question : what do you agree with the situation bellow ? respond to it and For your response, you must acknowledge what is presented, then, further the conversation by adding additional information that helps clarify understanding.

situation : Ethical Issue

This issue is about Becky who was a controller for a small car dealership then got the same job with a larger dealership that is under the same manufacturing company. As a make of a car is being distributed Becky notices that her old dealership only received 25 cars a month and her new dealership receives 200 cars a month. As Becky is working for her new dealership, she discovers that every few months a jewelry store sends an invoice for miscellaneous services for $5000, and the owner of the dealership, Franz, will always personally approve the payments. She will then classify them as a selling expense. Becky then discovers that Franz will often give the regional sales manager who is in charge of distributing the cars and other sales executives Rolex watches.

1. What is the ethical issue?

After reading this problem, it seems to me that the owner of the larger dealership, Franz, is buying Rolex watches with the dealership funds. The first issue is that the owner is misusing company funds and lying about what the expense is for. Which shouldnt even be an expense in the first place. The second issue is that the owner of the company is giving the manufacturers executives expensive gift which happens to present an obvious parallel between the difference in how the cars are distributed among the dealerships. This is classified as bribery which is against the law in New Jersey. This is from Franz giving the regional sales manager and other executives in the manufacturing company Rolex watches. This also sets up the ethical issue of taking revenue from the company and using it to an unfair advantage with no real expense outside of the company.

2. What are your opinions?

I think this is a huge ethical dilemma that should be reported immediately. This misuse of company funds is essentially stealing and is not the kind of company people want to support and do business with. Not to mention that bribery is a criminal offense and any connection to that type of dealings doesnt look good for anyone. To add to this, the smaller dealership is suffering from this even though they are working just as hard if not harder, and honestly.

3. What are the possible consequences?

Some of the consequence aside from making other dealerships suffer are legal. Commercial bribery in the state of New Jersey is a serious criminal offense and offenders could face a $15,000 fine and 3 to 5 years in prison. This goes for those accepting the bribe and offering the bribe. However, on the other side of this, if Becky goes to the authorities and nothing happens to the people involved, she is risking her job and could get fired.

4. What should you do?

Becky should report Franz to the authorities because what she is doing is wrong and is affecting other dealerships in the process. This is not fair for the other dealerships because they are losing profits and are suffering the most from these backroom deals. Even though reporting this could shut down the manufacturer, the smaller dealership could have a chance at recovering by switching to a more honest manufacturer. She may be risking her job but personally, I believe that doing the right thing no matter the consequence is better for your health in the long run.