Analysis case ‘Noble wines’
1) CONTEXT
The social service department of your organization offers interesting discounts and promotions from
suppliers
on
their
website.
The suppliers contact the social service department. If there are no objections, the social service
department puts the promotion on the website to offer to all employees of your organization.
The social service department has a number of criteria on the basis of which offers from suppliers
can be refused, e.g. no discriminating or sexually tinged offers…
One of the suppliers is Noble Wines. Noble wines is a secondary activity of one of the employees of
your organization. Noble Wines asks to put his offer of a 15% discount on all wine purchases on the
website of the social service department, so all employees of the organization could profit from this
discount.
Is the offer of Noble Wines suitable to put on the website of the social service department?
2) ANALYSIS
2.1. stakeholders/persons involved + their interests
Stakeholders/persons involved
Social service department
- As a whole
- The
head
of
the
department
(responsible for the department)
Their interests
-Image/reputation (equality, alcohol and drugs
policy)
-objectivity/neutrality/ equal treatment of
suppliers and customers
-tasks and objectives of the social service
department (criteria for offers of suppliers,
alcohol and drugs policy of the organization)
The employee who has Noble Wines as -financial/commercial interest double interest
secondary activity (double role: employee and as a employee as a supplier. Thanks to the fact
supplier)
that he works for your organization he could
have an advantage that other suppliers do not
have because he can directly approach his
colleagues to promote his wines
Other suppliers
-inequality (the other suppliers can also ask to
put their discounts and promotions on the
website of the social service department but
they cannot approach the employees directly.
The colleagues of the employee who runs Noble
Wines might feel obliged to buy from him)
Customers of the social service department
-financial/commercial interest (discount), equal
and impartial treatment, client service of the
social service department
Employees of your organization who do not have -equal treatment is jeopardized
a secondary activity and cannot sell any products
or services via the website of the social service
department
Superior of the employee who runs Noble Wines -the superior is responsible for giving permission
The organization
Competent minister
Trade unions
to the employee to combine a secondary activity
with his job as a civil servant.
-superior is responsible for the efficient and
proper functioning of his team (has to take into
account the possible impact of the secondary
activity on the job and duties at the public
service; impact on the other colleagues if the
employee in question might not perform to
standard as a cause of his secondary activity)
Image/reputation (cumulation of activities of
employees: possible abuse of job at the public
service to the advantage of the secondary
activity , alcohol and drugs policy)
Imago/reputation for minister is ultimately
accountable and might have to respond in the
media
Do not like existing benefits for the employees
of the organization to be cut or limited
2.2. Possible alternatives





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Do not make any changes, the offer of Noble Wine scan be put on the website of the social
service department. Equal treatment: whether the suppliers are employees of the own
organization or not, does not make a difference.
All suppliers that work for the own organization, are allowed to put their offers on the
website of the social service department, in view of equal treatment.
Introduce an extra criterium: suppliers who works for the own organization are not allowed
to put their offers on the website of the social services, in view of equal chances for all
suppliers and employees.
Introduce an extra criterium: no offers related to alcohol or drug in keeping with the alcohol
and drugs policy of the organization
The social service department actively looks for and approaches suppliers to have a broad
and varied range of offers on its website (is this the main task of the social service
department?)
Do not offer any discounts or promotions anymore on the website of the social service
department.
2.3. Choice & what values are decisive?