Question

Becky Knauer recently resigned from her position as controller for Shamalay Automotive, a small, struggling foreign car dealer in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Becky has just started a new job as the controller for Mueller Imports, a much larger dealer for the same car manufacturer. Demand for this particular make of car is exploding, and the manufacturer cannot produce enough to satisfy demand. The manufacturer’s regional sales managers are each given a certain number of cars. Each sales manager then decides how to divide the cars among the independently owned dealerships in the region. Because of the high demand for these cars, dealerships all want to receive as many cars as they can from the regional sales manager.

Becky’s former employer, Shamalay Automotive, receives only about 25 cars each month. Consequently, Shamalay is not very profitable.
Becky is surprised to learn that her new employer, Mueller Imports, receives more than 200 cars each month. Becky soon gets another surprise. Every couple of months, a local jeweler bills the dealer $5,000 for "miscellaneous services." Franz Mueller, the owner of the dealership, personally approves payment of these invoices, noting that each invoice is a "selling expense." From casual conversations with a salesperson, Becky learns that Mueller frequently gives Rolex watches to the manufacturer’s regional sales manager and other sales executives. Before talking to anyone about this, Becky decides to work through her ethical dilemma. Put yourself in Becky’s place.
Requirements
1. What is the ethical issue?
2. What are your options?
3. What are the possible consequences?
4. What should you do?

Answer 1

1. The ethical issue here is that Becky Knauer's new boss usually bribes the sales manager of a car dealership to get more quota of cars. He is doing this because the car is in high demand. The higher his quota, the higher the number of cars. The higher the number of cars, the more of them he can sell. The more he can sell, the higher the profits.

Here is the dilemma.

First, the action of Becky's boss is wrong, but it is also helping to keep the business afloat thus translating to securing her job and probably sustaining the pay she is receiving. We know this because Becky's former employer who receives just 25 cars a month is not very profitable.

Becky as the Controller, however, is in charge of Compliance. The actions of her boss are unethical. She has to flag such issues and report to him.

Franz is the owner of the dealership and is on the top of the 'food chain'. There is no one else within the organisational structure to report the matter to. He is supposed to lead by example. He, as the owner of the organisation, however, is leading with a bad example because other sales personnel know about these shady transactions.

2. Becky's options are as follows:

A. If she is too scared to confront her boss, she can decide to resign. She would have lost her job. There is no guarantee she will get another and the unethical practices will continue.

B. She can raise the issue with her boss and point out the dangers of continuing in such practice. By doing this, she is ruling out the possibility that he somehow is unaware of the dangers of his actions. In raising the matter with her boss, she must do this in black and white.

The above decision can go either left or right.

Right means that her boss comes to understand the import of his actions and makes amends. Left means, he gets jittery and fires her.

3. As stated above, Franz may fire Becky if she flags his actions.

If this happens, she can take the matter to the State of New Jersy Motor Commission and possibly sue Franz for wrongful dismissal.

Cheers!