Question

The latest departure from the BurgerSupreme executive team was James Pickle who was in charge of purchasing. Mr. Pickle had to leave because he broke the law and took a bribe to give the contract to Radioactive Lettuce a provider of lettuce, pickles, and other accoutrements. Mr. Pickle in explaining why he had taken a bribe said that  his action had been good for BurgerSupreme and its shareholders as Radioactive Lettuce had given them a better deal and Burger Supreme paid less for lettuce and tomatoes than to any other of their competitors.   

Based on the logic proposed by Milton Friedman on the responsibility of managers, is James Pickle action acceptable?

	a.	Yes, it's acceptable because he was not benefiting personally
	b.	No, it's not acceptable because it is ethically wrong
	c.	Yes, it's acceptable because his actions maximize profits
	d.	No, it's not acceptable because he broke the law

Answer 1

Bribery is the evolution of Corruption .The Term Bribery means either giving or receiving money or other valuable for the purpose of influencing others.

In the following case James Pickle took bribe so that Radioactive Lettuce provider can sale the lettuce , pickle and other accoutrement at lesser value to the Burger Supreme.

If this scenario is to be judged than the best suited answer is option D that he broke the law. As soon as he broke the law he attracted option B as well that is making it unethical

The option A is not the correct option as it says that the actions of James Pickle are acceptable . In the case Mr. Pickle justified himself that he is not getting personally benefited instead was helping the organization. However there is always the conflict of interest as the person of the organization taking bribery takes decision not purely for the organization but also for the personal interest. Hence one taking bribery gains individual advantage. In the above case also he might have helped the organization however the lumsum amount given by Radioactive Lettuce provider to James Pickle have given him individual advantage.

The Option B is the next best option as it says that the actions of James Pickle were ethically wrong. To judge the situation whether it is ethical or not one should think of a situation what if these tactics or actions are socially acceptable.If the effect is positive than its ethical otherwise not. In the above case if bribery is socially acceptable it will lead to increase in corruption and unfair practices . Hence taking bribery will have the negative impact in the society therefore the actions are not acceptable. Moreover anything which is done under the table cannot be ethical

The option C is not the correct option as it say that the James's Action are acceptable as it gained the profit to the organization. The organization taking contracts on the basis of bribery may win for the short run but as the long run are to be concerned they are cheating the society. The resource are available from the society therefore cheating the society and gaining the profit will never help the organization in the long run. in this case also although the organization got the contract at the lesser value however the approach made my James was not permissible. If the seniors will follow unfair practices the same will be learned by juniors and in this way the organization will be full of corrupt people . The organization cannot grow in this scenario. Surely they got profit but they lost the trust of the society. Hence termination of Mr. Pickle is justified and what he did is not ethical for the organization.

The option D is the correct Option as as per the definition of Bribery. It is illegal to take or give money or other values for the purpose of any decision. The government and other regulatory bodies are strict in this perspective. The one ca get liberty in ethics however taking bribery in law is not at all permissible. Moreover in the question itself it has mentioned that James Pickle broke the law.

Hence out of all the option the best suited option is Option D , which will automatically attract option B. Therefore the preference would be give to option D and thereafter option B.