SHAREHOLDERS
You work for an investment bank that provides advice to corporate clients. The deal team you work on also includes Pat, a marketing manager, Joe, the credit manager for the team, and several other professionals. Just before your team is scheduled to present details of a new deal to senior management, Pat suggests to Joe that the deal would have a better chance of being approved if he withheld certain financials. ‘‘If you can't leave out this information,'' Pat says, ‘‘at least put a positive spin on it so they don't trash the whole deal.''

The other team members agree that the deal has tremendous potential, not only for the two clients but also for your company. The financial information Pat objects to-though disturbing at first glance-would most likely not seriously jeopardize the interest of any party involved. Joe objects and says that full disclosure is the right way to proceed, but he adds that if all team members agree to the ‘‘positive spin,'' he'll go along with the decision.

Team members vote and all agree to go along with Pat's suggestion-you have the last vote. What do you do? In this hypothetical case, what is your obligation to the shareholders of your organization and to the shareholders of the two organizations that are considering a deal?

Are shareholders a consideration in this case? Are customers? Are employees?

Could the survival of any of the three companies be at stake in this case? In a situation like this one, how could you best protect the interests of key stakeholder groups?