Loyalty and Fairness

Sue's dilemma stems from the conflict between her personal ethics and the ethics of the company, and indeed industry, in which she works. In this case, she has the moral right, but she also has a professional obligation. It is interesting to note that this is the second time she has found herself in this situation. The first time, she put her moral position ahead of the interests of her employer.

The Swiss banking industry operates the way it does as a means of competitive advantage. Most banking industries have strict anti-laundering policies specifically designed to weed out companies such as this. It is clear, however, that the Swiss industry courts this kind of business. They may only tacitly accept the business, but the authorities in charge of the business understand that the rules regarding secrecy give them a competitive advantage in dealing with criminals.

In this case, Sue must follow her own sense of ethics. She will place her superiors in an awkward position if she takes her concerns to them. Whether she does or does not do so is entirely up to her, but the best course of action for Sue is to leave the Swiss banking industry. This one company may be obviously laundering money but surely there are others. By working in the Swiss banking industry she is facilitating such activity whether she has suspicions of such or not. This contradicts her personal ethics. Even if she pushes this company to another bank, she can expect to encounter this situation time and time again. Sue must take responsibility for herself not to be part of the problem. Thus, her best choice is to leave the industry and take up employment in a business that subscribes more closely to her own ethical code.

She has an alternate choice, however, in that she could pass along information to international crime agencies. This will put her in more direct conflict with her company, however. Since there is nothing new or shocking about her bank's involvement with such illegal business entities, she will gain little in such a crusade. She is fully within her rights to take this approach, but it contradicts her ethical duty to her employer and ultimately is likely to accomplish little.