Read the Ethical Dilemma, Anything for a BUC, and share yourthoughts by answering the following ethical question also posed atthe end of the story. What should you do? When answering thequestion elaborate, expand upon, and support your thoughts.
The bank of Universal City (BUC) is a medium-size state bankingorganization that is located in Louisiana. BUC offers a goodvariety of products and services, including checking and savingsaccounts, 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 15percent annually for the next five years. Although 15 percent is afairly robust growth rate, it is not an impossible goal for BUC. nfact, last year, which was the first year the plan was implemented,the bank's assets grew nearly 20 percent. However, much of thegrowth occurred because there was a significant increase inpopulation when a large manufacturing firm relocated to UniversalCity 18 months ago. With only three weeks remaining in the currentfiscal year, Mr. Charles is concerned that actual growth for theyear will fall well short of what is needed to keep the bank ontrack 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 wayto increase the amount of investment funds the bank currentlymanages. As the assistant to the vice president of Univest, you areresponsible for sales and thus get paid a commission for the fundsthe division manages. Your boss and the CEO of BUC gave you names(leads) of persons and organizations they think are good prospectsfor Univest. After contacting the prospects, you discover the onlyone who seems interested is Rudolph Radcliff, the head of a radicalreligious organization based in Universal City. It has been rumoredthat the organization, which is called Righteous Freedom Choice(RFC) funds foundations based in countries that are not friendly tothe United States. It is suspected that some of the organizationsRFC sponsors support terrorists activities around the world. A fewdays ago, a colleague told you that he thought RFC would be movingits funds to a new investment organization because the firm thatcurrently manages the funds refused to continue as its investmentadviser; it was discovered that the funds had been received fromorganizations that are involved in illicit activities. Thisinformation was reported to your colleague during a conversationthat he had with two prominent businesspersons at a charity galathe previous weekend. Your colleague noted, however, that the toneof the conversation suggested that the two businesspersons were noton friendly terms with Mr. Radcliff. When your colleague relayedthis information to you, you did not ask questions, such as thenames of the businesspersons, because you didn't expect to beinvolved with RFC. Now, you need to make a decision whether topursue RFC's funds to help Univest and BUC meet their growthobjectives. Unfortunately, the colleague who told you theinformation about RFC is on vacation for the next few weeks andcannot be contracted to answer questions you might have. Univest'ssales have been stagnant this year. As a result, if sales don'tincrease substantially during the next several weeks, thecommission you earn will be much lower than normal. And, if yourcommission does not increase, you and your spouse will have toconsider moving from the luxurious house that you purchased fiveyears ago. What should you do?
Read the Ethical Dilemma, Anything for a BUC, and share yourthoughts by answering the following ethical question also posed atthe end of the story. What should you do? When answering thequestion elaborate, expand upon, and support your thoughts.
The bank of Universal City (BUC) is a medium-size state bankingorganization that is located in Louisiana. BUC offers a goodvariety of products and services, including checking and savingsaccounts, 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 15percent annually for the next five years. Although 15 percent is afairly robust growth rate, it is not an impossible goal for BUC. nfact, last year, which was the first year the plan was implemented,the bank's assets grew nearly 20 percent. However, much of thegrowth occurred because there was a significant increase inpopulation when a large manufacturing firm relocated to UniversalCity 18 months ago. With only three weeks remaining in the currentfiscal year, Mr. Charles is concerned that actual growth for theyear will fall well short of what is needed to keep the bank ontrack 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 wayto increase the amount of investment funds the bank currentlymanages. As the assistant to the vice president of Univest, you areresponsible for sales and thus get paid a commission for the fundsthe division manages. Your boss and the CEO of BUC gave you names(leads) of persons and organizations they think are good prospectsfor Univest. After contacting the prospects, you discover the onlyone who seems interested is Rudolph Radcliff, the head of a radicalreligious organization based in Universal City. It has been rumoredthat the organization, which is called Righteous Freedom Choice(RFC) funds foundations based in countries that are not friendly tothe United States. It is suspected that some of the organizationsRFC sponsors support terrorists activities around the world. A fewdays ago, a colleague told you that he thought RFC would be movingits funds to a new investment organization because the firm thatcurrently manages the funds refused to continue as its investmentadviser; it was discovered that the funds had been received fromorganizations that are involved in illicit activities. Thisinformation was reported to your colleague during a conversationthat he had with two prominent businesspersons at a charity galathe previous weekend. Your colleague noted, however, that the toneof the conversation suggested that the two businesspersons were noton friendly terms with Mr. Radcliff. When your colleague relayedthis information to you, you did not ask questions, such as thenames of the businesspersons, because you didn't expect to beinvolved with RFC. Now, you need to make a decision whether topursue RFC's funds to help Univest and BUC meet their growthobjectives. Unfortunately, the colleague who told you theinformation about RFC is on vacation for the next few weeks andcannot be contracted to answer questions you might have. Univest'ssales have been stagnant this year. As a result, if sales don'tincrease substantially during the next several weeks, thecommission you earn will be much lower than normal. And, if yourcommission does not increase, you and your spouse will have toconsider moving from the luxurious house that you purchased fiveyears ago. What should you do?
