Business Communication & Ethics
(HS-304)
TE (MY/PP)
Spring 2021
Case Study- 1
Dr. Muhammad Fareed,
Assistant Professor, NEDUET
Case Study
“As a technical sales engineer, Avery is responsible for
selling her company’s integrated circuit test systems. Each
of these systems costs approximately one million dollars
and Avery’s sales goals are to sell at least ten of these
systems per revenue quarter.
These sales expectations are in place because Avery’s
company is trying to go public (IPO) – ( Initial public offering
is the process by which a private company can go public by
sale of its stocks to general public.). In order to do so, they
must be profitable for five quarters in a row. Therefore,
there is enormous pressure from the company’s investors
and board to meet the assigned sales goals…
Case Study
• “ As the end of the fifth quarter approaches, Avery realizes
she is one sale short of reaching her goal. When she
approaches her manager to let him know that she will not
be meeting her goals, he explains to her a way to get
around the problem. He tells her that when he was a sales
engineer, he would approach customers who he knew
would soon be purchasing a system. …
Case Study
• “He would get the customer to place the order and receive
a price discount if they come to the factory, be shown an
empty shell of a system that was not yet built, and sign
paperwork documenting their acceptance of the unbuilt
system as if it was already built. That way the order could
count as part of this quarter’s profits, but the customer
would not have to pay for the order until the next
quarter…
Case Study
• “Avery’s manager explains that although this practice of
falsifying sales reports is now illegal, when he was a
salesperson the practice was a common way of meeting
sales goals. Additionally, he suggests to Avery that he
would look the other way if she were to falsify a customer
acceptance report and reminds her that the company will
only be able to go public if she meets her sales goal. If
she fails to meet her goal, the IPO will be postponed at
least a year and so will her IPO profits and the profits of
all the other employees and shareholders.
• What should Avery do? ”
Case Study
• What should Avery do?
• Support for the decision form:
• Case study
• Ethical theories
• PEC Code
• IEEE Code
Important Points from the Case
1. enormous pressure from the company’s investors and board
to meet the assigned sales goals
2. Avery’s manager explains that “the practice of falsifying
sales reports is now illegal”
3. “Additionally, he suggests to Avery that he would look the
other way ( the contextual meaning suggests he would over
look the falsifying) if she were to falsify a customer
acceptance report
4. company would only be able to go public if she met her sales
goal.
5. If she fails to meet her goal the IPO will be postponed at
least a year
6. and so will her IPO profits
7. and the profits of all the other employees
8. profits of all other shareholders
Ethical theories, PEC and IEEE
Code
9. Duty Ethics – duty to tell the truth
10. Virtue ethics – be a positive character
11. PEC Code Article 3
“be realistic and honest in all estimates, reports, statements
and testimony and shall carry out his professional duties
without fear or favor”
“not endeavor to promote his personal interest at the
expense of the dignity and integrity of the profession.”
12. IEEE Code 4
“4. JUDGMENT – Software engineers shall maintain
integrity and independence in their professional judgment.”
Should make falsifying report
1. enormous pressure from the company’s investors and
board to meet the assigned sales goals
3. “Additionally, he suggests to Avery that he would look the
other way ( the contextual meaning suggests he would over
look the falsifying) if she were to falsify a customer
acceptance report
4. company would only be able to go public if she met her
sales goal.
5. If she fails to meet her goal the IPO will be postponed at
least a year
6. and so will her IPO profits
7. and the profits of all the other employees
8. profits of all other shareholders
Should not make falsifying report
2. Avery’s manager explains that “the practice of falsifying sales
reports is now illegal”
9. Duty Ethics – duty to tell the truth
10. Virtue ethics – be a positive character
11. PEC Code Article 3
“be realistic and honest in all estimates, reports, statements and
testimony and shall carry out his professional duties without fear
or favor”
“not endeavor to promote his personal interest at the expense of
the dignity and integrity of the profession.”
12. IEEE Code 4
“4. JUDGMENT – Software engineers shall maintain integrity
and independence in their professional judgment.”
1,3,4,5,6,7,8 2,9,10,11,12
Should Make
P Should not
falsifying sales report Make
falsifying
sales report
Decision
• Should not make falsifying report
• Following support this decision:
• Evidence from the case
• Ethical theories
• PEC Code
• IEEE Code
