Case Study #3 “Mozilla was built on the mission to promote openness, innovation

Case Study #3
“Mozilla was built on the mission to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the Web.
Every day, we bring together over half a billion users and thousands of contributors from more
than 80 countries to advance the cause outlined in the Mozilla Manifesto. The web is a vital
public resource and Mozilla exists to protect it. That is what we do at Mozilla, our singular point
of focus.” –From Mozilla’s blog Q and A regarding the resignation of Brendan Eich. Brendan
Eich was a co-founder of Mozilla, an organization set up as a nonprofit foundation, passionate
about its purpose. Eich’s previous political support for the Defense of Marriage Act, which prior
to 2015 defined marriage on the federal level as the union between one man and one woman, was
well known by the board and employees prior to his appointment as CEO. What wasn’t known
was how strongly employees and outsiders would react to a perceived disconnect between Eich’s
personal values and the values of the company? In spite of posting about his commitment to
continuing the organization’s support of the LGBTQ+ community through various policies and
benefits and apology for “causing pain,” the issue did not die down. Eich made his own decision
to resign as CEO and declined the board’s offer to take another C-level position in the company.
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What is (are) the ethical issue(s) in the case?
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What management mistakes were made in the case?
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Who are the key stakeholders in the case?
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What steps can be taken within the organization to remedy the
mistakes?
Your collective response
should be 500 words or less, double-spaced, and written in APA style.