Ben and Doug Scenario A store manager, Ben McMullen, wanted to sell 5 units of a product to his friend. At that time, there were no units in stock because the company does not keep this product in its inventory, and it typically takes 5-7 days to have it delivered. Not only did Ben offer his friend a discount, he promised to try to get the product to him as soon as possible. Ben walked onto the display floor to check with the sales associates. Ben discovered that Doug, one of the sales associates, had sold 12 units of the product to a customer the day before. Doug explained that the customer needed the product as soon as possible but agreed to wait the 5-7 days because there were no better options. However, the manufacturer had just called him to let him know they would be able to fill the order early because another store happened to cancel their order of exactly 12 units. Those 12 units were then expected to be delivered within the next hour. Before Doug could inform the customer of the good news, Ben told him to wait but did not provide any more details at that time. Within 20 minutes, Ben's friend arrived. Ben brought the friend to the cash register and asked Doug to sell the friend 5 units of the product. Ben then turned to his friend and said, "Doug here will ring you. If you want to wait here, they should arrive in about a half hour." Doug, who was shocked at what he had been told to do, asked to speak to Ben in private. They both went inside Ben's office and closed the door. "This isn't right, Ben," Doug said. "Those units belong to the customer who paid for them yesterday. They bought them first, so they should receive them first. No one should get preferential treatment just because they know the store manager." "First off, Doug," Ben explained, "until that product leaves our store or delivery trucks, it belongs to our company—not to your customers, not even to my friend. What we do with our product is left to our discretion. Did your customer agree to wait 5-7 days for the product to be delivered or did they not?" Frustrated, Doug replied, "Yes, they did—reluctantly—but they are also losing money every day that their project is delayed. They only agreed to that wait time because there were no other options in our area to get the product sooner. Also, I told them 5-7 days is a standard timeframe, but sometimes the manufacturer can deliver early." "Well, I don't see what the problem is here," said Ben. "If you reorder 5 additional units right now, they will probably arrive in a few days anyhow. You could even call your customers and let them know they can pick up half of their shipment today. That should be good news for them, right?" "It would be better news if they could pick up their entire order," Doug said. "What about your friend? Does he absolutely need these units today? Is he losing money on a project? I still think the units should go to the customer, not him." © 2020 Walden University Page 2 of 2 "Those questions are irrelevant and none of your business," Ben replied, sounding annoyed. "And, if you want to make that kind of decision, then you are more than welcome to when you become a store manager. In the meantime, if I say sell the 5 units to that person who is standing out there right now, then that's what you are going to do." As Doug walked back to the register, he thought about what he should do. The employee handbook had a page on how employees were expected to act ethically, but all Doug remembered from that were behavioral guidelines on what not to do, such as taking money from the cash register, stealing product, or reporting false hours on a timesheet. He started to question: Was this even a matter of ethics or just an example of how business work? The sign out front said, "We place customers first," but he did not feel that way in the moment. Doug considered calling the district manager, but he decided not to because it could possibly create more problems. He knew the district manager would ask him one question that he would have a difficult time answering because he did not know the answer: If Ben's friend could not purchase the product today, would he have made the purchase? Even with the discount, the store and organization as a whole still generated a profit. That profit led to weekly bonuses for the sales associates and quarterly bonuses for the managers. Feeling defeated, Doug completed the transaction for Ben's friend and then called the manufacturer to order 5 additional units.

Explain the role that power played in this scenario.