Accepting Gifts and Amenities (Texas A&M University Engineering Ethics Cases )

There is general agreement that bribery is wrong, but one must still decide where to draw the line between offering or accepting ordinary hospitality and a bribe. Based in part on actual events, the hypothetical case study from chemical engineering services was developed as a casuistry case to examine where to draw the line between acceptable hospitality and bribery.

Tom was named the department manager of a large new chemical processing unit to be designed and constructed. During the course of his work, Tom suggested to the project designer an alteration to the design that considerably improved safety. After Tom's suggestion has been successfully implemented, Tom was offered a very nice fishing trip to South America. Should Tom accept the fishing trip?

Several variations to the situation are also presented and arguments for and against accepting the gift are given.

Accepting Gifts and Amenities Case (opens in new window) maintained by the Texas A&M University.

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