Tom Chong has two dilemmas that he needs to resolve. One of these issues concerns a discussion with the mayor of Klang related to expansion of Jextra retail stores which are based in Hong Kong. This is because Chong has observed Klang as a potential area for investments.
The other issue concerns ArifAlam’s performance. The following provides an elaborate discussion on the role of the codes of conduct of Jextra Retail Stores in the process of resolving the mentioned issues.
In the first instance, it is clear that ArifAlam is remarkably successful in procurement. However, his success is behind some suspected uncouth practices that are against the established codes of conduct at Jextra. ArifAlam is perceived to be receiving gifts from suppliers in order to win them.
This is against the expectations of the retail store which results in violation of the principle of utmost good faith. It is stipulated in the company’s codes of ethical conduct that issuance of any gifts; entertainment or any other form of benefits should be in line with the company’s policy.
Therefore, it can be deduced that in case the move of Arif Alarm to give gifts to the suppliers is not appropriate, then Tom Chong will have an upper hand in winning an investigation over him.
Secondly, the mayor wants Tom Chong to provide assistance in the development of a new school in order to allow land zoning to be carried out quickly in Klang. However, he later learns that a sister to the mayor is in the school’s board thus can influence the decision to solicit for help from Jextra Retail Stores in order to construct the new primary school.
Chong later found out that there were earlier plans to put up a flyover even before they had shown interest in investing, an act motivated by selfish interests. Under Jextra’s codes of conduct, it is clear that no benefits should be derived by third parties in the course of executing their employment obligations.
Therefore, Tom Chong is extremely cautious not to fund the construction of the flyover since the established codes of conduct bar him from such ventures.
Conflict of interest is one of the ethical issues raised by the code of conduct of Jextra. Like in many other organizations, associates at Jextra are expected to ensure that they desist from activities that might result in conflict of interest. Since Chong had a clue that Alam and his father in-law had a scheme that was against the interests of Jextra, use of the codes of ethical conduct could warrant demotion of Alam.
Moreover, Alam is the category manager of vegetables and fruits. It was also suspected that Alam was receiving some products such as coffeemakers from suppliers as bribes. Bribery is contained in the code of conducts as an offence and Chong can use this against Alam if he has substantial evidence against him.
In Jextra’s code of conduct, supervisors are expected to exercise a high sense of integrity, conclusive judgment in making decisions and should also serve as good examples to their juniors.
Chong inclines to this conduct and thus does not make any quick move in making a decision towards his competitors, as well as to the mayor’s proposal. He argues that his decision can be costly to Jextra and to himself. In conclusion, it is evident that the code of business conduct plays an extremely significant role in guiding Tom Chong’s decisions on the two issues.