Dealing with Ethical Issues

The following are common situations faced by management and employees which can challenge ethical boundaries:

Situation No. 1 - The employee responsible for procurement of suppliers, is personally providing consulting services to one of the company's key suppliers, through a private consulting firm that the employee owns and operates. There is a conflict of interest clause in the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that requires disclosure of all conflicts - actual or perceived - to the compliance department. There is no record of such disclosure in the employee's human resources file.

Situation No. 2 - The procurement manager appears to have a particularly close relationship with several of the company's suppliers. Furthermore, the procurement manager's lifestyle appears to exceed his/her known income level, including rumours that he/she recently renovated their home.

Working in your assigned group, discuss the following:

If confronted with these scenarios, what steps, if any, should be taken by the employee who discovers these situations and the company?