Problem
Mitron is a billion-dollar computer hardware and software vendor. Anthony Frasier is a software-support analyst for Mitron's midwest field office. Anthony is on the phone with customers much of the time. He reports the customers' program bugs to Engineering, and he gives his customers software patches or workarounds directly over the phone lines, computerto-computer, whenever possible. When Anthony hears about especially difficult software problems, he takes his expertise to the customer personally. Until last year, his on-site support and occasional user training were provided as a part of the customers' maintenance contracts. That practice became so popular that it was too expensive for Mitron. They had to change the policy of free support and training, so they unbundled the support services from the maintenance contract. Now Mitron charges its customers separately for on-site support services. Mitron suffered during the past recession. Management's response to the crunch was to freeze all salaries for 18 months. Twelve months have passed, and Mitron still hurts. Some people have been laid off, and Anthony suspects that his days are numbered.
However, he knows he is still valuable to Mitron; his supervisor told him that he'd be the first to get a raise, if that were possible. One of Mitron's largest customers and one of Anthony's most important clients is the state government. Over the years, he has established a close relationship with many key state employees. The state has several sites where employees need a lot of technical help and training. The users prefer to contract with Mitron rather than to develop the expertise from within. Anthony has been working closely with Mary Coulter in the State Information Systems Office. They know each other well and have developed an enviable level of mutual trust. Yesterday, Mary called Anthony. "Anthony, I have a proposition for you to think about. I think you'll like it." "Tell me. I'm especially ready for good news." "State needs someone at the Pastoria site to help out with their new system. It's the new PAX 3355 system your people installed this summer, and they need support and training in the worst way. It's right up your alley. Want to do it?"
"Sure. Send up the paperwork and I'll get stax'red." - - - - "Wait, you don't understand. I want you to do it, not Mitron. If we have to get you through your company, it'll take months of paperwork. And we have to pay the Mitron overhead fees, besides." "Gee, I don't know, Mary. You're asking me to do something on my own that my company pays me for. Isn't that a conflict of interest?" "Well, that depends. Your company's present policy on that really should change, don't you think? The rules on employees taking on a second job are so much more strict at Mitron than with your competitors, for example. Policies do change based on demand, after all. Remember, you guys unbundled service from maintenance. Anyhow, we want you rather than some other consultant we don't know, even if they're cheaper. You know, success at this site in Pastoria means a lot of future business to Mitron. My feeling is that they'd go along with this if we explained it to your management." "Why don't you? What's the rush? Why don't you present your case to our management?
Maybe they can hurry up the process, get you an answer in a couple of weeks." "Anthony, you don't understand. We can't wait that long. And the sooner the stem is up and running, the better it will be for the entire state. Don't forget that one of the big reasons we got this system was to reduce the delay of payment on welfare and unemployment compensation. We won't ask you for any time that would interfere with your normal work schedule. You name the hours, show up when you can, and we know you'll do the job. To make it worth your while, well pay you 20 percent above the usual consulting fee, and give you a $10,000 bonus when you're through. That's how much we would have to pay Mitron when we include its administrative overhead." Anthony said nothing. He is pleased that his reputation is so good. He is overwhelmed at the generosity of the offer. He considers it to be the chance to start up a decent nest egg in case he's laid off. He wonders at the consequences if word gets out..
Task
A. What is the ethical dilemma facing Anthony?
B. How do you believe Anthony should deal with this problem?
C. If you were in Anthony's shoes, what do you believe YOU would do?
D. Do you believe that Mary is putting undo pressure on Anthony?