Eva was a clever and efficient staff member working on a fixed-term contract in a large firm.  She could easily complete her assignments before the deadlines; but she preferred not letting other colleagues know about that because she did not want extra workload given to her and making other colleagues look less capable.  Being a fixed-term contract staff member, she understood that she would leave the firm at the end of the contract.  Hoping to make her mark one day and to secure future income, she was thinking the possibility of developing her side-business during the office hours by using the firm’s resources while pretending working on certain projects in the office. 

Eva thought to herself: it was not her fault that she was more efficient and capable than other colleagues.  She was only a fixed-term contract staff member and would leave the firm one day.  She needed to prepare herself for the future.

Was that justified for Eva’s secret plan?  What about the interest of the firm?  What factors does Eva need to consider before taking her course of action?

Felix, a production manager of a large toy factory, had two assistants, Gigi and Gordon.  Gigi was the favourite because she was a young charming lady and also a cousin of the General Manager while Gordon was not because he was brash and sometimes outright insolent.  They were both responsible for handling the overtime claims for workers on the toy production.  The Finance Department had complained to Felix a few times about Gigi and raised queries over some overtime claims forwarded by Gigi.  There were widespread rumours that Gigi might have overstated the overtime hours and even forged claims by using ghost workers.  Yet, Felix could not bring himself to ask Gigi for explanations but went easy on her by telling her to be more ‘prudent’ when handling the overtime claims in the future.  On the other hand, the Finance Department contacted Felix again but this time was about Gordon.  They had questions about some discrepancies on the hours of the overtime claims forwarded by Gordon.  However, Felix treated Gordon more strictly and was much firmer on the occasion.

Was Felix being equally fair to his assistants when handling the queries from the Finance Department?  Would it upset the General Manager if Felix was not kind to Gigi at work, which in return affected Felix’s work prospect?  How would it affect his professional image in the eyes of other colleagues?

A mechanical engineering company in Hong Kong had operated a factory in the Mainland.  Its production manager Mr. Wong was deployed to oversee the Mainland mechanical production process. Mr. Wong had worked in the company for eight years and won the praise and trust from his boss. Since some of the production procedures were subcontracted to other local manufacturers, Mr. Wong was also responsible for sourcing suitable factories and awarding the production orders. As such, Mr. Wong got acquainted with many other manufacturers, and was frequently invited to social activities after work. Two of them suggested offering him a kickback as a reward for placing more production orders and they would inflate the price of the orders to compensate the extra cost, i.e. the kickback to Mr. Wong. Succumbing to the temptations of monetary rewards, Mr. Wong accepted RMB575,000 in bribes and then deposited the bribe money into his bank account in Hong Kong

Would Mr Wong breach any laws? How could companies avoid such malpractices from happening?

Alexander was Manager of Planning in a real estate development firm and was responsible for recommending a contractor to conduct an environmental study.  He was considering Gamble, a small firm which had done outstanding work for the firm in the past.  Roy, a friend and representative of another larger environmental research firm, approached Alexander on the matter over a lunch appointment.  Alexander clearly stated that Gamble would possibly get the contract because of its satisfactory past performance, whereas Roy’s firm had a dozen other contracts to keep them busy.

Roy seemed disappointed but Alexander was glad when conversation turned to other topics.  Roy asked Alexander about the progress of his emigration plan.  In fact, Alexander’s wife, Zoe, had already gone to Canada with two sons to settle down first while Alexander would work a few more years in Hong Kong before joining them.  Roy mentioned casually that he had connections in Toronto and could help Alexander place his sons into the best local school though it might take some doing.  The school enjoyed a reputation for good results and easy access to the University of Toronto.  Alexander understood what Roy really meant.  He desperately wanted to make a head-start for his children and pave a smooth path for them.

Would Alexander commit any offence if he recommended Roy’s company in return for Roy’s help for his sons? What factors should Alexander consider when making the decision?

Karson, the Chief Engineer of a hotel, was assigned to oversee a $5 million renovation project for the hotel’s main lobby.  Kenneth, the proprietor of a construction company, was selected as the contractor for the renovation work.

During the traditional “God Worshipping” ceremony that marked the project’s commencement, Kenneth offered Karson a red packet of $30,000 as a token of gratitude for his assistance in awarding the contract.  Karson gratefully accepted the offer.

One month later, while inspecting the project’s progress, Karson noticed that the quality of the marble used in the lobby was substandard and did not meet the tender specifications.  Due to the tight schedule and cost implications, Kenneth was reluctant to replace the marble.  To cover up the issue, he proposed giving Karson a rebate of 2% of the project sum in exchange for Karson turning a blind eye to the substandard work.  Although bewildered by the offer, Karson verbally agreed to the arrangement to avoid damaging the harmonious working relationship with Kenneth.

Construction company A was planning to carry out a large-scale residential development project on a piece of land in the North East of the New Territories that was owned by the company. The company decided to select a contractor by open tender.

Mr Lee, one of the supervising officers of Company A, was responsible for overseeing the project. By virtue of his position, Mr Lee had access to the business secrets, including the quotation prices offered by other tenderers and recommendations given by the consultancy company.

During the tendering process, Mr Lee arranged to have a meeting with Mr Ho, who was employed by one of the tendering companies. Mr Lee claimed that he could disclose business secrets concerning the project to Mr Ho on the condition that Mr Ho’s company, after winning the contract, would pay him 2.5% of the project construction cost, which would bring him an estimated reward of HK$2 million.

Following disclosure of the bribery scam, Mr Lee was arrested and found guilty of corruption crime.

Upon her return to Hong Kong after a few years in the States, Sandy worked in La Fonda, an architect firm.  She had her first degree in Hong Kong but left for the US with her boyfriend soon after graduation.  Her performance in the firm was brilliant and the portfolios she submitted were excellent.  When her senior Kelly resigned, her unit head Antonio considered recommending Sandy for promotion to take up Kelly’s post.  Sandy was full of hopes.

Antonio was about to nominate Sandy. One evening, he was talking to his cousin Gamma who just returned from a long stay in the States. Gamma had been doing a doctoral programme in Architecture in the University of Vermont. Antonio causally mentioned to Gamma that his prize staff, Sandy, also worked on a second degree at the University of Vermont too.  Antonio thought that Gamma and Sandy might have met in the University because their years of study coincided. But, to Antonio’s astonishment, Gamma could not recall a Chinese lady studying Architecture during his seven years’ stay at the University, particularly as he worked part-time in the Registrar’s Office.  If Sandy had studied there, Gamma would have remembered her.

Antonio was flabbergasted and determined to look into the matter. When he went back to the office the next day, he sent for Sandy at once.  He asked Sandy if the credentials she submitted to the firm were in order. Sandy guessed what he was getting at and blurted out the truth.   

It was a sad story.  Sandy was about to be married to her boyfriend in US when she found out that he was dating another girl who could help him to get US citizenship. He tore her heart into pieces. After a few years of living only on the money sent from home, Sandy finally decided to turn over a new leaf and went back to Hong Kong.  She built up a portfolio of her own work which was in fact copied from overseas designers and made up an academic and professional history for herself.  Then she landed the job at La Fonda.

Antonio did not know what to do.  Should he expose the fraudulent past of Sandy?  Was it his duty to make sure that the firm was not cheated? Would this destroy the career of Sandy who had been a star in the firm?

Sandy had promised to work hard if Antonio kept her secret for her. Could Antonio do that with a clear conscience?

Peter was an engineer in a private construction company. He had been assigned to supervise works carried out on site drainage in the eastern district of Hong Kong Island.  The job was awarded to a subcontractor and the director Stanley was very happy as the project brought in good money and would be renewed annually.

Stanley knew that one of Peter’s hobbies was buying new cars. So each time they met the conversation would invariably turn to the purchase of cars of various makes. Peter realised that Stanley was indebted to him in a way as Stanley’s company secured the contract only by a twist of good luck when others failed to meet the stringent requirements set by Peter.  One day, while chatting, Peter told Stanley he intended to place order for a new limited edition RV Van and he was about to pay the deposit.  But he was in a bit of difficulty over the cash flow at the moment.  Stanley discreetly offered to make the payment for him, and insisted that he need not bother about returning the money so soon.

“It can wait,” Stanley said, “You know it has nothing to do with our business relationship.”

Should Peter accept this loan?  Did Stanley mean it to be a loan or was it an offer in disguise in appreciation of what had happened? What would be the best line of action?  At the end of the day, could Peter let other people know about this arrangement without any scruples?

Alex was a senior engineer of a consultancy firm. Part of his duties was to approve various applications of claims from contractors and subcontractors.  Alex was in a good relationship with a contractor Bernard because they shared the same interest in golfing.

Recently, Alex’s company was responsible for over-seeing a private housing estate project, in which Bernard was one of the subcontractors. One day, Bernard invited Alex for lunch over which Bernard complained the funds for the project was short. He hinted if Alex could use his discretion to approve claims for an additional cost of around $5,000,000 for contingencies. Bernard even tried to convince Alex by offering shares of his company to Alex.

As Alex would retire from his company soon, should he help Bernard this time so that Bernard would return the favour after his retirement?

Brian was interested in estate property management and spent the first few years of his career serving in a large well-established housing estate. His supervisors were experienced and taught him all the things to note in the trade.  Brian worked hard and then switched to another property management firm.  After a few months during which he successfully won his boss’s confidence, he was assigned to be assistant property manager and put in charge of a new low-rise housing estate in the suburbs.

Nevertheless, the new owners discovered numerous defects in the flats.  Complaints flooded in as more and more units began to be occupied.  Brian and his staff were soon building up a thick file of defects list and passing them to the contractor for action.  Meanwhile he had a difficult time trying to pacify the residents and asking them to be patient and wait for things to be rectified.

Among all these, Brian noticed one latent defect which only a very small number of residents had reported so far.  There were brown stains on the floor behind the water-closets in their bathrooms but no obvious leakage. After inspection and discussion with the foreman, Brian realised that this was because of a manufacturing defect in the pipes used for the water-closets. Salt water could easily corrode the pipes.  The only way out was to replace all existing pipes. But this would involve work on more than a thousand water-closets and of course a considerable amount of money.  Neither the contractor nor the developer wished to bear the responsibility and the costs.

A meeting was held in which the contractor told Brian that the best thing to do was to stall until the maintenance period offered by the property developer to the new estate expired.  This was usually within one year of an estate's occupation.  After that, it would be the responsibility of individual owners to change the pipes in the toilets.  Things would be simpler then.

Brian thought it grossly unfair.  But he was no match against the contractor and the representative from the property developer, especially when the latter hinted that if Brian colluded this time, he would be recommended for the post of property manager of another new luxurious housing estate in the near future.  By the time those pipes burst or disintegrate, he would have nothing to do with the sorry mess.  Should Brian turn a blind eye?