| Abstract |
This teaching case presents an ethical dilemma embedded in a real-life scenario within Pakistan’s knitwear export industry. It follows the intertwined personal and professional lives of two childhood friends—Abdul Raheem, the Dyeing Manager, and Farhan Ahmed, the Quality Control Manager—working at SA Group of Industries. On the night of a critical fabric dyeing operation, Raheem is urgently called home due to his mother's deteriorating health and entrusts the dyeing process to his team. His close friend Farhan, responsible for final quality approval, is left to decide the fate of a fabric lot that does not meet quality standards upon Raheem’s departure. Caught between friendship, company policies, cost implications, and ethical boundaries, Farhan must choose between rejecting, reprocessing, or approving the fabric lot through unethical means. The case explores themes of workplace ethics, moral courage, accountability, and professional boundaries. It challenges students to consider not only the formal consequences of decisions but also the informal, emotional, and relational pressures that influence ethical behavior in real-world contexts. Set in the high-stakes world of global textile exports, the case stimulates critical discussion around ethical decision-making, leadership under pressure, and the cost of moral compromise.
Keywords: Ethical dilemma, Leadership Ethics, Management Decision Making, Quality Control, Workplace Morality, Friendship vs Professionalism.
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