Step 2: Pay to Play

You open your email to see a message from Belinda. She asks you to review what she calls the Pay to Play case.

Thomas believes that Phone and Build is the most competitive bidder with a quality product, but he knows that there is little chance Phone and Build will win the government contract or get equipment into Growastan to carry out operations without approval from the deputy minister of communications. Thomas decides to call Belinda Lee to get some advice about how to proceed. Belinda has asked you to write a memo that addresses the issues Phone and Build needs to consider as it decides how to handle this situation.

You may need to review the following topics as you work to meet Belinda’s request: International Business Ethics, Laws, and Regulations and Cross-Cultural Ethical Business Decision Making.

Belinda has asked you to include the following information in your memo. As you think about your answers to each of the following questions, take notes and create an outline for your memo:

• Analyze the issues under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1, et seq. (the FCPA). What is the legality of each of the following payments under the FCPA?
  • the US$100,000 payment to the deputy minister
  • the purchase of the sports car to pick up the contract
  • the donation to the political campaign
  • the expedited service fee
• What are the possible criminal and/or civil penalties that Phone and Build and/or its directors and employees might be subjected to for violating the FCPA?
• What defenses might Phone and Build have if prosecuted for FCPA violations? What are the specific defenses that could be used for each of the payments proposed by the deputy minister of communications?
• Since Phone and Build also has operations in the United Kingdom, you need to analyze the scenarios under the the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act of 2010. What is the legality of each of the following payments?
  • the US$100,000 payment to the deputy minister
  • the purchase of the sports car to pick up the contract
  • the donation to the political campaign
  • the expedited service government fee

In the next step, you will write your memo.

Step 4: Human Resource Issues

Belinda has asked your team to advise John Smith, an American expatriate who oversees operations for Phone and Build in the Middle Eastern country Shining Sand. John is having some problems with some of his employees. Read more about the Human Resource Issues case.

In order to address John’s issues, you will need background information on Employment Discrimination and Cross-Cultural Ethical Business Decision Making.

Belinda has asked you to include the following information in your memo. As you think about your answers to each of the following questions, take notes and create an outline for your memo:

• From solely an ethical perspective (not a legal perspective), what is the right thing for Phone and Build to do with respect to the disparity in pay and benefits between the US employees and the non-US employees in Shining Sand? Should expatriates be paid more than the local nationals of Shining Sand? Why or why not? How would you explain the reasons for the differences in salary and benefits if you were sent to Shinecall’s offices in Shining Sand?
• What laws would govern these employment issues if Mohammed, Ali, Dan, and Sarah all worked for Phone and Build’s headquarters in the United States? Describe each person’s situation, the laws that apply, and what rights each person would have.
• Do the laws listed in your answer to the previous question apply to Mohammed, Ali, Dan, and Sarah as employees of Shinecall in Shining Sand? Describe the laws that would apply or not apply to each of the four individuals and explain your reasoning.

In the next step, you will write your memo.