Question

You are leading your organization's effort to purchase and install new accounting software. The project will cost an estimated $3 million, and over the past few months, you have had meetings with several potential vendors to evaluate their offerings and capabilities. It is early March, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament is underway. You receive a phone call from one of the sales reps you met with recently. He has two tickets to the second-round games next weekend and wants to give them to you. Can you accept this offer without raising any concerns? How can you turn down this offer without offending the sales rep? Would accepting the offer from the sales rep obligate you in any way? Would you feel compelled to share information with him about where his firm stands in the competition for your business? Would you provide him with any insights about how his firm could make its bid more attractive? Would you be more inclined to spend additional time interacting with him to better understand his firm's products and services?

Answer 1

Accepting the offer from the sales rep could raise ethical concerns, as it may appear that you are accepting a bribe in exchange for favoritism in the selection process. If you choose to turn down the offer, you should be polite but firm. You could tell the sales rep that you appreciate the offer, but you feel it would be inappropriate to accept such a gift in light of your current purchasing process. You should also make it clear that accepting the offer would not obligate you to share any information or insights about the competition or the selection process. Additionally, you should not feel compelled to spend additional time interacting with the sales rep in order to gain insights into the firm's products and services.