Question

Read the Ethical Dilemma, Anything for a BUC, and share your thoughts by answering the following ethical question also posed at the end of the story. What should you do? When answering the question elaborate, expand upon, and support your thoughts.

The bank of Universal City (BUC) is a medium-size state banking organization that is located in Louisiana. BUC offers a good variety of products and services, including checking and savings accounts, a bill-paying service, credit cards, business consulting, insurance, and investing services. The CEO of BUC, Chuck Charles, has publicly stated that he intends to grow the bank's assets by 15 percent annually for the next five years. Although 15 percent is a fairly robust growth rate, it is not an impossible goal for BUC. n fact, last year, which was the first year the plan was implemented, the bank's assets grew nearly 20 percent. However, much of the growth occurred because there was a significant increase in population when a large manufacturing firm relocated to Universal City 18 months ago. With only three weeks remaining in the current fiscal year, Mr. Charles is concerned that actual growth for the year will fall well short of what is needed to keep the bank on track to achieve it's overall growth projections. As a result, Mr. Charles has instructed the vice president in charge of Univest, which is the investment management division of BUC, to find a way to increase the amount of investment funds the bank currently manages. As the assistant to the vice president of Univest, you are responsible for sales and thus get paid a commission for the funds the division manages. Your boss and the CEO of BUC gave you names (leads) of persons and organizations they think are good prospects for Univest. After contacting the prospects, you discover the only one who seems interested is Rudolph Radcliff, the head of a radical religious organization based in Universal City. It has been rumored that the organization, which is called Righteous Freedom Choice (RFC) funds foundations based in countries that are not friendly to the United States. It is suspected that some of the organizations RFC sponsors support terrorists activities around the world. A few days ago, a colleague told you that he thought RFC would be moving its funds to a new investment organization because the firm that currently manages the funds refused to continue as its investment adviser; it was discovered that the funds had been received from organizations that are involved in illicit activities. This information was reported to your colleague during a conversation that he had with two prominent businesspersons at a charity gala the previous weekend. Your colleague noted, however, that the tone of the conversation suggested that the two businesspersons were not on friendly terms with Mr. Radcliff. When your colleague relayed this information to you, you did not ask questions, such as the names of the businesspersons, because you didn't expect to be involved with RFC. Now, you need to make a decision whether to pursue RFC's funds to help Univest and BUC meet their growth objectives. Unfortunately, the colleague who told you the information about RFC is on vacation for the next few weeks and cannot be contracted to answer questions you might have. Univest's sales have been stagnant this year. As a result, if sales don't increase substantially during the next several weeks, the commission you earn will be much lower than normal. And, if your commission does not increase, you and your spouse will have to consider moving from the luxurious house that you purchased five years ago. What should you do?

Answer 1

The ethical dilemma here is whether the person should accept RFC funds to boost his/her sales' commission, which can be done only via increasing sales, which can only be done via accepting RFC funds. According to the information given, the colleague who heard the conversation between the two individuals at a charity event is on holiday, and cannot be contacted. The information was heard from two individuals who are not on friendly terms with RFC's head, Rudolph Radcliff. The RFC also has foundations based on countries which are not on friendly terms with USA.

What can be done here is the following -

Prior to signing a deal with RFC, it is required that a thorough investigation be done about the organization, and in fact, whether the organization is actually involved in financing terrorist activities, and also receives funding from organizations who perform illicit activities. In the meantime, the person should endeavour to get in touch, and reel in other potential investors. If it is not working, the person should ask for help from his/her supervisor in this matter. If all else fails, then, he/she should earn the commission as it is, and move to a less luxurious house for the time being. The present house can be given out on rent/lease for the time being.