Looking the other way. Divide into two groups and prepare arguments for and against the following behavior: You have been sent to investigate a fraud claim made against your company by the customs [department) in one of the countries where you do business. On arrival, an officer explains that your company is being fined for underdeclaring the number of safety boots imported into the country. You notice he is wearing a pair of the "missing" boots.

In preparation for your trip you verified that all the shipment and customs paperwork was in order, and you are certain that the number of safety boots has not been underdeclared. Since your company's strategic plan features high growth expectations from this region, you are tempted to simply pay the fine and get the officer's name and address so you can send him some other samples of your company's products. However, your company's senior management team

recently returned from a strategic planning retreat in which they made a clear commitment to enforce the organization's code of ethics in all business transactions, here and abroad, even at the risk of losing short-term business. Your CEO was quoted in the company newsletter as saying: "We should use our higher moral standards as an opportunity to win customers who want to do business with a reputable organization."

So you reach into your briefcase for your copies of the customs paperwork and begin to challenge the officer's accusation of underdeclaring. Source: Inspired by Alison Maitland, "A Code to Export Better Practice," Financial Times, London (UK), January 26, 1999, p. 14.