Case to assess Assurance of Learning Goal 2 (Ethical Perspectives)

Michael Greer is the Marketing Vice President for Atlantic Lubricants headquartered in Boston with extensive operations in New York City that services many of their larger clients. All of his expenses are paid by his company. Last month he traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to discuss a sales contract with a firm that had been recently purchased by one of his best New York customers.

Greer is allowed up to $65 per day for meals and $350 per day for hotels when he is traveling to New York to service his clients there. To his surprise, the food and lodging costs in Omaha were much less than he expected and were roughly half of what he normally spent in Manhattan. Being upset that he was sent to Nebraska for a very small customer account and the trip caused him to miss the New England Patriots opening home football game; he decided to turn in his usual travel cost amounts he is allowed whenever he goes to New York. After all, the company allowance was higher than what he actually had to spend in Omaha. In the end, he was only trying to recover some of the cost of his tickets to a game that he could not attend because of his work assignment.

Assume that Atlantic Lubricants would never find out that he had actually spent less.

1. How would you evaluate Mr. Greer's decision to file his travel expenses? Explain briefly.

2. Who is affected by Mr. Greer's decision to inflate his travel expenses?

Identify all the entities who will be impacted by Mr. Greer's actions of not submitting the correct travel expense claim.

3. What are the consequences of Mr. Greer's actions? What would you do?