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CASE DESCRIPTION (OR BACKGROUND INFORMATION) You are the CEO of Acme Corporation

Sociology

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CASE DESCRIPTION (OR BACKGROUND INFORMATION)
You are the CEO of Acme Corporation. Through informal channels (because your company
does not have a system for reporting ethics issues) you learn that your top salesperson gave a
“gift” to a customer in exchange for the largest sale your company has ever landed, record
profits for the year, and a client relationship that is expected to last a decade. Stockholders are
extremely pleased with the financial report. The “gift” was an all--expense paid trip to Hawaii for
the client’s procurement agent and his family. Many are calling the gift a kickback. The
investigation into the incident concluded that this was the only time the salesperson has done
something like this and the salesperson’s performance has always been stellar and has in fact
helped the company stay afloat in lean years. When queried as to the reasons for giving the
kickback, the salesperson indicated the following:
¢ For the first time in his career he was in danger of not meeting his sales quota and that
without his annual bonus he would not have been able to pay for an experimental drug
treatment that is savings his son’s life.
¢ Just before the final meeting with the client, his manager made the statement ‘do
whatever it takes to land this big fish’.
¢ He justified the kickback with the statement that no one was harmed by the action and
that only good came of the sale being landed.
Before making the decision to offer the kickback, the salesperson scoured the company’s
policies to see if gift giving was against the rules and couldn't find any direction
It is now your decision as to how to handle the situation. What should you do?

PART I: ANALYZE ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
Write a 5--7 page paper using APA format that addresses the following:
a. Explains the salesperson’s choices through the lens of ethical decision-making theory
(CO1, CO3)
b. Explains the ethical dilemma facing the company (CO3)
c. Outlines the CEO’s decision about how to handle the situation with the employee (CO2)
d. Analyzes the CEO’s decision using an ethical lens (CO3, CO4)
e. Supports your statements with at least at least two relevant and credible resources in
addition to the course textbook
PART Il: ETHICS RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT
Include at the end of your paper, a 1--2 page Recommendation Statement for Acme Corporation that
addresses the following:
a. Identifies elements within Acme’s culture that played a part in the problem occurring
(CO2)
b. Identifies the ethical shortcomings of Acme’s business practices (CO4)
c. Provides at least three recommendations for actions Acme can take to reduce its ethical
risks (CO3)
d. Supports your statements with at least at least two relevant and credible resources in
addition to the course textbook
Consolidate the following from Part | and Part Il into a single file for grading:
1. A5--7 page paper that details the ethical decision making approaches that Acme should have in
place to address this scenario.
2. A1--2 page Recommendation Statement for the Acme Corporation.

PROJECT RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS
* = In addition to the requirements noted in the project instructions, your project must incorporate the following
a Atleast one source from a peer reviewed article (at least two for graduate)
© At least one source from a scholarly website (at least two for graduate)
« Wikipedia is not an acceptable source of information for your project. and will not be credited.
e All resources should be cited following APA standards.
PROJECT REVIEW
Reviewing your paper before submission is very important. Please complete the following steps
to ensure that your paper is ready for submission.
1. Edit your paper closely for grammar, mechanics and typing errors. If you prepare
your paper in Word, you should review any green or red lines in your paper as those
lines indicate possible grammar problems or spelling errors.