The Problem
Bruce Maitland is the owner of Maitland Motors dealership in Twin Cities. In 1984, Maitland Motors had been operating very profitably for a couple of years. Their increase in profits was due to leasing vehicles to two-divisions of Wisconsin-National, Inc., A total of nearly 300 cars in total. This would not have been possible before Bruce Maitland met Chuck Harper in 1980. However, Chuck Harper is also the source of the problem that Maitland Motors is experiencing. It first started when Bruce and Chuck became acquainted, which then turned into a friendship. Chuck Harper at the time was a branch manager at Mid South Tool and Die in Alabama. After a couple of dinners, Chuck and Bruce discuss how Mid South Tool would be needing to lease some new vehicles and that Chuck would like to lease them from his friend Bruce. Bruce wrote up the lease agreements, which Chuck said he would agree to under one condition, a side “Gentlemen’s Agreement”. This gentlemen’s agreement was for Maitland Motors to provide a truck for Chuck that did not have the same specifications as the other leased vehicles. This is against Wisconsin-National’s policy when leasing cars and they will not pay for cars outside the specifications. Chuck however convinced his friend Bruce that to do this was not in the policy, but was well utilized by many employees. He suggested that by spreading the cost of the additional specs to Chucks vehicle over the lease amounts for the other vehicles, and not specifying the add-ons in the lease agreement that Wisconsin-National would still agree to the lease and they would both win. Bruce agreed and so started his business relationship with Chuck. As Bruce finds out doing business with friends can cause a problem. In 1982, Chuck was promoted to vice-president of Wisconsin National and would become general manager of Mid South Tool and Die in. Factors to consider:
How did Bruce Maitland get into his present situation? Why do you think he is so worried now?
Has Bruce Maitland really done anything wrong? What federal, state, or other laws or regulations (if any) apply to this situation? How does the concept of business ethics apply here?
Answer the following question.
What should Bruce Maitland do?