ABSTRACT
Discount Drugstore is a national provider of pharmacy and health related products that operates over 800 retail stores in Australia and has a revenue of over 7.2 billion Australian dollars. Discount Drugstore is one of many organizations that has an ethics policy statement intended to keep suppliers from using “gifts” to secure an unfair advantage with those involved in vendor selection; the policy includes provisions prohibiting travel and entertainment that might unfairly cultivate the bias of its employee selectors. In reality, many companies including Discount Drugstore have sometimes tolerated exceptions to such policies. The Discount Drugstore ethics code forbids all but “reasonable” vendor gifts, but makes a specifi c exception in allowing top management to participate in golf outings and auctioned trips that are connected with the company’s annual Charity Golf Classic. The ethics policy manual specifi cally reads that an exception to the general non-fraternization policy between suppliers and key managers would be “interactions among the parties stemming from charitable activities.”
