Business Ethics

Hi William,

The tactic I used was fairly basic. I worked on the psychological and moral side of the shareholders. I took photos of the poverty in the region where we were going to build the first site. I took pictures of the most affluent suburb of the capital city. I tabled a proposal showing what could be done with the budget that would otherwise be used to buy our decision-maker to guarantee the contract. I went as far as sketching a concept development plan of what could be done with the region using this corruption budget money, showing buildings, facilities, etc. I also took a quote out of our company mission statement that spoke about community development, put it in large text in a presentation slide.

Next I called for an extra-ordinary shareholders meeting. At the meeting I presented them with the material, placing an emphasis on the contrast between the opulence of the suburb the official would live in, and the location of where the fuel station would be built, with and without the community development. The last slide posed the question to the shareholders to decide which approach to take. At the bottom of the slide it was clearly indicated that I would only be available for the corruption less option.

The shareholders asked for some time to discuss the options, and after a month, they came back with a decision that they would support the corruption less option. Even then, not all shareholders were in agreement. Some of the shareholders were sceptical that we would be able to succeed.

I knew that I could not go the corruption route under any circumstance, even if it meant walking away from the job.