (Thompson & Leidlein, 2009). Regardless, if the expectations were unspoken or not, Burns made the police chief his focus once elected mayor. This brings into question the character, personal and professional integrity he had before he was elected. Burns willingness to terminate the chief before he verifies if the chief has committed any wrong doings brings his leadership ability into question. He also keeps this a secret from the citizens and co-workers. The authors did not mention if Mayor Burns ever spoke to the police chief to know him personally or professionally. However, Burns, “continued to have selected policemen come to him to complain” in order to obtain grounds to terminate him (Thompson & Leidlein, 2009). Mayor Burns continues to gather and solicit complaints to terminate the chief even after he knew the “city council, and the other citywide elected officials-the clerk and the treasurer” and citizens approved of the chief of police (Thompson & Leidlein, 2009). However, the only people who have an interest in firing the police chief are Burns and his two police friends. Burns’ open door policy was mainly for