| The purpose of this study was to identify ethical dilemmas faced by members of the Purchasing Management Association of Philadelphia (PMAP), which is an affiliate of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) formerly known as the National Association of Purchasing Management. The study also intended to discover if members are aware of the Principles & Standards of Purchasing Practice document, and further, if this document was perceived to be helpful in resolving ethical dilemmas, and if so, how. Finally, this research examined the relationship between how purchasing professionals respond to ethical dilemmas and various classification variables. Information for the study was gathered by a web survey and analyzed in a variety of ways. First, open-ended questions were coded for the various ethical dilemmas revealed by respondents. Second, responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric techniques. Frequencies for classification responses were reported and chi-square analyses for ethical resolution, reasons for choosing resolution, and awareness of the Principles & Standards of Purchasing Practice were tabulated. The results of this survey indicate the following ethical dilemmas, in descending order, are encountered by purchasing professionals: (a) suppliers offering gifts, (b) being asked to reveal confidential supplier information, (c) unprofessional treatment of or by suppliers, (d) unethical management requests, and (e) conflict of interest. About 21% of the respondents reported that they had not faced an ethical dilemma in their purchasing practice. This study found that 65% of PMAP members are aware of the Principles & Standards of Purchasing Practice document and 73% of those who are aware found it to be helpful in resolving their ethical dilemmas. Respondents said they used the document as a reference, as an outline of proper behavior, as a back up to demonstrate proper behavior, and some use it along with other guidelines. Significant differences in awareness were found among the following classification variables: title, years of PMAP membership, ethics training attendance, and ISM certification. No significant differences were found among the classification variables and how purchasing professionals respond to ethical dilemmas. |
