Ria Dawson is the Toronto based VP Finance of King Foods Inc., a rapidly growing manufacturer and marketer of Polish food products. Dawson is currently considering the purchase of a new cost management system for use by each of its six manufacturing plants and its many manufacturing personnel. There are currently four competitive bids being considered by Dawson.

Alphanet is one of the four competitive bids and is a very aggressive software developer. It views King Foods as a target of opportunity. Every six months Alphanet has a three day-users conference in a Caribbean location. Each conference has substantial time set aside for "rest and recreation". Alphanet offers Dawson an all-expenses paid trip to the Cayman Islands. Dawson accepts the offer, believing that it will be useful to talk to other users of Alphanet software. She is especially looking forward to the visits as she has relatives that live on the Cayman Islands.

Before leaving, Dawson receives a visit from the president of King Foods, Robert Glasper. The president shows Dawson an anonymous letter sent to him. It argues that Alphanet is receiving unfair treatment in the King Foods software decision-making process. The letter specifically mentions Dawson's upcoming all-expenses-paid visit to the Cayman Islands during January. Dawson is deeply offended. She says that she has made no decision on the successful bidder and believes she is very capable of making a software choice on the merits of each bidder's product. King Foods does not have a formal written code of conduct.

Required:

Do you think Dawson faces an ethical problem regarding the forthcoming visit to Alphanet's users' group meeting? Explain.

Should King Foods allow executives to attend user's meeting while negotiating with other vendors about a purchase decision?

List the "Pros" and "Cons" of Dawson attending the user meeting.

If King Foods says yes to Dawson's attendance, what conditions could the president of King Foods impose?