Problem
"For a media startup, this company is doing surprisingly well" Arthur said to Joe. They were waiting in the client's lobby, preparing to close an employee benefits deal. "Not that surprising, considering the services they provide," Joe laughed. Arthur returned a confused look, "What do you mean?" Joe chuckled. "You don't know?" "No, I don't," Arthur said uncertainly. They produce adult entertainment for hotels. Pay-for view stuff" "Oh." Arthur didn't know what to say. He avoided adult entertainment himself, and he had some strong feelings about the industry, especially the way it tended to objectify women. 'It's all pretty mild." Joe assured him, "Just soft porn. Does your company have a problem with that?" Cautiously, Arthur replied, "I don't know if my company has a problem with it, but I do." Arthur was two years into his first job with a large insurance and financial services firm. As an account executive, he marketed and sold his company's products to intermediaries, including retirement plan advisors and employee benefits consultants, like Joe. After a sale, Arthur would stay with the account to provide management and administrative services for the client.
So far, Arthur had mostly been assigned "C" relationships, clients the senior account executives viewed as not worth their time. Joe was one of those "C" relationships, an intermediary with whom they had limited business. Arthur's job was to change that. But his skittishness in the lobby had clearly irritated Joe. "You can walk out now if you don't want my business," he told Arthur. "We want to do business with you, Joe," Arthur insisted. "I just might want to talk with my supervisor about this particular client." That's when the HR director appeared and invited them into the conference room. Walking the halls, Arthur felt sick to his stomach. He excused him self to the restroom to collect his thoughts. Immediately he noticed that the pictures on the bathroom walls were of nude women. He supposed these still frames could be considered art by some. Could the actual pay-for-view media be much worse? Once the meeting began, everything moved quickly. They reviewed the agreements Arthur had drawn up, and the client signed where requested. Joe looked relieved. "See, that wasn't so bad" he joked as they left the building. Arthur smiled and thanked him for the sale. But on the drive back to his office, Arthur's thoughts raced. Could he really take commissions from a company whose products were in opposition to his values? Even in the pornography industry, workers deserve employee benefits, he told himself. He didn't want to burden anyone with his personal hang-up. And he didn't want to lose out on future deals with Joe.
What Happened
In the opening story, Arthur had just signed a deal with a company he did not want to work with, based on his personal beliefs. But he didn't want to offend anyone or lose valuable business for his firm. Back at the office, Arthur immediately found his manager. He explained what had just happened and asked if there was any sort of policy for the situation. To the manager's knowledge, there were no industry restrictions related to clients. Arthur let her know that supporting a pornography company presented a difficulty for him, personally, and asked for help in exploring some alternatives. Arthur also told the manager that he did not know how he felt about being paid on the account once it funded. To Arthur's relief, the manager did not dismiss his concerns. "I understand how this could be uncomfortable, especially if you have to go back there to manage the account," she said. "Let me give this some thought and get back with you" Later that day, the manager returned to propose a solution. "We are going to move ahead and submit the new business application and agreement to compliance," she said. "So you don't feel compromised, I will assign the client to another account manager today! She explained further that she would be crediting Arthur for the new business sale, seeing as he had done the work and should be compensated for it. Fresh out of school, with a new baby and wife at home, Arthur certainly appreciated the bonus. He hesitantly agreed to be paid. Years later, when Arthur shared this story with us, he was still questioning his decision to accept payment.
Task
A. Do you agree or not with the decisions presented in the What Happened section? Why? Why not?
B. What else could the actor in the story have done? write in 4 paras.