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The ethic of expensing
Helen heads afinance department Steve runs his own
research firm, specializing in employee surveys Helen
met Steve after he tvas hired contractually by her CEO
to conduct a survey an worker morale. Over a feiu
weeks, Helen and Steve start dating. Helen finds no
problem urith this because, after all, her CEO hired
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Steve without her input Still, the couple keep their personal
life under wraps at least until the survey is finished Far
Valentine’s Day, she takes Steve to dinner. As one would ex
pect the conversation weaves front the personal to the profes
sional, in equal amounts. Is it OK for Helen to expense the
meal to her company? i i
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W f r MV
Beyond bonbons, j
Valentines Day
can raise some
ethical questions.
Batstone: Why not? Many business relationships are about
both friendship and work. Professional associates attend each
other’s weddings and their kids’ birthday parties. And, yes,
they’ll go to lunch and expense it. Why draw the line, then, at
two romantically attached business associates? Beth are still
involved with a credible company project Therefore, the meal
is a valid business occasion, regardless of what else is happen
ing. If I raised ethical red flags over every business meal be
tween friends that got expensed, there would be no “free lunch”
in corporate America today. It’s human nature to connect on
a personal level.
18
USA WEEKEND • Feb. 1 -3, 2008
Lovelorn conflicts
Dealing with an ethical issue on Valentine's Day? Here's help.
WHO KNEW THAT a directive, “Be my valentine,” could
stir not only matters of the heart but also ethical de
bate? When it comes to this annual holiday of love,
there are candy hearts, fancy cards and lingering
glances cast over candlelight perfect setups for improper en
gagement, duplicity and otherwise inappropriate behavior! To pro-
vide some clarity, USA WEEKEND has again called on our
ethics expert, David Batstone, to ponder three hypo-
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thetical situations that could unfold this Valentine’s
, Day season. Although Batstone, a professor of
ethics at the University of San Francisco, is a guru
with the highest of standards, you’d be surprised
by how much slack he’s willing to cut. To learn more,
read on.
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" her school Claudia’s mom, Alicia, supports
this, thinking that Claudia is too young to
commit to one person. For Valentine’s Day
Claudia has assembled a care package for
Paul. In a card she signs as Paul's
“one and only true love forevei:” /
Alicia notices this. Then, Clau
dia asks Alicia to drop off the
care package at the post of-
fice Alicia agrees. Is it ethi
cal for Alicia to mail the
package containing Clau
dia’s love note?
Batstone: No. She can
rationalize that Claudia’s
deception is justifiable, but
it’s still a deception. Even if
Alicia’s role in the ruse is periph-
"Only" means one
Claudia is a high school
senior. Her boyfriend of
two years, Paid, is away
at college. Claudia is test
ing the ivaters by dating a
number of young men at
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eral, she’s still acting as an enabler. She
should persuade Claudia to write a Valentine’s
Day message that is honest. (“FVom your val
entine” is fine. “From your one and only val
entine” is not) But if Claudia insists on the de
ception, then Alicia should have her daugh
ter handle her own mailing arrangements.
In business, a similar issue occurs all the
time in the job-interview and recruitment
process. A potential employer who sees you
as a hot candidate asks if you’re
also interviewing with anyone
else. There is no ambiguity in
this kind of question you
y ter you had said there
were no other pursuers,
your new boss found out
that you had actually inter
viewed with five top competi
tors, as well.
OUR EXPERT
Batstone is the
author of the
book Not for Sale
(Harper One,
$14.95).
either are or aren’t
and you must an
\ swer honestly.
J Imagine the dam
‘ age to your cred
ibility later if say, as-
B IUSTRAHONS BV CHRIS GASH FOR USA WEEKEND