You are the marketing director in the eastern European region for a large British based multinational manufacturer of consumer retail products, competition from other multinationals, as well as from locally branded products, is particularly intense in home cleaners, you have a salesman in Romania who not only meets his monthly sales target of cleaners, but also exceeds them by a wide margin. it comes to your attention (from a competitor, no less) that this super salesman may be involved in some practices that are against your company’s basic ethics code, you know that these practices, like promising a small “rebate to the customer against the salesman’s commission, are common practice in Romania.

What course of action would you take?

a. Fire the salesman, he is in clear violation of the company ethics code and should be dismissed.

b. Look the other way, after all, you know that his practices are acceptable in Romania, and besides, he is producing.

c. Explain to the salesman that your corporate ethics code and the company’s global ethical standards supersede those often followed locally and he needs to bring his practices in line with company standards, even if it will cost him and the company sales.