FACT PATTERN AND QUESTION
Zarley works as the Procurement Manager for a large Canadian bank, headquartered in Toronto. As the bank’s
Procurement Manager, Zarley makes purchasing decisions for the bank relating to buying equipment, materials,
supplies, capital goods, and services. For example, Zarley and the team that he supervises decides where the
bank will buy office supplies for use throughout the country, what hotels bank employees will use when traveling
on business, what company will provide bank employees with smart phones and their accompanying data
plans, etc. They are also involved in negotiating bank leases with landlords, and deciding who the bank’s preferred
suppliers are for things such as cleaning and maintenance in its facilities, snow clearing, etc.
The bank is quickly expanding and Zarley is asked by management to find 10 locations in southern Ontario in
which the bank can open new branches to serve its customers. In one Ontario city, Zarley meets with landlords
who have vacant commercial space and he discusses the bank’s needs. After many meetings, Zarley and his
team are close to making a final decision as to what space they will lease. The leases are 25-year leases so
they’re great from any landlord’s perspective, particularly since banks have no trouble paying the rent.
In a meeting with Zarley, Brady, one of the prospective landlords, hands Zarley an envelope containing $10,000
cash and 2 new iPads. “These are not for you”, Brady says. “They are for your wife and children.” Although
Brady is careful in choosing his words, the implication is clear: he is trying to influence Zarley’s decision about
leases by providing these benefits to Zarley or his family members.
Zarley’s employment contract with the bank contains the following clause:
All bank employees are required to comply with the Code of Business Conduct (the “Code”),
which may be amended from time to time, and to certify their understanding and compliance
in writing on an annual basis. The Code is attached for your review. Please review the
Code before the start of your employment, and ensure that you get clarification from your
manager if you are unclear on any requirements contained in the Code.
The bank’s Code of Business Conduct, that is incorporated by reference into Zarley’s employment contract
(meaning the Code is a contractual obligation) includes the following provisions:
Achieving the highest standard of ethical behavior means that we will not engage, directly
or indirectly, in bribery, kick-backs, payoffs or other fraudulent or corrupt business practices.
If we are approached by an employee, supplier, client, government representative, or
other third party with an opportunity to engage in such activity, we will report the incident
to our manager, or through the confidential ethics hotline.
Zarley badly needs the money, but he knows it’s wrong to accept so he politely returns the money and iPads to
Brady. He contemplates telling his supervisor about this, but decides not to. Brady seems like a nice guy and he
does not want Brady to get into any kind of trouble.

ASSIGNMENT
Write a brief essay [maximum 500 words] that analyzes the ethical issue concerning Zarley only in this
fact pattern. In your essay, please identify and briefly discuss:
? an issue within the above scenario that has both a legal and an ethical dimension;
? whether Zarley acted legally in that instance; and
? An assessment of whether the Zarley acted ethically, using ONE of the four types of ethical reasons
discussed in class and in the ethics video / slides. (For your convenience, the four types of ethical
reasons discussed in class are set out below.)