- Business professors Joseph Badaracco and Richard Ellsworth (Johnson 2015) Following is a brief discussion of an value-based decision and analysis …show more content…
Due to this fact, a consultant was engaged and the procurement process became very political. The desire to secure this large contract led some other firms to make decisions in the political arena that put my firm at a significant disadvantage. As the selection committee deliberations continued for weeks I ultimately received a call from our consultant. The consultant said, “if you want to secure this contract, I need $10,000 now.” This question, without any further explanation, immediately created a crossroads that demanded a decision. Either direction would have ramifications; secure a high value contract for the company or hold to a personal value structure that prohibited authorization of any such payment. In O’Toole’s “The Executive Compass”, this decision clearly must have the application of ethics and values in order to come to a moral conclusion. This situation pulls at the four ideas of liberty, equality, efficiency, and …show more content…
The decision to make the payment was simply facilitating the best possible outcome and result in a sizable financial benefit to my firm. Finally, from the perspective of community, the rules of society are clear and it is incumbent upon each citizen to remain within the generally accepted laws. By engaging in this activity, the rules of the procurement and the laws of the community would be violated. Another model that can be applied to provide ethical-based analysis to this situation is provided by Rushworth Kidder. Kidder offers nine steps that offer assistance in making a decision that faces moral challenges. The first step is to recognize that there is a problem. Clearly an issue was present as the request from the consultant offered a desired outcome, but would violate the procurement rules established by the