Question

Your manager has emphasized to you the need for a strong financial fourth quarter. You heard rumors that a customer who contributes 20 per cent to your bottom line may be taking her business to a competitor.

Suddenly, she contacts you by telephone and invites you to attend a golf trip. Your company’s policy states that you are to say no, but this policy is seldom discussed. You even know of cases where it has been overlooked in the past.

The customer sounds impatient and wants an answer immediately. Your boss is away on holiday. Accepting this invitation may be your best chance for salvaging the relationship.

What would you do?

Answer 1

Ans) In such type of cases, it's obvious that one might fall for the trap and accept the invitation, thinking about the target that the person needs to achieve at the end of the quarter,by totally ignoring the rules and ethics of the organization.

To be honest, I would rather follow the organization protocols rather than stepping out of the box and creating an ethical misconduct.

Well, it is true that this also depends on how the organization works, if in the past such type of cases have been overlooked, than i would try to find the reasons behind the overlooking about the matter. Sometimes, imagining yourself in the managerial shoes and thinking what they would have done,might also give you a clue for your initiative. But most of the times, the manager would definitely go by the company's stated values, so even if you take the risk of accepting the invitation than you must also have the ability to create a strong ethical reason behind your misconduct.