George is Kate's boss at RIS. Kate has returned from a business trip and there is an email exchange between them about Kate's travel expenses. She was treated to a rather luxurious trip by a company, which raises the question of objectivity. The case is set out in three emails between Kate and her boss. Subject: Request for Reimbursement for WWEC Trip To: George From: Kate RIS Reimbursement Request Name: Kate Date of Trip: 14.9.2013 - 17.9.2013 Reason for Trip: Travel to corporate headquarters of World Wide Entertainment Corp to attend annual conference and conduct research and update investment recommendation on WWEC Personal Car Mileage: 25 mile to/from airport Parking: \$125 parking at airport (5 days) Airfare: Covered Hotel: Covered Meals: $12.50 breakfast at airport, receipt attached, remainder covered Kate: I understand that you visited the corporate headquarters of WWEC to attend their annual meeting and gather information for your research on the company. I received your request for reimbursement form for your trip and I am a bit confused. WWEC headquarters is on the other side of the country and I know you were gone several days, but I see a request for parking and a minimal amount for meals. You did not request anything for hotel or airfare. It says "covered" on the form? Did you cover those expenses personally for some reason? Let me know before I approve the reimbursement request. Thanks, George Subject: Re: Re: Request for Reimbursement for WWEC Trip To: George From: Kate Hi George! No, I definitely did not cover the hotel and airfare myself! WWEC picked up those expenses for all the analysts that attended the meeting. It is a good thing, too, as they bought me a first class ticket and put us all up at a luxury resort nearby. I double checked and WWEC paid these expenses for all the analysts, not just me, so there was no favoritism. The trip was excellent by the way, I got a lot of good insight that will enhance my research. As an added bonus, on Saturday, the company held a golf outing (I shot an 81!!) and a sit-down dinner. I got to talk with a lot of the company's middle management and even meet some of WWEC's celebrity employees. (They are more more attractive than they are on TV or in their movies!) I had to stay an extra night but it was on the weekend and WWEC paid for it, so I did not miss work and it did not cost RIS anything. I look forward to showing you my final research report. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks! Kate 5 Now that you have applied the Ethical Decision-Making Framework to this Case, it is time to determine the appropriate next steps. How should George respond to Kate? "Kate, thanks for clarifying. But you should not have made the trip to WWEC headquarters." "Kate, thanks for clarifying. Because you fully disclosed the fact that WWEC covered the trip to me, there is no problem with WWEC covering your expenses." "Kate, thanks for clarifying. See if you can find out from WWEC the cost of your hotel and airfare for the trip because I want RIS to cover those expenses