You are about to make a major presentation to a potential Saudi Arabian partner. As you do your research, you discover that the custom in Saudi Arabia is that women are not present at any of the meetings where either the science or the financial issues are discussed. If women are present, they are not expected to take a leadership role in the presentation. Your lead market rep is a brilliant and very articulate female with a Ph.D. She has been responsible for all of the professional presentations which have been made to other potential partners. Further, her knowledge about both the product and the science behind the product is richer than anyone else's on the team. In addition, the compensation package is set so that the lead rep for any marketing effort receives a 10% bonus when a deal is sealed. However, you are afraid that if the lead market rep actually makes the presentation, given the customs about women, the deal will not be made.

In this question, the company has to work to balance the requirements of two different cultures. Leadership needs to assure that the woman gets the opportunity to have recognition (both in terms of finance and evaluation) for her work at the same time that the difference in roles that may be present in other cultures is acknowledged and respected. A key ethical question is when to push the cultural envelope and when to accede to the cultural expectations.

Options:

After brainstorming with the leadership team, you have identified four options:

1. Have the woman marketing rep make the presentation in a neutral location and explain to the Saudi Arabian clients that she is the best qualified to answer the questions. She would also attend all social events around the outreach effort.
2. Have the woman marketing rep train a male colleague to do the presentation. She would be available to answer questions but would not take the lead. She would also attend all acceptable social events around the outreach effort.
3. Have the woman marketing rep train a male colleague to do the presentation. She would be present in the country to assist with planning and debriefing, but she would not be present for any of the meetings or social events around the outreach.
4. Have the woman marketing rep make the presentation and explain to the Saudi Arabian clients that she is the best qualified to answer the questions. She would not attend any social events around the outreach effort.

The Question:

In three to four coherent paragraphs, compare and contrast your options using the Responsibility Lens. In the process, consider the following questions:

• Motive: What are the reasons that the ethical agent would choose these options?
• Universalizability: Can everyone use these reasons for acting in choosing what to do?
• Reversibility: Am I willing to have someone else use either of these reasons how they treat me (reversibility)?
• Prior Agreements: Am I treating people the way they have freely consented to be treated? Am I treating them as means to my ends or with dignity, as ends in themselves?
• General Expectations: How does this option meet the general expectations of duties in our community?