On March 15, Jeff Blake, Kimland Media’s sales  director, stopped by Sami Landon’s cubicle. “Sami, I’ve been reviewing your accounts, and they aren’t  generating as much revenue as we had hoped. If you want to achieve your quota for the quarter, you’re  going to have to bump it up a bit.”

Sami thought for a few minutes about how she might increase her revenue pool. She could sign  some new customers, but she didn’t have any strong leads, and developing the ones she had would  take too much time. She couldn’t create new banner ads for her current customers. Then it dawned on  her: She could increase her variable revenue through increased click-through counts on her existing  banner ads.

Sami got on the phone and called her friends and family members. “I need a small favor. Would  you go to www.tearosegarden.com and look for the Bohlander ad? Then just click through the ad as  many times as you can.”

Required

a. Was it ethical for Sami to enlist the help of friends and family to drive up the number of clickthroughs to Bohlander’s website? Why or why not?

b. Would your answer to part (a) change if Sami’s friends and family members actually made a purchase from Bohlander? Why or why not?

c. What impact did Sami’s actions have on Bohlander Botanicals?