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BTC Business Technology Curriculum |
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Scenarios for Business Ethics: Situation One: Your company, like many others, maintains a toll-free 800 line for customers and outside sales associates. In this situation you are an inside salesperson for the company and receive many calls using this line. Your best friend, John, from College has just purchased a small convenience store in a remote Idaho town. The previous owner has done business with your company in the past using the 800 line calling once a year just before the summer season begins, and places a small order. Now that John has purchased the business, he calls you using the 800 number and "chats" with you once a month. John is a customer, however, he only has business purposes for his calls once a year. You also realize that the company pays for each incoming call.
You work for a small law office as a bookkeeper. The managing attorney likes to keep current with the latest software, which includes web design software. You would like to use the software at home for your family website and would also like to learn the software to help keep the office web site more current. Your assistant offers to make a copy of the software so that you can use it at home. You do know that the software is a single-user license. You rationalize that the software is not used at night by the office, so that it is OK if you use it at home.
You work as a receptionist at a Credit Reporting Agency. Like all employees of the company you have access to the credit reporting database that is shared by all member merchants of the reporting agency. In the agreement with your member merchants, they have signed agreements regarding the database of information outlining the use of the personal information contained in the Agencies Database. Your best friend Bill, has just met a new girlfriend. He very much wants to marry this new woman and plans on an early wedding. Bill has excellent credit and is worried about his future wife's financial situation. He has asked you to do a credit check on her and return the results to him.
You work as a Vice President for overseas operations for a large multinational company. You have a plans to build a new plant in a third world country. Your local representative has informed you that in order to start construction, the government building inspector has requested a bribe to be paid to him personally. You have investigated the situation and find that bribes are not perceived the same in that country as in the United States, and without the bribe you cannot build. There is no enforcement agency to which to make a complain. You must pay the bribe or pull out of the country and not build your new plant.
You are the cashier for Training company. The company keeps a petty cash fund that is used for taxi fares to and from the airport for guest speakers that come in for training sessions. On day you forgot your wallet at home and needed some cash for your lunch. You consider borrowing five dollars from the petty cash fund and leaving an IOU. You feel you can bring in the cash tomorrow and pay it back.
You are the newest employee at a grocery store owned by three people. Two of the owners are not involved in the daily activities of the store, and the third one acts as store manager as well as part manager. Most of your contact is with the store manager, but you are aware that the other two owners share equally in all profits of the company. You have been noticing that refund checks that come into the office for refunds from suppliers are not deposited into the company account, but are deposited into the store manager's personal account. Should you tell someone? After all he is one of the owners.
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