paper help? please?

[Sarlon]

So one of my classes this semester, is Management and Social Responsibility, or as my book narrows it down to..."Business Ethics".

I have to write a total of 4 papers over the course of the semester on 4 different ethical dilemmas presented in our books (the teacher assigns it) and write a 1000 word essay on how to handle the problem, and steps to correct said problem.

I'm having a little trouble with this second one and thought I'd come to you guys for advice....this is not meant to devolve into fratching.

(note: this situation is strictly hypothetical, no real people or businesses are used in this project)

The basic summary of the dilemma is that a company wants to expand overseas, and hires someone to handle the on the ground stuff over there (England is the main company, Mexico is the expanded area), things like building permits, and hiring workers.

Guy goes to Mexico, to get things started and give a rather stiff time frame to work with, government says its going to take longer than the company has given guy to work with. Guy talks with a local in the building permit office and office man says "I'll push this through quickly, but its going to cost ya." Guy gets approval from his boss to pay the bribe EVEN THOUGH both parties recognize its illegal (effectively bribing the official). Amount of money talking about is only $300 or 6000 pesos.

Everything is going fine company gets its branch built and they look to expand even further, going back to same guy to get everything settled, while the government official is still asking for the bribe money to get things done on the current time frame.

Guy gets promoted for such a good job overseas and brought back home (to England), and does well for himself there as well. Sometime later however its discovered that the company was paying out bribes to get things done in time over in Mexico, and Guy's boss wants him to destroy all evidence and deny everything.

According to this dilemma, its illegal in England to accept or pay bribes and company is facing massive fines, Guy and his boss can get fired or legal trouble themselves. It ends with Guy thinking since the payments were so small (again only $300 each), that it may not be noticed.

[KuariKaydrith]

I'm of the school of thought of if it's illegal in his home country then to simply avoid doing it. Yes, it sucks to handed a really rotten time frame to get everything accomplished, but it would have been a wiser move for the guy to be honest with his employer from the get go and not mentioning anything about the bribe in the first place due to it being illegal. I would also say that as the employee did end up being approved to pay the bribe that if he wishes to avoid getting fired that he should cough up proof showing that his boss approved it. I'd throw the boss under the bus because no company would really want to have a shady character like that in a position of power - sure, it happens all the time, but when it comes down to it I'd rather toss the shady boss out the door first.

[Kittish]

So, Guy knew he was getting into an area prohibited by the laws under which he lives and works. Went ahead with it anyway, with his bosses' full knowledge and approval? Suck it up cupcake, you made this bed. Destroying evidence and attempting to deny such goings on almost NEVER works, and his company would most likely not hesitate to throw HIM under the bus if it looked like liability could be pinned to him ("We were not aware of Guy's illegal actions. Now that we are, we shall take all proper legal action against him.") If he destroys evidence, that makes it even easier for the company to pin it to him alone ("These actions were never approved of by Company. Company would never approve such illegal actions.").

[wolfie]

What the guy SHOULD have done is, when told by the Mexicans what the time frame would be to accomplish the job, ask for it in writing and send that back home to show his bosses that the time frame they had given him was impossible, and asked for further instructions in light of this. Instead, he broke his home country's laws - best he can hope for is to drag his boss down with him. After all, England is one of the countries that does NOT recognize the "Nuremburg defense", a.k.a. "I was only following orders".

[sstabeler]

What the guy SHOULD have done is, when told by the Mexicans what the time frame would be to accomplish the job, ask for it in writing and send that back home to show his bosses that the time frame they had given him was impossible, and asked for further instructions in light of this. Instead, he broke his home country's laws - best he can hope for is to drag his boss down with him. After all, England is one of the countries that does NOT recognize the "Nuremburg defense", a.k.a. "I was only following orders".

actually, the Nuremberg defense applies more often than you'd think- after all, if following orders is no defense, then soldiers can't fight. What the Nuremberg defense doesn't cover is blatantly illegal orders, or where the person issuing the order isn't authorized to give it. ( what matters is what the person believes, incidentally. So if (say) a rogue general sent an order for nuclear missiles to be launched, provided the order includes everything necessary to make it seem like ti came from the President, the people launching the nukes are (legally) in the clear. ( the general in question, however, would almost certainly be executed, assuming nuclear Armageddon was averted somehow)

but yeah, in this case? Guy is pretty much screwed, and his bets bet is actually not to destroy the evidence, but (assuming it comes to light) try to work out some form of deal with the prosecution. Oh, and he's basically guaranteed to get fired.

[MoonCat]

What they all said, with the added thought that it will only get worse if he lies about it and is then found to be lying. When caught, tell the truth, the whole truth including the fact that the boss approved it.