Tag: Ethics

Posted on

Ethics Moment – Never Stand Between and Animal and Its Food

C-Suite Edition.

My company was implementing a new customer relationship management system. A Senior Vice-President was rolling out the implementation requirements and casually mentioned that each regional manager was responsible for validating all the data in the rollover within 8 weeks so that the senior management could produce a sales forecast with a touch of a button.

I knew that at any one time, I had more than 15 divisions with an average of 2000 inquiries from my region in the pipeline. Prior to the meeting, I had taken two examples that I would consider normal and edited the record so that it would include the additional information the management wanted. It took me 8 minutes. 15 x 2000 x 8 was 240,000 minutes. It would take me, with the help of the product managers, 4,000 hours to complete. I was one of 6 regions. The entire conversion would be 48,000 hours. It would take an effort of 3,000 hours a week to accomplish, or 500 hours a week for each regional manager to meet the deadline.

I carefully asked if they could demonstrate real-time the record validation process. Clearly irritated with the question, they proceeded – it took 12 minutes.

My boss intervened in the meeting at that point and suggested that the example he chose wasn’t representative and we could move on in the agenda. Later, at dinner, he said that he had to intervene because I became the only thing between the SVP and his six-figure bonus.

Posted on

Ethics Moment – United States Marshal Visit #2

My Second Visit from a United States Marshal*

My company was under contract to design and construct multiple overseas facilities for the military. Because the work was within an area of occupation, my company had been awarded a design fee that many times what the design fee would be in the States. My team had to be really resourceful to get all the drawings completed. We were able to cut design time by setting up a 2 am architectural and structural model synchronization of folders in three offices (this was the 2000’s when that was novel). We also were able to standardize a lot of drawing details and specifications. I had two other projects, water treatment plant design projects with an estimated constructed cost of $55 million. I worked as much as I could but we were all at 60 hours and I had three major projects.

Some time later, a U.S. Marshal came with a search warrant for my original timesheets and those of the design team (it was paper and ink then). More time passed. One day we received an urgent order from legal to complete mandatory time sheet training. All employees had to comply within a short period of time. Those who did not would be terminated. Questions in the final test included:

You worked 4 hours on Project A and 4 hours on Project B on Monday. You record on your timesheet under Monday (a) 8 hours, (b) (b) 6 hours (c) 4 hours (d) ask your project manager how many hours the project can carry or (e) none of the above.

My 20 hours a week on the military project somehow became 40 hours a week in the pay claims submitted to the United States Department of Defense. To avoid being barred from federal contracts, every last employee at the company had to complete remedial training and pledge their oath to always record time accurately and to never falsify timesheet information.

* My first visit from a United States Marshal is another story.

Posted on

Ethics Moment – Furniture Envy

Coveting thy subsidiary’s office furniture

I was a new employee of a company that had been acquired by my former educational institution. I knew the university administration through my time as president of the student body. At my company, we had an unfortunate turn of events where a layoff occurred on the day that the vice president of sales received new Queen Anne style office furnishings were delivered. People were let go and walking out the door as the furniture was being carried in. Not the best timing.

Another round of layoffs came. This time, a vice president from the university holding company announced to the remaining employees that such extravagant furnishings have no place in a university owned company. This time, the furniture left with the sacked employees.

I happened to be at my alma mater and stopped in at the holding company offices. As I entered the room to pay my respects to the university administrator, his office had been decorated with Queen Anne furniture.