Integrity in Business: A Case Study of Sandwich Blitz, Inc.

AB140-Unit 8 Assignment
Name
December 6, 2014
Owning a business comes with many responsibilities, along with abiding by and staying current on numerous health codes and laws. One of the most important would probably be keeping your integrity. Dalman, owner of Sandwich Blitz, Inc., faces a dilemma. All his locations are quite small but there are new health codes requiring trash dumpsters to be a certain length away from his stores’ rear entrances and also land-use laws that require them to be a certain length from the property line. At one of his locations, a government inspector informed one of Dalman’s location managers the dumpster is a foot off of abiding by both these laws, however, he is willing to overlook it if Sandwich Blitz provides food for a work party of his. The manager relayed this information to Dalman so what would be the right thing for Dalman to do?
The eight steps toward integrity is something that all corporations and businesses should strive to excel at. These eight steps include; doing what we say we will do, doing the right thing, taking responsibility, supporting our own weight, holistic thinking, respecting others, checking the mirror, defining the rules and values. As stated by Bateman and Snell

(2012)"Unethical corporate behavior may be the responsibility of an unethical individual, but; it often also reveals a company culture that is ethically lax"(pg. 76). Sandwich Blitz as an organization that is trying to grow and expand should definitely work towards the goal of keeping integrity as a priority. In the example case, I think there are a few of the steps that could fit this Sandwich Blitz situation.
The obvious answer to most people would be to do the right thing.

With awareness of what’s right comes the obligation of the right action. That’s mean embodying our convictions- and accepting the consequences. (Sherman, 2003) The right thing for Salman to do is not to accept the government inspector’s proposal or should I say bribe and to find another way to legally adhere to the codes and laws. Integrity must remain constant no matter what the circumstances to gain respect of the employees and community as a whole. At its core, integrity begins with the company’s leader who understands the qualities of integrity which filters down throughout the company into every department and every member’s approach and attitude. (Moment,

2004)
It may be tempting (and a lot easier) to Dalman to take the inspector’s bribe and to be done with it. Right now it would be less stressful and probably less expensive to just accept and be done with it. But taking the easy way out and discounting his integrity will catch up to him in the long run and potentially harm his business he worked so hard to build. Who is to say that that inspector will not rat him out? Or maybe get investigated for taking bribes. If we surround ourselves with people who are dishonest and willing to cut corners to get ahead, then we’ll surely find ourselves following a pattern of first enduring their behavior, then accepting their behavior and finally adopting their behavior. If you want to build a reputation as a person of integrity then surround yourself with people of integrity. (Anderson 2012)
Tom Peters has said, “There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity.” If Dalman allows this petty bribe to happen he might be tempted to take more shortcuts thus harming his success and business.

Reference
Sherman, S. (2003). Rethinking Integrity. Leader to Leader, (28), 39-45. Doi: DOI:10.1002/ltl.28
Moment, R. (2004). Web Pro News. The 7 Principles of Business Integrity. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www. webpronews.com/the-principles-of-business-integrity-2004-07
Anderson, A.R. (2012). Forbes.com. Success will Come and Go, But Integrity is Forever. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from www.forbes.com/sites/amyanderson/2012/11/28/success-will-come-and-go-but-integrity-is-foreve