Project
The ethical standards violated
In the first case involving a senior executive and her spouse, the executive failed to disclose her conflict of interest to the company. A conflict of interest occurs when personal employee interests interfere with the best interests of the company as well as the performance of duties by an employee. It is a requirement for all employees to disclose their conflict of interest to the company in a written document and submit it to the human resource manager (Koehn, 2002, p. 226). The manager avails this information to the management/board of directors before carrying out any transaction or activity that the employee in question is affected.
In this case, the executive’s spouse had not disclosed her financial interest in Government Allies hence a violation of business ethics. Consequently, she strongly advocated for the acquisition of the Government Allies. She was also deceiving the ECG fraternity since her efforts were not entirely for the interest of the company but also for her gain since the management was not aware of her ‘hidden agenda’. In dealing with this case, the leadership and the Ethics Review Committee may choose one of the following two options: one, they may terminate her service to the company because she was not honest in availing her details to the management. Honesty is an essential aspect for all employees in a company. The other option would be for the employee to sign a Conflict of Interest form disclosing any potential conflict of interest to avoid a similar occurrence in the future.
In the second case, the ECG team member’s relationship with the two current executives at X TelCo is unethical because it incorporates unacceptable standards of business operations. This applies to all the parties-the ECG employee and the two executives. The ECG employee act was outside the legal framework of the company besides its supposed benefits to the firm. On the other hand, the two executives of the X TelCo act was a breach of competitive bidding law. In competitive bidding, all potential bidders must receive the same information or rather details for the bidding process (Cooter & Ulen, 1988, p.65) and providing their former coworker, the ECG team member, with extra information about the bidding process, was not only unfair to the other potential bidders but also corrupt.
It could lead to the dismissal of the ECG from the bid putting the firm at the losing end-it would not secure the contract and this would bring a negative influence on the IPO. This could have been a blow to the firm. The ECG employee promoting the firm’s capability of winning the bid was putting the firm’s reputation at stake. According to Smith, an organization should obtain useful information in a legal manner rather than having an individual to use mischievous ways in obtaining the required information (1997, p.102). Such activities are unethical and the management should deal with such cases accordingly. The leadership and the Ethics Review Committee should summon the employee in question and explain the possible danger that he is putting the company into. They should give him a warning and if a similar case reoccurs, they should not hesitate to terminate his services to the company. The need to take sanction measures upon such an individual is necessary. High ethical standards are essential to maintain the competitive advantage and confidence of an organization’s employees.
Reference List
Cooter, R., & Ullen, T. (1988). Law and Economics. New York: Harper Collins.
Koehn, D. (2002). The Blackwell Guide to Business Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell.
Smith, N. (1997). Strong Hermeneutics: Contingency and Moral Identity. London: Routledge.