Ben is a sales team leader at a large chain of tire stores. The company is aggressive
Question:
Ben is a sales team leader at a large chain of tire stores. The company is aggressive and is opening new stores every month. Ben is very ambitious and sees plenty of opportunities to move up in the organization—especially if he is able to make a name for himself as a star salesman. As with any retail organization, Ben's company is driven by sales, and it is constantly experimenting with new sales campaigns and incentive programs for its salespeople. Ben didn't expect this morning's sales meeting to be any different—a new incentive tied to a new campaign, supported by a big media campaign in the local area. Ben's boss, John, didn't waste any time in getting to the point of the meeting: "OK guys, I have some big news. Rather than simply negotiating short-term incentives on specific brands to generate sales, the company has signed an exclusive contract with Benfield Tires to take every tire produced in the new Voyager line. That exclusive contract comes with a huge discount based on serious volume. In other words, the more tires we sell, the more money we'll make—and I'm talking about good money for the company and very good bonus money for you—so put everybody into these tires. If we do well in this first contract with Benfield, there could be other exclusives down the road. This could be the beginning of something big for us." John then laid out the details of the sales incentive and showed Ben and his fellow team leaders how they could earn thousands of dollars in bonuses over the next couple of months if they pushed the new Benfield Voyagers. Ben could certainly use the money, but he was concerned about pushing a new tire model so aggressively when it was an unknown in the marketplace. He decided to talk to their most experienced tire mechanic, Rick. Rick had worked for the company for over 25 years—so long that many of the younger guys joked that he either had tire rubber in his veins or had apprenticed on Henry Ford's Model T. "So, Rick, what do you think about these new Benfi eld Voyagers?" asked Ben. "Are they really such a good deal for our customers, or are they just a moneymaker for us?" Rick was very direct in his response: "I took a look at some of the specs on them, and they don't look good. I think Benfield is sacrificing quality to cut costs. By the standards of some of our other suppliers, these tires would qualify as 'seconds'—and pretty bad ones too. You couldn't pay me to put them on my car—they're good for 15,000 miles at the most. We're taking a big risk promoting these tires as our top model."
QUESTIONS 1. If Ben decides to raise concerns about the product quality of the Benfield Voyagers, he will become a whistle-blower. The difference between internal and external whistle-blowing is explained on page 134. Which approach should Ben follow if he does decide to raise his concerns?
2. The five conditions that must exist for whistle-blowing to be ethical are outlined on page 134. Has Rick given Ben enough information to be concerned about the Benfield Voyagers?
3. What should Ben do now?
if an employee's personal value system prompts him or her to speak out on the misconduct, the employee immediately takes on the role of a whistle-blower.
Internal Whistle-Blowing An employee discovers corporate misconduct and brings it to the attention of his or her supervisor, who then follows established procedures to address the misconduct within the organization.
External Whistle-Blowing An employee discovering corporate misconduct and choosing to bring it to the attention of law enforcement agencies and/or the media.
WHEN IS WHISTLE-BLOWING ETHICAL? Whistle-blowing is appropriate—ethical—under fi ve conditions:1 1. When the company, through a product or decision, will cause serious and considerable harm to the public (as consumers or bystanders) or break existing laws, the employee should report the organization. 2. When the employee identifies a serious threat of harm, he or she should report it and state his or her moral concern. 3. When the employee's immediate supervisor does not act, the employee should exhaust the internal procedures and chain of command to the board of directors.
4. The employee must have documented evidence that is convincing to a reasonable, impartial observer that his or her view of the situation is accurate and evidence that the firm's practice, product, or policy seriously threatens and puts in danger the public or product user. 5. The employee must have valid reasons to believe that revealing the wrongdoing to the public will result in the changes necessary to remedy the situation. The chance of succeeding must be equal to the risk and danger the employee takes to blow the whistle.
Please cite or reference thanks a lot.
Vector Mechanics for Engineers Statics and Dynamics
ISBN: 978-0073398242
11th edition
Authors: Ferdinand Beer, E. Russell Johnston Jr., David Mazurek, Phillip Cornwell, Brian Self