Are Your Ethics for Sale?

Does your company have an ethics policy? Do you know what it is, and perhaps more importantly, does your company and its employees understand and follow it?


Recently, I became aware of a situation at a company who prides themselves on having a very strict policy about receiving gifts, at least on paper, and it played out pretty much like this:


A Sales Rep with Company A calls a Buyer at company B and invites him to attend a trade show in New York over the weekend. "It will be fun, and we'll get to know each other better" says the Rep; my wife will be there and we'll do the town after the trade show. We'll pick up all of your expenses so it will just be a huge benefit for your company says the Sales Rep. 


The Buyer asks to think about the offer for a bit. "Yes" he says to himself, "this could be a fun trip, spending the weekend in NY with this guy and his wife, and it's not like my company is out any money". "The trade show, however, will be a drag. No one here was planning to attend it in the first place, but if I show up, the trip is business, right?" "Maybe I can bring my wife since he is bringing his?"


The Buyer is getting more and more excited about the upcoming trip, convincing himself that this is a good idea, and the more excited he gets, the more he starts talking about it at work, until, of course, his boss finds out and asks how this trip stands up to Company B's ethics policy.


After a bit of thought, the Buyer says, "well, you know, it is a trade show and it's not like our company is out any money". "True" says the boss, "but don't you think our company would have made arrangements to attend this trade show if we had thought is was worth attending, and why are your wives attending?". In a few short words, the trip fell apart.


Conducting business in an ethical vacuum is easy because one can always find excuses for why you are doing the right thing. Conducting business ethically, with no outside influences impacting decision making is much harder.


Where along the ethical line does your company find itself?