1 International Constructors, a U.S. firm, is interested in obtaining the contract for the construction of a major industrial facility to be located in a foreign country. The contractor’s project manager requested the solicitation documents and investigated the procedure that was to be used for the selection of the construction contractor for the project. He determined that the mayor of the city in which the project is to be constructed was on the Board of Directors of the company planning to build the facility. Wanting to ensure receipt of the construction contract, International Constructors’ project manager invited the mayor to lunch and promised to make a large contribution to the mayor’s re-election campaign if International Constructors received the construction contract.

• Were the actions of International Constructors’ project manager ethical? Were they lawful?

• How would you have handled the situation?