Question

When Motorola assigned S.T. Kiosh, an American, to the European nation of Abendlandon his first overseas assignment, S.T. and his family soon became good friends with Bartholomew, a tried-and-true senior employee in the same department, and a native Abendlander. Their families, too, became good friends who genuinely enjoyed spending leisure time together. They would entertain each other on birthdays, holidays and other occasions. At first this entertainment was modest, but gradually it has become more and more lavish, with Bartholomew escalating the lavishness. However, some would say this is unexceptional, since Abendlanders have traditionally placed great emphasis on making foreign colleagues feel welcome and comfortable.

Over a period of months it gradually becomes clear to S.T. that Bartholomew would dearly love to get his oldest son, Florian, into a good university in the United States, Bartholomew could afford the tuition, but there is a problem: Florian is only an average student.

It so happens that S.T. is a graduate of, and contributor to, the famous business school at IvytwineUniversity. Although the standards of this old, established American university are not of the very highest, they are still quite respectable. And Ivytwine’s business school is renowned as an excellent place for students from all over the world to form friendships and alliances that will help them throughout their careers. For that reason, Abendlanders vie to get their children admitted there.

The Ivytwine admissions office has considerable integrity, but is not averse to giving a measure of special consideration to the applications of children, relatives or friends of generous alumni. It occurs to S.T. that with a strong recommendation from a generous alumnus like himself, Floridan could probably get into Ivytwine.

As time goes on, the situation within the local Motorola facility evolves in such a way that S.T. sees that he has a splendid opportunity for a major promotion, right there in Abendland. However, there are also several other strong candidates for this position, and whether S.T. succeeds will depend in part on the support he receives from Abendlander Motorolans – such as Bartholomew.

Meanwhile, S.T. has contacted the admissions office at Ivytwine, and, by persistence and the hint that in due course he might have a sizeable gift to bestow upon his alma mater, he has managed to get Floridan admitted. Since Florian could not have gotten into Ivytwine on his own merit, S.T. has in effect given Bartholomew something of substantial value. All of this has been handled quietly. Other employees are not aware of it.

Answer the following questions.

1.         What is the issue?

2.         Explain how this could be viewed as a bribe to help S.T. get his promotion.

3.         Explain how this could be viewed as simply S.T. helping a friend.

4.         Since Florian is already enrolled in Ivytwine what would you recommend that S.T. do?

Answer 1

1. The issue is, whether the mutual exchange of favors can be construed as mere generosity or friendly exchanges, or as offering bribe.

2. S.T.,  by persistence and the hint that in due course he might have a sizeable gift to bestow upon his alma mater Ivytwine University, S.T managed to get Florian admitted into the university, which would otherwise not been possible on merit, by Florian. So S.T.'s recommendation can be considered as bribe to secure Bartholomew's support for his promotion.

3. It is possible that  Bartholomew and his family have a genuine interest in US culture and the same is reciprocated by ST and his family in Abendlandian culture. So  Bartholomew's request to get Florian admitted to Ivytwine university and S.T.'s recommendation can be viewed as a way of cementing a warm friendship.

4. Although the whole issue may seem unethical from some perspective (getting Florian admitted in exchange for support for promotion), since Florian has got admission on the premise that S.T. will get  Bartholomew's support for promotion, S.T. can ask for  Bartholomew's support for his promotion.