Conflict of Interest Issue

You have just cemented a deal between a $100 million pension fund
and Green Company, a large regional money manager. You and your
staff put in long hours and a lot of effort to close the deal and are
feeling very good about it. You and three of your direct subordinates
are having lunch in a fancy restaurant to celebrate a promotion, when
the waiter brings you a phone. A senior account executive from Green
is on the phone and wants to buy you lunch in gratitude for all your
efforts. "I'll leave my credit card number with the restaurant owner, he
says, You and your team have a great time on me."

1. Gladly accept his offer and thank him.

Pros:- By gladly accepting his offer, I am showing appreciation and
to his acknowledgment of our effort.
Cons:-

By

accepting

the

offer,

the

situation

might

be

misconstrued by the staff members due to two main points:

A) This is not a business lunch called by the senior executive.
B) The senior executive was not present during the lunch.
Also, possibly down the line if any issues arise between us and
the Green Company their senior executive might twist the
situation and state that we have accepted a form of bribery when
this is not the case.

2. Reject his offer politely.

Pros:- Respecting the company's code of ethics demonstrates
professionalism on my part and setting a good example to my
coworkers. In addition, this could also be seen as a form of
bribery.
Cons:- It would be rude to reject his generous offer.
3. Accept his offer and invite him over.
Pros:- By doing so, this can help create a stronger relationship
with the client and possibly get closer on a personal level as well.
Cons:- It might be difficult for him to join us due to being busy
or having prior commitments