Which of the following, if true, justifies the customer representative

QUESTION

Which of the following, if true, justifies the customer representative’s ethical position?

A) The home-building firm sometimes picks up shipments of supplies several days after they arrive.
B) The customer rep knows that if the faucets do come in early, the home-building firm will choose to do business with them more often.
C) The home-building firm has a brief written code of ethics that has no statement that applies specifically to this situation.
D) When phoned for advice, the plumbing supply firm’s CEO told the customer rep that it was OK to “fib a little” to get a contract like this.
E) The faucet shipment comes with a tracking number and goes to a distribution center within driving distance so that, if necessary, the plumbing firm can expedite its arrival.

ANSWER

Answer: E
Explanation: E) If the representative has thought out a “Plan B” by which he can guarantee delivery of the shipment on time, then the promise is morally supportable. So Choice E is correct. Otherwise, the promise is ethically suspect regardless of how it is justified. Choice A makes an assumption that cannot be guaranteed: if the contractors arrive Tuesday morning for the faucets and they are not there, the representative is caught in a lie. Choice B is a good motive for making sure the shipment arrives on time, but not for deceiving the customer. If the fib is exposed, it is unlikely that the event will in fact lead to more business. Choice C describes the code of ethics at the home-building firm, which may or may not be similar to what the customer rep is expected to follow at the plumbing supply firm. Choice D indicates that the overall demeanor of the plumbing supply firm is based on morally shaky grounds, which hardly justifies the ethics of lying to a customer.