Jason’s Dilemma
Jason Jones was preparing a proposal for First National Bank that had to be one of the best opportunities for him as an independent consultant. He had previously worked for Sherwood Research Company for two years, both part time and full time and had learned many of the “tricks of the trade” from that experience. He left them about nine months ago to start his own research consulting firm which included conducting custom research for clients. He knew that Sherwood Research was in bad financial shape when he left them and that situation had gotten even worse.
Two of their primary “tricks” in preparing a proposal was to put the proposal in a bound folder that made it look very expensive and professional and the other was to have very detailed set of research objectives in every proposal. Most of the other things they did were pretty standard in the research industry.
Jason knew they would be bidding on the same project and with Sherwood’s higher overhead would have to have a higher bid than his own bid. So he decided to use their “tricks” in presenting the proposal and to include an additional element they didn’t usually use-a thorough review of previous research prior to actually beginning the project.
When he went to make his presentation and turn in the proposal, Phil Sherwood was in the lobby waiting to make his company’s presentation. Although Phil was courteous, it was obvious that he was not pleased to be bidding against a previous employee. When Jason learned that he had won the bidding, he felt even worse about the situation.
Questions:
Did Jason violate any ethical standards in bidding on the project?
What could he have done differently when he learned that Phil would be bidding on the project?