Read the HBR case study World Class Bull (HBR Case)

case study:

When Chris Knox, a top salesperson at Specialty Fleet Services, volunteers to go after the business of Armadillo Gas & Power, he decides to try a new approach. After all, no one else from SFS has succeeded with Dale Landry, Armadillos CFO. Knox shows up at Landrys ranch, asks to photograph his beloved bull, presents the photo as a gift to Landrys wife, and engineers several other encounters before Landry learns that Knox is anything more than a charming young man. Not long after he reveals his position at SFS, Knox wins the account. Sales VP Jeremy Silva e-mails the sales team, praising Knoxs maneuvers. But the human resources vice president thinks that Knox breached the companys ethics code. Does Knox deserve a reprimand?

Kirk O. Hanson, the executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, believes that Knox went astray not by trying to share a potential clients passion but by treating the Landrys as a means to an enddeceiving them and violating their personal space along the way.

Theres a big difference between deceiving competitors and deceiving customers, explain consultants Don Peppers and Martha Rogers. SFS needs to clarify this difference in its ethics code, apologize to Landry, and fire Silva, who demonstrated in hitting the send button that he does not understand the policies and behaviors that build shareholder value.

James Borg, a business psychologist and author, argues that Knox didnt coerce Landry into buying SFSs services but instead simply got the CFOs attention and let his persuasive techniques do the rest. Whereas coercion and manipulation satisfy the needs of only one party, persuasion is about achieving a positive outcome all aroundexactly what Knox accomplished. Armadillo got a superior product, and SFS won a new customer.

Q:

• Do you think Knox breached the company's ethics code?
• Explain your position and provide evidence to support your argument.