Please answer these 5 questions. that affect good and bad business o others, suc
ID: 418058 • Letter: P
Question
Please answer these 5 questions.
that affect good and bad business o others, such as practices. firm. He sells to distributors, sometimes called wholesalers. Distributors buy in large quan- tities from various manufacturers and sell in smaller quantities to other businesses Larry Ingram, the CEO of one of Scott's best distributors, called Scott into his office some concerns he has regarding their business relationship. Ingram's company has been distributing Perfect Solutions products for over 10 years. In addition, Ingram's company has been the top seller for Perfect SolutionsExplanation / Answer
(1)
First, let us consider the position of Ingram. Ingram is feeling an extreme threat from the competitors, especially the Barber Distributing as this particular distributor is able to offer a price to the customers lower than that of Ingram. Even after knowing from Scott that Perfect Solution is offering a fixed price to both Barber and Ingram, and even to any distributor, he wants help from Perfect Solution in order to compete with Barber Distributor. In a process, he is giving threat to Scott that Ingram will change its supply source from Perfect Solutions to Dymotzue.
When it comes to Scott, he is also feeling the pressure of losing an important customer Ingram for apparently no fault of himself or Perfect Solutions. While at the same time he can get orders from alternative distributors such as Barber, Scott does not want to lose his old customer Ingram. He might even have a higher level of confidence on the Ingram as a distributor because it is not only a very loyal customer but also generating most sales for Perfect Solutions.
(2)
While it is not ethical to entertain Ingram's request in a way Scott is doing, it is very logical for Scott to look at and work out the value offered by the Perfect Solutions knowing that someone else is capable to offer the same (or similar products) at a low price. As a salesperson, I would have taken the feedback from Ingram regarding his treat for shifting supplier and discussed the matter with the concerned team at my company whether the present price that is offered can be revised or not. It is also advisable to look at the overall value transferred to the customers against the price quoted and re-negotiate the price based on that analysis. But in any case, I would not have conducted unethically by having price discrimination, false promise, or by proving unauthorized benefits for which I was not entitled.
(3)
Instead of asking for help from the supplier or giving the threat to them for shifting the supplier, Ingram should have introspected deeply into his own value chain in order to find the exact reason for which the other distributor is able to sell the same products a lower price. If I were Ingram, I would have observed and analyzed the entire business process of Ingram to find the opportunity for improvement and have re-engineered the business process in order to achieve the same margin as of present at a lower cost. I could have also explored the possibility of quantity discount possible from the supplier i.e. Perfect Solutions to realize a lower per unit cost for the products.
(4)
There are several ethical considerations in this single case. Let us first start with Scott. He is misusing company's assets by providing free samples to a 10-year old customer which he is entitled to provide to a new customer only. He is also misrepresenting things in terms of providing wrong information and commitment to delivery knowing that such a delivery is impossible. Finally, he is indulging himself in knowing other competitor's offer to his customer.
Consider the ethical consideration of Ingram now. First of all, he is putting pressure on Scott by providing threat which in itself is unethical. Second, he is clearly asking for the quoted price to Barber Distributor. Finally, he mentions that Dymotzue has already quoted a lower price to him which he is not supposed to share with anyone including the suppliers due to the confidentiality agreement signed with Dymotzue.
Considering all these aspects, we can comment that there is an air of utmost unethical practices over this case.
(5)
Both Scott and Ingram at a Level 1 of moral level i.e. Preconventional level of moral development. They are just trying to getting the things done for their own interest getting satisfied. They are not interested in the legal or ethical implication of their actions and are only interested in the short-term objective attainment. This is the reason they are vulnerable to violating the ethical duties and make unethical choices as described in the earlier part.