Mary and Bill are buyers for a large retail company. Mary finds out that Bill is
ID: 399787 • Letter: M
Question
Mary and Bill are buyers for a large retail company. Mary finds out that Bill is secretly receiving small amounts of cash from grateful sellers. She knows that such actions are strictly against company rules and can lead to immediate termination. She also knows that Bill is viewed by the regional manager as his best sales representative. He is also loved by the rest of the sales representatives. She is concerned that if she does nothing and Bill gets caught, she could be terminated with him. She is also concerned that if she says anything, the regional manager will retaliate. Finally, she is worried that the rest of the sales representatives will shun her if she blows the whistle on Bill.
Questions: What, if any, ethical principles are involved in this case? What are Mary’s options?
Explanation / Answer
Ethical principles involved here are Honesty, Integrity, Loyalty, and Fairness. Mary should report it to the manager, no matter how other employees respond to it. Compliance is a responsibility of each and every employee in the organization. Thus, Mary must follow the ethics and report it to the manager. She can always escalate it to the internal compliance authorities if she is misbehaved or deprived of anything just because she was a whistle blower.