Question

Business Ethics UK Law

Kanye is employed as a salesperson for a large electronics retailer. He often discusses with fellow employees how he considers it his responsibility as a salesperson to sell as much as possible. The company currently sells both videotapes and videotape players. After a recent meeting, Kanye has learned that after Christmas the store will no longer be stocking these items because of a switch to DVD technology. The sales staff is told to sell as much of the older video technology as possible before the store discontinues it. One afternoon, before Christmas, a customer approaches Kanye and asks whether he should buy a videotape player now, mentioning that he wants to build a large collections of films. How should Kanye reply to this customer? Also, if the customer was Kanye’s very poor friend, then is the same normative decision applicable?

Answer 1

Q: How should Kanye reply to this customer? Also, if the customer was Kanye’s very poor friend, then is the same normative decision applicable?

Ans: Kanye is caught between the devil and the deep sea, i.e, to put it succinctly, Kanya must make an ethical choice or a business decision. If Kanya were to make a business decision and convince the customer to purchase a videotape player knowingly that in the near future his company is going to discontinue them, he would be following his employer's instructions to the sales staff to sell as  as much of the older video technology as possible before the store discontinues it, so he would make his employer happy and be keeping his employer and his own interests at heart given that as a sales person, Kanye is most likely to receive a commission on it. However, based on this sale, Kanye is going to make a customer unhappy once the customer finds out soon enough that the old technology has been discontinued especially since the customer had mentioned to Kanye that he wants to build a large collections of films and his videotape player will soon become worthless and a complete loss of money to the customer. The customer will later blame the store as well as Kanye for cheating him and deliberately withholding crucial business information that directly affected the customer. So, the customer should most probably follow his conscience, and be ethical in explaining to the customer the new strategy in place by the store management to the store will no longer be stocking these items because of a switch to DVD technology, and instead retain a customer in the long run and enjoy the goodwill and loyalty and earn word-of-mouth referrals for the store instead of an one time dissatisfied customer.

Kanye has the power to choose under the normative decisions theory and must choose the correct choice which would be ethical.

Yes, the same normative decision should be applicable even if the customer was Kanye’s very poor friend as Kanye should not be discriminatory against customers irrespective of their backgrounds and socio-economic profile. Also given that it is Kanye's friend, Kanye may be having a personal bias to advise and protect his friend against being cheated by the store and feel the same way with an unknown customer.