DP1

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP1

Should Roe offer personal gifts to the foreign government officials as a condition of securing the engineering contract, given that the practice is legal and customary locally but prohibited by the NSPE Code of Ethics?

Roe's firm is negotiating an engineering contract with a foreign government. The foreign officials authorized to award the contract expect personal gifts as a prerequisite for contract award. This practice is legal under local law, customary in the host country, and followed by competing engineering firms. The gift condition is deliberately excluded from the written contract, making it an implicit off-contract arrangement. Roe must decide whether to offer the gifts and accept the contract under these conditions.

Provide the expected personal gifts to the foreign government officials, treating the practice as a legitimate local custom and competitive necessity, and proceed to execute the engineering contract under the implicit gift condition.

Refuse to offer personal gifts to the foreign officials, decline to participate in the corrupt procurement arrangement, and withdraw from the contract competition even at the cost of losing the business opportunity.

Arrange for the gifts to be made indirectly through a local agent or intermediary rather than offering them directly, attempting to create a layer of deniability while still satisfying the implicit gift condition.

Roe (International Engineering Firm Principal)