Ethics

Alternatives and Consequences: After reading the report Bob has to choose between four alternatives: 1.To sell the lumber to the customer, assuming that they are covered legally by stating that the lumber is not suitable for scaffolding. White Lumber Company is suppose to be a highly respected company in their community, a choice like this can be potentially devastating to the local economy, employees, and local lumber yards. White Lumber Company if found liable for any lawsuit, from failed use of the boards can result in the closure of business, which will result in firing employees, and ruining the reputation of both Quality Lumber, and White Lumber Company, not to mention the tarnished reputation the owner. This would also haunt Bob the salesman too for making a decision that could potential cause a loss of life. On the other hand if nothing goes wrong and the boards are successful in accomplishing the task, this could be a new arena to enter, to make up for lost revenues in other areas of the lumber market. It is just like Mr. White said you have to weigh out the cost and benefits. If this deal goes through this would be a huge help in making up lost revenues, which would help keep people employed and White Lumber Company. Mr. White said in the paper that they where ethically obligated to supply the lumber. Quality lumber company is considering buying a thicker board to make up the weight difference. If Bob agrees to sale Quality the lumber this would help during a time that the market is sluggish, plus it would make Mr. White happy, and everyone knows you want your boss happy. 2.Not selling the lumber to the customer. This is a big decision that Bob must make, and it is a hard decision when your boss does not support your decision. This could become a giant mess. As Mr. White said this could destroy lives because of the loss of jobs. Before Bob talked to Mr. White he did take it upon himself to talk to Stan of Quality Lumber to find out the specification of the job, even though the paperwork would say it is not supposed to be used for scaffolding, White Lumber still has an obligation to fulfill. The obligation that they have to fulfill is providing lumber up to specification and ensuring proper use of their products, so they do not lose the reputation they have work so hard to gain. Selling the lumber could be potentially dangerous for both White Lumber Company and Quality lumber. If Bob makes the ultimate decision not to sell to Quality, this could cause Quality to move its business to another lumber company that is willing to sell them what they want. This would be the loss of a big chunk of revenue for White Lumber. White the loss of revenue this may cause termination of employees including Bob, it might even leave White Lumber in a finical crisis, or lead to foreclosure, or bankruptcy. Even though Bob is probably saving the company from millions of dollars in lawsuits, tarnishing reputation, and being ethical this could lead to a loss of a job for Bob. When you have a big sell like this you could potential lose your job if you cannot close the deal. This is a challenging dilemma that Bob needs to weigh the pros and the cons and do what he thinks is best both financially and ethically for the company. 3.Trying to find Scaffolding to satisfy the need. When Bob called he learned that they would be used as scaffolding. What would be better if Bob could find a supplier' I know in the paper it said that there was no scaffolding wood to meet specifications in the surrounding market. If White Lumber Company has a good of a reputation as they say, they should be able to pull some strings and try to find scaffolding. If Bob is a good sales person and a buyer he would be able to find a manufacture somewhere who would be will to produce or sale scaffoldings that he could in return sale to Quality Lumber. This gives Bob the peace of mind of being ethical, and giving the customer what they wants. The only dilemma would be the cost; this could be potentially more, maybe substantially more which could upset the customer. This would be satisfying both the need of the customer and White Lumber. The only down fall would be he could still lose the potential customer, because he is having to sell him a product that cost substantially more, and cause the customer to find another vendor who will sale them the wood specification that they asked for. Another downfall is, if they agreed to a price this could cause White Lumber Company to eat up any potential profit they may have gained for the sale, keeping White Lumber Company in the financial situation they are currently in. White Lumber Company has a reputation to maintain, it would be notable to say they go above and beyond to find what the consumer wants. 4.Bob could see the lumber to Quality Lumber, but verify the use of the lumber. This would be away that White Lumber Company could cover all legal angles. What is meant by this' They could sell the lumber, but when a customer buys the lumber they would have to sign a waiver releasing White Lumber Company from any potential faults of the product or potential lawsuit that may come from the miss use of products. The only real big problem with this is how time consuming it would be to contact all final consumers and evaluate how the wood is being used, and talking them to signing a waiver to release White Lumber Company. This could backfire and affect the relationship that Quality Lumber and White Lumber Company have, this would show that White Lumber Company does not trust Quality and therefore is going around them trying to deal with the consumer. This could also result in the loss of Quality Lumber as a customer and would cause a lot of paper work, just to cover keep you cover legally. Even though you made the final consumer sign a waiver they may potentially try to sue you for mis-reputation, or poor product quality, a good lawyer will find a way to sue you. Bob has a big decision on his hands and must way all alternatives and consequences to see which is best ethically for the company, and for him.