You are to assume the role of an assistant manager at SOUTHW

You are to assume the role of an assistant manager at SOUTHWEST EATS, a family-owned restaurant with three locations in a medium sized city. Another employee has learned that a member of management may be acting improperly, and has asked you for advice. The employee believes that the manager in question may be using company equipment and funds improperly to support a privately owned restaurant that he and other family members have started on the side. The employee suspects that the manager is using significant company resources including, time on the job, office supplies, equipment, software, and travel expenses to support this other restaurant. In addition to the direct use of company resources, the employee also suspects that at least one of the company’s major suppliers has provided free materials and equipment that were used in the operation of the private business. For the past few months, the employee has confidentially researched this issue and has confirmed this hunch about this improper activity. In fact, just two weeks ago, the employee inadvertently learned that a distributor of industrial kitchen equipment, who is bidding on a contract with SOUTHWEST EATS, has sent some equipment to the manager’s restaurant to “test it out.” The employee has asked you to discuss the situation and then advise him/her about what course of action to take. He/she is worried about reprisals and is not sure about whether the manager’s actions are illegal, unethical or innocent.

Discuss how you will proceed? What are the issues/ethics that you will need to address?-DISCUSS

Solution

In a specific change the manager is using Southwest eats resources for his own benefit. This is an illegal activity which should not be done by the manager for his own restaurant.
Opening a side business is always ok but using resources of the main business in which you are working is totally illegal. Using something for the benefit of other business rather than putting it in the benefit of the business it belong to is totally unethical as well as illegal.
As per company who deals in industrial equipments for Southwest eats, manager cannot directly ask supplying company to send some testing materials for his own organisation as the supplier is directly related to the Southwest eats.

For discussing this is specific situation, the employee should report this incident to other members of the top management of the food chain. By telling the proper issues with the evidences to the top management, overall effectiveness of the specific problem management can be easily increased. As using the equipment of the restaurant is not correct for manager for his own restaurant , other management authorities will take an action against the manager who is using companies a sources for his own benefit.
Approaching the topic oddities would also reduce the chances of getting reprisal from the manager. Asking the management not revealing identity while confronting the manager would also given the very essential steps for doing this specific reporting easily and more efficiently by reducing the risk.