Oil and Military Intervention Oil and Mil.docx

Oil and Military Intervention
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Oil is one of the most important natural resources on the
Earth and one of the most fought over. Since many nations on
the globe are dependent on oil what happens in oil rich
companies becomes a global concern especially for the United
States. A lack of oil could potentially create major damage to
the American economy but despite this military intervention

concerning oil should only involve protecting this natural
resource not going to war in order to obtain this resource.
America’s military interest in a country should not be motivated
by oil but a real need for military intervention.
There has been a great debate for years over the true reason
America intervened in Iraq after 9/11 with some finding the
motivation was less about terrorism but more about protecting
oil sources in the country. American troops have been tasked
with protecting petroleum pipelines in Iraq but this is not the
only country where America has inserted their military power in
order to provide a global oil-protection service. U.S. personnel
in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of Georgia, also
protect pipelines and refineries and supervise the local forces
assigned to protecting these oil sources (Habsburg, 2011).
Oil sources in unstable countries are not only important to
America but countries across the globe. Even though there is
much opposition to the United States military acting as global
oil-protection service until there is a realistic alternative for
fuel consumption the main oil sources in the world must be
protected. The American military has been an asset in areas that
are conflict prone and economically unstable but rich in oil in
protecting this natural resource. While America should never
use its global power to dominate a weaker country in order to
take their petroleum but they should provide assistance where
needed to protect this resource.
While many complain abut America’s foreign policy to use
the military to ensure the flow of petroleum from these unstable
countries is not stopped without these efforts the cost of fuel
would only continue to rise and anger the American citizen.
Protecting the words oil has been a policy since Truman and
Eisenhower administrations and continues today in the Obama
administration. After World War II there were many threats to
Middle East oil which seemed to threaten the safety of Persian
Gulf oil resulting in the American military being used to secure
flow of Persian Gulf oil (Klare, 2004). Since oil in this area is
vital to the global economy it is essential for America to use the

military when necessary to protect the natural resource.
On the other hand America’s massive petroleum needs
should not be the reason they send in the military. People in
opposition with the policy of the United States to send in the
military, in order to stop any interruptions in the flow of
petroleum from unstable countries, find America dependency on
oil is there true motivation. People opposing the American
military’s role in foreign oil also complain that these measures
only end up benefiting big business who exploits the instability
of the area and lack of proper regulation (Foxiv, 2011).
Petroleum is the most common natural product in the world.
Without it countries, like America, will experience grave
economic disruptions. America should continue to protect the
world petroleum but never force a country to accept the
intervention of the United States. Many believe America has an
alternative motive when they send in the military to ensure the
flow of petroleum is not interrupted in unstable countries.
Despite this belief without these efforts the westernized world
would have less access to the world greatest resource and as a
result the American economy would be damaged.
References
Foxiv, J. (2011). U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil Directly
Responsible for Rising Gas Prices
and Our Costly Interventions in Middle East. Restore
America Legacy, p. 201
Habsburg, J. (2014). Evidence of a serious conflict of interests
in the U.S. government over Iraq.
Klare, M. (2004). Blood and Oil: The Dangers and
Consequences of America's Growing
Petroleum Dependency. Holt, Henry & Company, Inc., New
York, New York
493

CHAPTER 17 Ethical and Legal Responsibilities of Sales
Managers
Management of a Sales Force, 12th Edition 495
Managers
487
competitive industries.4 This is not to say that individuals
involved in such deceptive practices get away with them.
Prudential Insurance Company paid $425 million to settle a
class action suit for using selling practices that deceived
customers. Archer Daniels Midland, the United States' largest
miller of corn, soybeans, and wheat, paid a $100 million fine
for price fixing. One of its executives pleaded guilty to theft,
money laundering, conspiracy, and tax evasion.5
For executives who ignore the unethical activities of their reps,
the consequences are serious—lawsuits, fines, ruined careers,
and imprisonment. The damage to their companies is also great
in terms of lost customers and potential customers. So,
regardless of the pressure to compromise personal standards, all
of the recent evidence suggests that it is not in the best interests
of salespeople and sales managers to do so.
The Problem of Determining Ethical Standards

As individuals, sales managers usually have their own standards
of ethical conduct. And they usually abide by these standards in
managing their sales forces. Most of us believe we act ethically
by our own standards. However, ethical standards are set by a
group—by society—and not by the individual. Thus, the group
evaluates what you as an individual think is ethical.
The problem is that the group (society) lacks commonly
accepted standards of behavior. What is considered ethical
conduct varies from one country to another (see the
International Perspective box), from one industry to another,
and from one situation to another. Looking to the law or
corporate policy for guidance often leads only to more gray
areas rather than to clearly defined, specific guidelines.
3 !'
An International Perspective
Bribery is found in many (perhaps all) cultures and political
systems. In fact, in many foreign countries, there is no way a
company can hope to make sales without paying fees or
"commissions" (translate that as bribes) to agents in those
countries. Bribery is so implanted in many cultures that various
languages have slang words to designate it. In Latin America, it
is called the mordida (small bite). It is dash in West Africa and
baksheesh in the Middle East. The French call it pot de vin (jug
of wine). In Italy there is la bustarella (the little envelope) left
on a bureaucrat's desk to cut the red tape.

However, under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, it is
illegal for U.S. companies to offer bribes to foreign officials or
candidates. This law was amended by the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988. In this amendment, a distinction
is made between subordination and a facilitation payment.
Subordination involves payment of large sums of money, for
which there is not proper accounting, to entice an official to
commit an illegal act. This is considered illegal under U.S. law.
A facilitation payment, in contrast, involves the payment of
relatively small sums of cash to low-ranking officials, where
not prohibited by law, to facilitate or expedite the normal,
lawful performance of a duty-It is important to remember that
all employees of every U.S. company are subject to the laws of
the United States regardless of the country in which they are
conducting business. Furthermore, sales managers are held
responsible not only for their own actions but also for the
actions of their internationally based employees. So any
subordination payments made by U.S. companies doing business
in any foreign country would be considered illegal and
punishable under U.S. law.
488 PART 5 Evaluating Sales Performance
The moral-ethical-legal framework presents special problems
for sales executives, more than for most other managers.
Entertaining customers in a gambling house, for example, may
be either moral or immoral from an individual's point of view.
This entertainment may be considered acceptable (ethical) or
not depending on the industry's practice. And it may be legal or
illegal, depending on whether it happened in Nevada or
California.
In some of the situations discussed in the following sections, it
is apparent that it will be difficult at times for the manager to
decide whether or not a particular action is ethical.

Ethical Situations Facing Salespeople and Sales Executives
Ethical questions are involved in many of the relationships that
sales managers have with their salespeople, their companies,
and their customers. A few of these situations are discussed
here.
Relations with the Sales Force
A substantial portion of sales managers' ethical problems relates
to their dealings with the sales force. Assume, for instance, that
a salesperson has built a territory into a highly profitable
district. The rep may have even worked under a straight
commission compensation plan and paid his or her own
expenses. An executive who sees this salesperson's relatively
high earnings may decide the territory is too large and therefore
must be split. Is this ethical? Yet is it sound management not to
split the district if the sales executive believes there is
inadequate coverage of an overly large district?
In some companies, management takes over the very large,
profitable accounts as house accounts. (These customers are
sold directly by some executive, and the salesperson in that
district usually receives no commission on the account.) The
ethics here may be questionable, particularly if the salesperson
spent much time and effort in developing the account to a
profitable level. Yet management may feel that the account is
now so important that an executive should handle it.
Ethical questions often arise in connection with promotions,
termination, and references. If there is no likelihood that a sales
representative will be promoted to a managerial position, should
the rep be told? If the sales manager knows that the rep is
working in expectation of such a promotion, to tell him means
to lose him. In another instance, when a managerial position
opens up in another region, a sales manager may keep a star
sales rep in her present territory despite the rep's qualifications
and desire for promotion. And what is management's
responsibility in giving references for a former salesperson? To
what extent is a manager ethically bound to tell the truth or give
details about former employees?

Relations with the Company
Changing jobs and handling expense accounts illustrate the
ethical prob-lema involved in sales executives'relations with
companies. When changing
positions, a manager may want to take key customers to the new
employer. Ethical and legal questions may arise if this
executive tries to move those customers to the new firm.
Many times, a sales manager possesses information that could
be highly useful to a competitor. Naturally, it is difficult to
control the information a manager gives to a new employer. But
beyond certain limits, such behavior is clearly unethical.
Ethical questions may arise in the interpretation of expense
account policies. Suppose that top management states it will pay
only 26 cents a mile to sales reps or sales managers who use
their personal cars for company business. Yet a sales manager,
knowing that actual expenses are 30 to 35 cents a mile at the
minimum, may be tempted to pad mileage and then encourage
the reps to do so, too, to make up the difference. The manager
may justify this action by rationalizing that the money is really
being spent for business purposes and thus the spirit of the
expense account is not being violated. Ethical questions include
the following: Should sales personnel manipulate expense
accounts to protect themselves from the stingy policies of top
management? In so doing, they are only recovering money
honestly spent in the solicitation of business for the firm. Or
should they attempt to get policies changed? Or, failing that,
should they change employers rather than commit what they
believe are unethical acts?
Relations with Customers
Perhaps the most critical set of ethical questions facing sales
managers is associated with customer relations. The major
problem areas involve information, gifts, and entertainment.
Information. It is important that salespeople provide their
customers with all of the information that enables them to make

informed decisions. Sometimes salespeople make
recommendations that are not in the best interests of their
customers. For example, they may neglect to give the customers
complete information. To cite one example, several insurance
reps were trying to sell new policies to their current
policyholders. In doing so, the reps failed to tell their customers
that the new policies seemed less expensive than they really
were because they were paid for in part by using up the cash
value of the older policies.6
Sometimes salespeople knowingly sell a higher-priced product
when a lower-priced product would have fulfilled the customer's
need just as well. The Journal of the American Medical
Association claims that pharmaceutical sales representatives are
pushing higher-priced calcium channel blockers for high blood
pressure when cheaper diuretics and beta blockers are just as
effective.7
Gifts. The practice of giving gifts to customers, especially at
the holiday season, is time-honored in American business. But
today, perhaps more than ever before, the moral and ethical
climate of giving gifts to customers is under careful scrutiny.
The practice is being reviewed by both the givers and the
receivers of gifts. Some firms put dollar limits on the business
gifts they allow their employees to give or receive. The Internal
Revenue
489
Managers
490
PART 5 Evaluating Sales Performance
Management of a Sates Force, 12th Edition
Service places a limit of $25 a year on the amount that may be
deducted for business gifts to any one person. Other firms have

stopped the practice of giving Christmas gifts to customers.
Instead, some of these firms offer to contribute (in amounts
equal to their usual gifts) to their customers' favorite charities.
It is unfortunate that gift giving to customers has become so
complicated and so suspect. A reasonably priced, tastefully
selected gift can express appreciation for a customer's business.
Today the problem lies largely in deciding what constitutes
"reasonably priced" and "tastefully selected." The following
examples illustrate this problem:
· A box of golf balls may be a reasonable Christmas gift to give
a $5,000-a-year customer. But is a $3,000 personal computer a
gift or a bribe when given to a million-dollar customer?
- It is customary for appliance manufacturers to reward their
distributor-customers with an all-expense-paid incentive trip to
the Bahamas. But is it acceptable for a pharmaceutical company
to invite its doctor-customers to Jamaica for an all-expense-paid
seminar?
· It is a legal and acceptable practice for a manufacturer to give
a department store's sales clerks "push money" to promote the
manufacturer's brand. But can this manufacturer rightfully give
the head buyer a little something extra for first getting the
product into the store?
Fortunately, sales executives have some time-tested guidelines
to help them avoid gift giving that is unethical or in bad taste:
· Never give a gift before a customer does business with the
firm.
· Do not give gifts to customers' spouses.
· Keep the value of gifts low to avoid the appearance of undue
influence on future purchase decisions.
· Follow your company's policy on gift giving.
· Walk away from the business if the customer pushes for
something that exceeds these guidelines.8
Entertainment. Business entertainment is definitely a part of
sales work, and a large portion of the expense money is often
devoted to it. Reps who spend this money unwisely on accounts
with little potential waste time, and their selling costs will be

out of line. Indeed, a contributing factor in salespeople's
success may be their ability to know the right person to
entertain and the nature of the entertainment called for.
Over the years, some useful generalizations have been
developed for customer entertainment:
· Entertain to develop long-term business relationships, not one
order.
· Keep the entertainment appropriate to the customer and the
size of the account.
Be sensitive to customer attitudes toward types of
entertainment.
· Do not rely on entertainment as one of the foundations of the
selling strategy—use it only to complement the strategy.
497
Management of a Sates Force, 12th Edition
·
(
Establishing an Ethical Climate
It is not realistic for a sales manager to construct a two-column
list of prac
tices, one headed "ethical" and the other "unethical." A better
approach is es
tablish a climate within the organization in which every person
always consciously tries to make ethical decisions. An
ethical climate
is one in which the employees of the organ
ization believe that typical organizational practices and
procedures are ethical. It is important to establish an ethical
climate. This is done by enacting policies that specify,
discourage, monitor, and correct unethical behavior. Below are
some guideline
s to help establish an ethical climate.
Take a Long-Run Point of View
Sales executives should understand that ethical behavior is not
only morally right but also, over the long run, realistically
sound. Too many sales admin

istrators are shortsighted. They
do not see the possible repercussions from their activities and
attitudes. Whether or not the buyer was deceived or pressured
may seem unimportant so long as the sale is consummated—the
brush mark of one immediate sale seems unimportant when the
entire ca
n
vas is examined. Management often does not recognize that
such practices can lose customers or invite public regulation.
Figure 17-1 provides some questions that may help a sales
executive evaluate the ethical status of pro
posed actions. Furthermore, a
recent survey suggests that most customers consider a
company's ethical reputation when selecting vendors. In
response to this, many companies are encouraging their reps to
sell their companies' integrity and ethical behavior.
9
Put Guidelines in Writing
In the mid-1970s, spurred by revelations of bribery at home and
in foreign business dealings, many U.S. companies developed
codes of ethics,
which are written ethical guidelines to be followed by all
employees. A survey by the Ethics Resource Center showed
that 84 percent of the companies surveyed have codes of
conduct and 45 percent have ethics offices.
10
Figure 17-2 pre
sents the main points of the code of ethics adopted by the
American Market
ing Association, the largest association of professional marke
ters in the world.
Writing a code of ethical conduct is no easy task. Critics claim
that such a statement usually is public relations window
dressing that covers up a bad situation and corrects nothing.
Nevertheless, higher levels of ethical behavior have
been found in firms where codes of ethics are in place and

enforced.
11
An ethical code that is part of the culture of an organization is
likely to affect the
) (
FIGURE 17-1
)
491
Managers
·
Evaluating the Ethical Status of a Business Decision
l.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Is this sound from a long-run point of view? Would I do this to
a friend?
Would I be willing to have this done to me? (The Golden Rule)
Would I want this action publicized in national media? Would I
tell others about it? Who is damaged by the action?
491
Managers
492
PART 5
Evaluating Sales Performance
Management of a Sales Force, 12th Edition
FIGURE 17-2
499

The American Marketing Associations (ode of Ethics
Professional Conduct
Marketers'professional conduct must be guided by:
499
1. The basic rule of professional ethics: not knowingly to do
harm;
2. The adherence to all applicable laws and regulations;
3. The accurate representation of their education, training and
experience; and
4. The active support, practice and promotion of this Code of
Ethics.
Honesty and Fairness
Marketers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor and
dignity of the marketing profession by:
1. Being honest in serving consumers, clients, employees,
suppliers, distributors and the public;
2. Not knowingly participating in conflict of interest without
prior notice to all parties involved; and
3. Establishing equitable fee schedules including the payment or
receipt of usual, customary and/or legal compensation for
marketing exchanges.
Rights and Duties of Parties in the Marketing Exchange Process
Participants in the marketing exchange process should be able
to expect that:
1. Products and services offered are safe and fit for their
intended uses;
2. Communications about offered products and services are not
deceptive;
3. All parties intend to discharge their obligations, financial and
otherwise, in good faith; and
4. Appropriate internal methods exist for equitable adjustment
and/or redress of grievances concerning purchases.

decision making of that organization's employees. Such codes
lessen the chance that executives will knowingly or
unknowingly get into trouble, and they strengthen the
company's hand in dealing with customers and government
officials who invite bribes and other unethical actions. They
also strengthen the position of lower-level executives in
resisting pressures to compromise their personal ethics in order
to get along in the firm.
In addition to providing guidelines for ethical decision making,
a code of ethics can contribute to the general ethical climate of
an organization if it is endorsed and enforced by top
management. Having a code of ethics is a concrete sign that the
organization cares about whether or not its employees behave in
an ethical manner.
Reinforce the Ethical Climate
A code of conduct must not only be written; it must be
enforced. Reps who violate the code should be reprimanded; if
they don't cease their unethical behavior, they should be fired.
In other words, a code of ethics becomes an effective means of
guiding behavior only if it is enforced; otherwise, it is
meaningless.
Top managers must serve as ethical role models for employees.
They must not only verbally endorse ethical behavior but also
practice it. Clearly, salespeople are not going to take any code
of ethics seriously if they see their immediate managers and
other executives behaving unethically. Unfortunately,
499
many managers do not serve as role models. A national survey
of4,000 business employees found that 25 percent of those
responding felt their companies ignored ethical conduct in order
to meet business objectives and that 17 percent believed their
companies encouraged unethical practices.12
Provide Ethical Training
Another means of reducing the occurrence of unethical behavior

is for the company to provide ethical training to its employees.
Often, sales situations are complex, particularly in international
situations. Sales managers or salespeople may want to behave in
an ethical manner but may not be aware of the ethical
implications of some of their decisions; or even if they are
aware, they may not know what is the most ethical action to
take in a particular situation. Training—through the use of
cases, role plays, and games—can simulate ethical dilemmas.
This can increase ethical sensitivity and skills.
Public Regulation and Sales Managers
Public regulation at any level of government—federal, state, or
local— touches a company's marketing department more than
any other phase of the company's operations. This does not
imply that regulation of nonselling activities is unimportant.
The Securities and Exchange Commission affects corporate
financing, minimum-wage legislation influences several aspects
of personnel and labor relations, various measures establish
safety regulations for offices and factories, local zoning laws
affect plant location, and so on. However, the various
regulatory measures that affect areas of marketing— such as
pricing, advertising, and personal selling—are the ones that will
have the greatest impact on the behavior of salespeople and
their managers.
As established by the Federal Sentencing Commission for
Organizations in 1991, both the employee and the employee's
company are responsible for compliance with federal
regulations. That is, the government holds the company
responsible for preventing misconduct on the part of its
employees. It must establish and communicate standards of
behavior to employees, monitor employee conduct, allow
employees to report criminal activity, punish those who violate
the standards, and take steps to prevent further criminal
conduct.13 Sales managers must ensure that their salespeople
are aware of their legal responsibilities. To do this, they must
provide training with regard to their legal responsibilities and
routinely provide updates concerning the most recent legislation

and court decisions.
If a manager believes that the behavior of a particular
salesperson may lead to legal problems, the sales manager
should take action immediately to make the rep cease the
questionable behavior.
There are four areas in which sales executives are affected by
government regulation of business: price discrimination, unfair
competition, the Green River type of municipal ordinance, and
cooling-off laws.
Price Discrimination
The Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) and its Robinson-Patman
Amendment (1936) are federal laws that generally restrict price
discrimination. Sales administrators, for example, cannot allow
members of their sales force to

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