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Matt Dumont
Learning to Lead
Case Study 2
3/9/17

Case Presentation Outline

Assume the role of the leader in the firm responsible for handling the situation and you
are preparing a recommendation for your team. Consider the questions posed for the case.

I. Overview
The President of Chick-fil-A, Dan Cathy said that marriage was between a man and a
woman and anyone who supported same-sex marriage was under God’s watch. The fast-
food chain had both positive and negative support. The toy company that provide toys for
Chick-fil-A stopped making them, but the Governor of Arkansas created a Chick-fil-A
appreciation day. Mayor Menino of Boston asked that the company not add a location in
Boston on the Freedom Trail because of their President’s statements.

II. Problems / Opportunities - Enumerate the issues identified.

Identify 1-2 major issues (there could be more, but only 1-2 for this assignment) facing
the organization’s leader.
 Should Boston allow Chick-fil-A to locate in the city?
 Mr Cathy’s statement was offensive to many people.

III. Stakeholders & Facts – Create headings for the items below (bolded print), and
provide bullets/enumerated lists for each category.

 Primary stakeholders
 Chick-fil-A/Dan Cathy
 Mayor Menino
 Secondary stakeholder
 Same-sex couples
 Residents of Boston
 Relevant facts (5-7) for each issue.
 Dan Cathy, Pres of Chick-fil-A said that marriage is between a man and a woman
 Chick-fil-A wanted to put a location on the Freedom Trail in Boston.
 Mayor Menino asked him to not look at Boston as a franchise location
 The Jim Henson Co. stopped making toys for Chick-fil-A
 Mike Huckabee declared a Chick-fil-A appreciation day in Arkansas.
 Massachusetts was the first state to recognize same sex marriage.
 Implied facts (1-3) for each issue.
 Chick-fil-A is a religious background company
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 Mayor Menino is for same-sex marriage.

 The city of Boston and State of Massachusetts is very accepting of same-sex
marriage.

IV. Recommendation(s) for Action & Rationale - What would you do in the same
situation? Additional specific questions may be presented for a particular case.

If I was Mayor Menino I would not allow Chick-fil-A to put a franchise on the Freedom
Trail. The Freedom Trail represents some of the most important locations in the history
of America and all the rights that we fought for. If you put a company that is opposed to
same-sex couples on that trail across from the state house it would be like saying that their
marital rights do not matter that much. People can be allowed to think it in their head but
once they come out and say it you are saying that a certain population of the country are
in the wrong even though they are not the ones not accepting people. The people I would
have at the meeting would be the President of Chick-fil-A Dan Cathy, some heads of the
gay rights movement, city council members from Boston and myself(Mayor Menino). I
would conclude to not let Chick-fil-A put a location on the Freedom trail because what it
would add for business would come far from outweighing the civic pride that would be
lost. According to a Gallup poll in 2013 4.4% of people from Massachusetts said that they
were gay. It may seem like a small number but that is actually a large percent of the total
population with it being just under 300,000 people. If you say that those 4.4% don’t
matter you are discriminating against a lot of people. Mayor Menino made a very ethical
decision because he put the rights of the people in his city before the desire for more
money.