Business Ethics Scenarios

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Business Ethics Scenarios

1. Receiving a Holiday Gift:

A supplier sends a basket of expensive foodstuffs to your home at Christmas with a card: “We hope you and your family enjoy the ‘goodies.'”. What action(s) might you want to take?

 It is unethical for one to fail to respond to any kind of gifts. This shows the “don’t care” attitude that discourages the sender of the gift. Most often, any kind of appreciation is acceptable and it encourages the sender to maintain a good relationship. In this case I would smile and ask the deliverer to show my gratitude to the supplier by telling him/her “thank you”. In addition, I would write a ‘thank you’ card and send it to the supplier. This would be the simplest thing I would do. In order to make my gratitude heartfelt, I would mention that I received the Christmas basket he/she sent to my place. I would mention that I am always happy working with them. In the note, I would add a warm thought such as: “you are the best”, “My heart is still smiling” or “ I’m grateful and humbled. The important thing is to ensure that I don’t include a lot of details in the card or note.

2. Sales Expense:

The purchasing manager for a large company agrees to give you an order (their first), expecting you agree to make a $200 donation to his favorite charity, a local youth sports team. How do you respond? 

Every organization has business policies that apply. It is very important that employees and managers have a detailed understanding of those policies, the expectations of stakeholders and customers as well as the minimum standards of operation. In this scenario, I would begin by checking and reviewing our organization’s policy on charitable donations. Then I would check if the donation is for a good cause. In addition, I would check whether $ 200 is an order size that our company can afford. These steps will give me a good way of responding. If our company policies allow, would go ahead, if they don’t, I would tell the client that his/her order is a bribe and our organization does not do business that way. Again, if the $200 appears to be a fraction of our profit margin and the donation is for a good cause, I would go for it.

3. Sales Expense Reimbursement:

A customer executive from Southeast Asia will visit your HQ facility and meet with your executive team. Your independent Southeast Asian agent requests that you reimburse the customer for his expenses, including expenses that could violate your company’s policies. The agent will reimburse you. How do you proceed?

The problem in this ethical issue is that the reimbursement is too much expensive and it would cost the company. This would be a loss for the organization. However, the facts in this scenario are that this reimbursement is against the company policies and that the company would be reimbursed if it agrees reimbursing the customer. In this issue, there are three individuals that would be affected, that is, the Southeast Asian executive, the Southeast Asian agent and my company. If I proceed with the reimbursement, our company will lose some amount and the Southeast Asian company will also lose since it will have to reimburse our company. There are only two alternative actions in this issue –I either agree to pay for it or not agree. I would not reimburse the customer because the action violates the policies of our company. In addition, will inform the customer that I would adjust the amount in the sales discount. 

4. References:

A large, prospective client calls you and asks about a competitor’s reputation. One of your long time customers had a very bad experience with this competitor. What information do you share with the prospect? How do you respond to the prospect call? 

The issue in this scenario is, would it be ethical for me to badmouth a competitor and then sit back and not expect a backlash? To prevent such a situation from happening, where we would not be on good terms because of my decision, I would have to give the client some information that is neutral and inform them that personal biases do not come into play. Alternatively, I would tell the client that I do not have any information about the competitor. Additionally, it would be ill of me to talk to the client about the experience of my old time customer. I would also suggest checking out with my old time customer and see if he/she would talk with the client. 

5. Gratuities: 

A customer has a large sailing yacht on a vessel that your company will be discharging. The customer is present and is watching the off-loading operation.

The five stevedores you manage pull off a very tricky maneuver, safely transferring the yacht to the trailer. The customer is elated, and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a big wad of $50 bills. What do you do?

The ethical dilemma in this situation is whether it would be wrong or right to take the gift. This is a special case because different companies have different policies on gratuities and gifts. The clients do not often have the knowledge of such policies. In this case I would accept the gift if it is not unethical. However, if company policies do not allow, I would decline the offer. 

6. Conflict of Interest: 

As department manager, you are hosting an informal celebration in the office. The food budget is $200. Your next door neighbor has just started her own catering business and asks to supply the food. Since she is just starting out, she’ll do it at cost and provide extra items at no charge. What might you want to consider?

The ethical dilemma in this scenario is whether the department manager should discuss with the department or just take the neighbor’s services without informing departmental members. Some of the considerations that I would make would be: What would I get for $200.00 what would be the quality of food that she will serve? Can she handle the job? How does her deal compare to those of other caterers? The best way to deal with this would be to find answers to these questions and then make a decision from the research.