Is 375 - Ethics Assignment

YUSUFCAN OZDOGAN

IS 375 - Ethics Assignment

Tom is a department manager working in a chemical process unit. He is responsible for the maintenance and safety of the plant. He convinced the project designer to replace the old valves with the new valves which were less expensive and in higher quality. After the new valves were purchased, the salesman of the new valves, Jim, visited Tom and invited him to fishing trip to South America. In this case, we will discuss whether Tom should accept Jim's offer?

In some cases, accepting gifts from customers may be appropriate as a business strategy; however, it may also be inappropriate in terms of business ethics and may be considered as a bribe. The difference between the appropriate and inappropriate behavior of accepting gifts is very important and must be defined clearly in order to judge without doubt.

The most important thing drawing the attention in this case is that Jim invites Tom after the new valves have already been purchased. To understand this, we must define in which conditions the bribe is defined bribe. United States of Government Ethics (OGE) defines the bribery laws as "Under the bribery law, at 18 U.S.C. § 201(b), an executive branch employee may not demand, seek, receive, accept or agree to accept anything of value "in return for being influenced in the performance of any official act." At this point, the influence on the performance of the employee is significant. If Tom accepted the invitation, Jim's offer would not be considered as a bribe because his decision on replacing the valves was not affected by the invitation. Conversely, If Jim made the offer before Tom's decision, his behavior would be obviously bribe and Tom should not accept the offer even if he thinks the new valves are better to use in the company. Therefore, Jim's offer may not be considered as bribe, but Tom's acceptance may be considered as an unethical behavior.

There are a couple of scenarios that may be given for this case. First, Jim's invitation to Tom may be considered as an innocent behavior that may cause a good friendship between each other. Conversely, Tom's acceptance of fishing trip may be considered as a pre-gift of the following purchases. Jim may try to guarantee that Tom will purchase the new valves from his company in the future. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) clarifies these unlike situations in a simple way: "Engineers shall not accept commissions or allowances, directly or indirectly, from contractors or other parties dealing with clients or employers of the engineer in connection with work for which the engineer is responsible" (Section iii.5b). American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) also states that "Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and