WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Britt Smith was recently hired by a large architecture and engineering firm as an assistant account manager in the government contracts division. The firm specializes in building hospitals, schools and other large-scale projects. Britt is excited to learn that she will be part of the marketing team that presents the firm's proposals to the clients. In this case the clients are primarily federal and state governmental agencies. The presentations are elaborate, often costing $50,000 or more to prepare.
But the projects can be worth millions to the firm, so the investment is worth it. The firm has a solid record for building quality projects, on time, and the majority of the time within budget. The firm also has an impressive track record, being awarded government contracts an incredible 85 percent of the time. No other firm in the industry comes close to this record. The first project Britt is assigned to is an enormous project to design a new military hospital complex. The team leader, Brian Jenkins, has stressed how crucial it is for the firm to land this contract. He hints that if the team is successful the members will be well compensated.
In fact, Britt heard that the members of the winning team for the last contract this size each received a $10,000 bonus. Not long after the project commences, Brian invites Britt to have lunch so they can get to know each other better. During lunch, a man approaches Brian and asks if he has received the information. The man says that he knows that with this information the firm is a sure winner. He also reminds Brian that he is due a bonus for getting such crucial information. Brian comes back and explains that the man was George Miller who was the former head of the division awarding the hospital contract. George had been helping Brian by talking to the decision team and getting information that was relevant to the bid. Brian explained that the information George gathered about the internal discussions among the buying team would be what made their proposal a clear winner.
This was obviously good news for the team since a winning bid meant bonuses were almost assured. After lunch Britt looked at the firm's ethics manual that she had been given just last week at a new employee orientation. Lobbying without disclosure and paying for insider information were clearly discussed as unethical practices. Yet Brian seemed perfectly comfortable discussing George's role with Britt. ritt decides she should check with another team member about the use of insider information, so she asks Sue Garcia. Sue tells Britt that this kind of thing happens all the time. She jokes that most of the people in the division had at one time or another worked for the government.
They all still knew people in the various agencies. As far as Sue was concerned, friends will talk and that is not illegal, so there was no problem. It was a win-win situation: the government got their building, the firm got their funding, and the employees got their bonuses. Britt realizes that with her overdue credit card bill and her needed car repairs, the bonus money would really help out. Besides she is the most junior member of the team. If all the others are comfortable with this practice, why should she be concerned? After, all it is just friends talking, isn't it?
Questions
1. Using the framework for ethical decision making presented in the chapter (Exhibit 3.6), analyze Britt's dilemma. Should she go to the company's ethics officer and report what she knows about the use of insider information?
2. As the most junior member of the team, do you feel that Britt has less of an ethical duty to report the actions of the team than more senior members of the team do? Why or why not?
3. If you were the ethics officer for this firm would you address the belief among employees that it is acceptable to discuss a pending proposal with members of the decision team? If so, how? If you would not discuss this belief, why not?