Ethics case 1:"Jail and a German Subcontractor"

Read the Ethics Case, "Jail and a German Subcontractor",on pp. 571-571

for an up-front payment of $300,000, plus monthly payments to Mann until the $2 million was fully paid. Walt questioned Mann about where the money was actually going to go, and Mann proposed that if Walt would write off or "disappear" the $2 million account, he and Walt could split the money. Mann rationalized this saying, "If we don't pay MCI, it's not really out anything. I mean, you can't steal money MCI wasn't going to get anyway, right?"7 Walt protested, but Mann countered: "You guys're cooking the books over there and you know it. Everybody cheats. That's the way the world works."8 Walt decided to think about it. It "was no worse than what MCI customers were doing to MCI, or what MCI was doing to its shareholders. Embezzlement was the legal term for Mann's proposal. But it wasn't like he was going to trick old ladies out of their savings or bash anyone over the head. It was victimless embezzlement unless you counted hustlers as victims."9 In the end, Walt decided to go for it. Walt went on to play hardball with other MCI customers. They would pay Mann and his company, Walt would make the amount owing MCI disappear, and he and Mann would split the money. At least that was how it should have worked. Ultimately, Walt found that Mann was taking more than his share. In addition, Walt had to work through others in MCI Finance, who became accomplices. Unfortunately for Walt, one of these decided to deal with Mann directly, and Walt lost control of the operation. Ultimately, between the bilked clients and the National Bank wanting its guaranty, the house of cards that Walt built came tumbling down.

and answer the following questions.

1Is this a fair law?

2If you were the Vice President, how would you ensure that the company executives and the company itself would not find themselves open to such problems again?