CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE

WORKPLACE

A SEMINAR PAPER PRESENTED BY

SHODIPE, OLUWAFUNMILAYO ABIMBOLA

RUN 10-11/3119

ON THE 8TH OF OCTOBER 2013

AT THE FOURTH CHRISTIAN WRITER’S

WORKSHOP ORGANISED AT THE

DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMUNICATION

REDEEMER’S UNIVERSITY

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to sincerely give thanks to the Almighty God, for His

grace and the ability He gave to me to carry out the necessary

research for this seminar paper despite the long list of

activities I am occupied with.

I wish to acknowledge Mr. Emmanuel Ifeduba for giving me insights

on how to explore the paper, to Miss Dami Adedeji for her

assistance offered in proof reading of this seminar paper, to Mr

Dayo for his assistance and allowing use the internet facility in

his office.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Cover page…………………………………………………………………………Pg 1

Acknowledgement……………………………………………………….................Pg 2

Table of content…………………………………………………………………….Pg 3

Section one:

Introduction……………………………………………………………......................Pg4

Ethical standards that relate to conflict of interest

Integrity………………………………………………………………………Pg 6

Fidelity…………………………………………………………………….....Pg 6-7

Objectivity……………………………………………………………………Pg 7

Honesty………………………………………………………………………Pg 8-9

Accountability………………………………………………………………..Pg 9

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Questions that relate to conflict of interest in the

workplace………………………..Pg 9

Section two…………………………………………………………………………..Pg 10-12

Section three…………………………………………………………………………Pg 13-15

Section four ……………………………………………………………………….....Pg16-17

References……………………………………………………………………………Pg18-20

SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION

Defining Interest

An interest may be defined as a commitment, goal, or value held

by an individual or an institution.

Examples include a research project to be completed, gaining

status through promotion or recognition, and protecting the

environment.

Defining Conflict of Interest

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“A conflict of interest (COI) occurs when an individual or

organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which

could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in another.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest (accessed on 12

Sept. 2013)

“A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a

risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary

interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.”

(Thompson, Dennis (1993). "Understanding financial conflicts of

interest" New England Journal of Medicine 329 [8])

“The circumstance of a public officeholder, business executive, o

r the like, whose personal  interest

might benefit from his or her official actions or influence: The s

enator placed his stocks  in trust to avoid possible conflict of interest.”

(www.dictionary.com//browse/conflict+of+interest accessed 1st

Oct. 2013)

“A definition of a conflict of interest is any activity,

financial investment, interest, association, or relationship,

(including relationships with family members, relatives, friends,

and social acquaintances), that conflicts with an employee’s

independent exercise of judgment concerning their employment.”

(www.securityinfowatch.com/conflictsofinterestandtheworkplace)

A conflict of interest exists when two or more contradictory

interests relate to an activity by an individual or an

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institution. The conflict lies in the situation, not in any

behavior or lack of behavior of the individual.

With the various definitions of conflict of interest mentioned

above it is easy to point out that conflict of interest is a

situation that can influence an employee from taking a right

decision which should be in the best interest of his/her

organisation.

Since it is now clear what conflict of interest is let’s now

briefly study some ethical standards that relate to conflict of

interest.

An example of a conflict of interest situation “An HR director

decides to investigate a charge of sexual harassment, using

internal resources she controls, against a fellow corporate

executive whom she has known and worked with professionally for

years.”

According to the Canadian Council for International Co-operation

(CCIC) (2008) accessed on

http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/pubs/Managing-Conflict-of-

Interest.pdf, Conflict of interest may occur in various forms,

they include:

• Self-dealing, for example when a person uses his staff or Board

position to make, or influence, a decision to provide funding to

an organization in which he has an interest. Or, the person goes

outside normal, objective hiring processes to give a job to a

friend or family member.

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• Influence peddling, which means that a person solicits or

accepts some form of benefit in return for influencing activities

or promoting someone else’s interests. For example, an employee

obtains a sponsorship from a travel agency for the soccer team

she coaches, in return for the travel agency receiving business

from the organization that employs her.

• Misuse of information or property, when an individual uses

information or property to which he has access because of his job

or volunteer work, and to which others would not have had access,

for some personal benefit. For example, an individual may learn

that a branch of his organization plans to issue an

importantrequest for tenders, and tell a friend so the friend’s

consulting company has more time than its competitors to prepare

to submit a bid. Misuse of property could involve, for example,

using one of your organization’s vehicles for personal purposes,

or using the organization’s photocopier to copy documents for

your own small business, without first obtaining permission to do

so.

• Taking some form of employment or other activity that one’s

employer could possibly see as conflicting with the employer’s

interests. An example might be if an employee owns a business

that sells pesticides when her employer, a health organization,

has a public position against pesticide use.

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• Accepting undue benefits, such as significant gifts (e.g. the

person responsible for purchasing equipment in your organization

accepts tickets to a hockey game from a supplier).

Ethical Standards That Relate To Conflict Of Interest

Integrity

“Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values,

methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes.

In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty

and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Integrity can be

regarded as the opposite of hypocrisy, in that integrity regards

internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties

holding apparently conflicting values should account for the

discrepancy or alter their beliefs.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity accessed on the 4th of

October, 2013)

If we can be men of integrity indeed then when the ethical

dilemma of conflict of interest arises we would know how to

tackle it.

Fidelity

“The definition of fidelity is truth and honesty. If you are

trying to get someone to hire you for a job, close a business

deal or start a strong relationship, fidelity is a key quality

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that you must possess. Many people closely associate fidelity

with faith (a belief in a higher power). In many faiths, fidelity

is one of the most important attributes that a person must have.

In fact, in some cases, faith is considered to be equivalent to

fidelity. Infidelity is considered to be a serious sin”

(http://www.ehow.com/about_5419060_definition-fidelity.htmlaccessed on 1st of Oct. 2013)

Fidelity refers to faithfulness whether to a person, cause, or

belief, which is usually portrayed by continuing loyalty and

support to that cause, belief or person, and it is mostly used by

those in relationships. Being faithful or loyal to an

organization requires belief in what that organization

represents. Employees should not divulge sensitive information

about their organization to outsiders. For instance, an employee

having discussions with friends from other companies must not

give out information about the company that is classified.

We should be like Ruth who was loyal to Naomi even after her sons

were dead and nothing was binding them together anymore, and her

loyalty paid off because she became the great grandmother of King

David and her name was not left out in the genealogy of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

It is written in the bible precisely in Colossians 3 verse 22-24,

that slaves should obey their master wholeheartedly in everything

and do it with the sincerity of the heart so that they can

receive their rewards in heaven. It is to be noted that fidelity

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pays off at the end and helps to form a stronger bond in the

workplace because everyone believes in the mission of the

organization.

Objectivity

“The state or quality of being objective”

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/objectivity accessed on the 4th

of October, 2013). The opposite of the word objective is

Subjective.

Objectivity refers to the state, or condition of being fair, or

free from bias or injustice. Objectivity is recognizing and

accepting “what is,” without projecting our mental models,

background, culture, experiences and responding thoughtfully,

deliberately and effectively.” (www.principlesofobjectivity.com

accessed on the 4th of October, 2013)

If as Christian Writers we can be objective we would do what is

right and when a conflict of interest situation arises we would

tackle it appropriately.

Honesty

According to Jagg Xaxx, an eHow contributing writer, honesty is

an important foundation for the professional success of an

organization or an individual (www.eHow.com, accessed on 30th of

September 2013).

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Honesty has already been defined as being trustworthy, loyal and

sincere. Being honest starts with you, being Honesty as an

ethical standard is one of the virtues people have to live by.

Are we truly sincere and loyal to the company we work for or its

just our profit that we are concerned about?

Employees must avoid time theft. Employees should be honest about

how the office time is spent. For instance, employees should not

be making personal phone calls during office hours or take time

out to deal with personal or home situations. Employees should

also not be sending or checking emails that are not related to

work during work period rather they should do it during break.

Many organizations have internet access and employees should not

use it for personal gains or spend time on social networking

sites during office hours. Also employees should endeavor to

return properties to the appropriate personnel when clients leave

them behind.

Honesty in the workplace would help to maintain a moral course in

the workplace especially in turbulent times and help promote

strong teamwork and productivity among employees.

Honesty also promotes trust in the workplace. A person that has

been tested over time and found to be honest in all his dealings

would be trusted more than others. He/she would be more relied

upon by his superior and sensitive information can be given to

him making him feel like part owner of the company. Such a man

would work more so that he would not disappoint his superiors. In

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conclusion, like the bible says in Proverbs 12verse 22, “the Lord

detests lying lips, but delights in men who are truthful”. We

should always strive to be honest in all our dealings and this

can only be achieved if the superiors are honest and take the

remaining employees along.

Accountability

“In ethics and governance, accountability is

answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of

account-giving.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability

accessed on 6th of Oct. 2013)

“It is a check and balance system to protect us from harm from

ourselves and others. We do this by being open to what we are

thinking and doing so we can receive encouragement and reproof,

when needed. Christian accountability is accounting for what we

are up to. It is the realization that we are liable, responsible,

and answerable for our actions in life to God (Matt. 12:36; Rom.

2:16; 14:2; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10), as well as to key

Christians in our life (John 13:34 Gal. 6:1-2; Philip. 2:4; Heb.

10:23-24; James 5:16). Thus, we need to hold to our beliefs and

keep in line with what we believe so it does not distract us from

God's path for us or discourage others from their path.”

(http://www.discipleshiptools.org/pages.asp?pageid=60401 accessed

on the 6th of Oct. 2013)

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He who is accountable would deal appropriately with conflict of

interest situations.

QUESTIONS THAT RELATE TO CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE WORKPLACE

1. Why do we have conflict of interest in the workplace?

2. Why do employers place a high value in fidelity & honesty?

3. As Christian writers when we are faced with issues that

relate with conflict of interest how are to handle it?

SECTION TWO

Why do we have conflict of interest in the workplace?

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Conflict of interest cannot be absolutely absent in an

organization however it does not mean it should be tolerated.

The expectation of employers over their employees is for them to

make decisions that are ethical and are in the best interest of

the organisation.

For some organisations, there is an absence of a system to

appropriately take care of the need of their employees and so

when their employees are faced with situations that are conflict

of interest related they compromise thereby making conflict of

interest problematic in the workplace. For instance, As a

reporter, you have been sent to cover an event, and you have not

received your salary for 3 months, you are in need financially,

however when you finished your report, the senator gives you a

financial reward 3 times of your one month salary. Are to collect

the money having it in mind that if you do it would influence

your story against your company’s in-house policy? Or do you

refuse to collect such financial reward and rather borrow money

from friends? The company has therefore put the employee in a

difficult situation of conflict of interest where it becomes very

likely that the employee compromises.

However, compromise is not our watch word as Christian Writers it

is expected that at all time we do what is right because we are

heirs of the Father who knows no sin. We should also remember

that our God sees all and whatever He allows to happen to us he

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has allowed for reason, so let’s walk in His will always, and

deal with conflict of interest matters honestly and objectively

like asking yourself “would the action I am about to take be of

benefit to this organisation?

As Christians we are Pacesetters because the scriptures say “Ye

are The Light of the World” we are a city set on a hill that

cannot be hidden, so let’s endeavor to do what is right always.

The operation of some organisations is very dynamic and the

changes made are not or are not adequately communicated to the

employees and so when employees are faced with situations as such

they make uninformed decisions to the detriment of the

organisation. For instance an HR person in an organisation might

not be aware of the company’s improved policy on the issue of

employing family or close relative, and so such a person when

his/her company is recruiting staff would recruit family and

close relative even when he/she knows that they may not be the

best for the job.

In some situations the employers are not considerate of the fact

that asides work their employees have a life they live and care

about, all such employers think about is their organization

alone. For instance, Henry’s new job at J & R Machine Shop was

very unpredictable, some nights were extremely busy. Between

rushed repairs, he and his co-workers barely had time for breaks

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and dinner. Most nights, however, were calm. The employees took

turns making repairs as they slowly filtered in.

Most of Henry’s fellow employees had been at J & R machine shop

for many years. As Henry sat some nights anxiously waiting for

repair to come through, he noticed that many of the other

employees would work on their own broken lawn mower or tractor

parts.

One evening before Henry went into work, the drive shaft on his

own lawn mower broke. He knew it would be a slow night at work,

and he would definitely have time to fix the drive shaft.

Henry checked to see if urgent repairs needed to be made before

he started working on his drive shaft. Focused on his repair, he

didn’t notice when his boss walked into the shop. When his boss

approached him and asked what he was working on, Henry had to

tell him the truth. His boss lectured him, pointing out that he

was not paying Henry to make personal repairs.

Now Henry’s boss is very right when he said that He was not

paying Henry to make personal repairs, however he failed to be

realistic that in some circumstances his employees would not do

what is required of them. I am of the opinion that if Henry’s

boss had been in his shoes he would have done the exact same

thing. When Google had the same problem J & R machine shop is

having (employees doing personal jobs at work) the strategy

Google put in place was to create a time asides from lunch break

for employees to do personal stuff with the internet like reply

mails, have video calls, chat, and attend to other personal

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duties. I believe the same strategy is what the J & R machine

shop need to put in place to solve the problem of employees doing

personal work during work hours. However same advice might not

apply to other organisations.

Another reason why there’s the presence of conflict of interest

in the workplace is that some employees are unable to balance

their work life with their other activities and so a conflict of

interest problem occurs.

Employees should learn to handle situations that are conflict of

interest related effectively. Why do employers place a high value in fidelity & honesty?

Employers place a high value in fidelity & honesty because they

understand that if all of their employees could embrace these two

moral principles (Fidelity & Honesty) the company would indeed

prosper and things would be done appropriately.

Employers also place a high value on fidelity and honesty because

most vices and problematic situations that surface in the

workplace are as a result of the absence of Fidelity and Honesty.

For instance bribery and corruption would not be a problem if

employees could but embrace fidelity and honesty.

Employers place a high value in fidelity and honesty because they

can employ them as vital guides to resolving conflicts of

interest in the workplace.

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As Christian writers when we are faced with issues that relate

with conflict of interest how are we to handle it?

Workplace conflicts of interest must be dealt with fairly and

openly to avoid poor decision making and breakdown in trust.

As Christian writers we should treat conflict of interest

situations with objectivity and no form of bias at all. We can

ask ourselves questions like would the action I am about to take

be to the profit of my organisation or is it just my own

profiting I am worried about?

We can also handle workplace conflict of interest by empathy, see

yourself as the manager of the organisation would you still make

the same decision you are about to make? If you are true to

yourself in answering the question then you can correctly handle

conflict of interest situations.

We can also handle workplace conflict of interest by being loyal

and devoted.

Workplace conflict of interest can be handled with discipline and

integrity.

Workplace conflict of interest can be handled with honesty.

SECTION THREEApplications and examples of conflict of interest in the workplace

Employers quite rightly get very angry when they discover that

their employees have been conducting private businesses during18 | P a g e

working hours and/or in conflict with the best interests of the

employer. A key obligation of the employee is to serve the best

interests of the employer. Therefore, conflict of interest is

seen by many managements as gross misconduct meriting dismissal.

Examples of scenarios of conflict of interest at the workplace

are identified below;

In the case of Steven Vs Crown National (Pty) Ltd (2002, 5

BALR 546) the employee was guilty of planning, together

with a colleague, to set up a spice business in competition

with her employer. After she was dismissed for conflict of

interest she referred an unfair dismissal dispute to

the CCMA. The arbitrator found that the dismissal had been

unfair because the employee had only contemplated the

opening of her own business and had not actually competed

with her employer. The employer was ordered to pay the

employee compensation equal to six months' pay.

In Devine Vs SA Breweries and another (2003, 2 BALR 130)

the employee was dismissed for being involved in a private

business selling computers to colleagues. The CCMA found

that the dismissal was unfair because the computer business

was so different to the employer's business that it did not

constitute a conflict of interests. The employee was

reinstated with full back pay.

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Carter has just been promoted to assistant manager at

therapy, Inc. her boss, Ms. Wong, asked her to prepare 1000

bottles of lavender therapeutic oil.

First, Carter needed to find the cheapest rate for bulk

grape seed oil in order to make the bottles of lavender

oil; carter calculated that the company would need

approximately 32 gallons of grape seed oil to produce 1000

bottles of lavender oil.

As she began researching and making phone calls, she

remembered her long time friend, Ali, sold grape seed oil.

Carter was also aware that Ali and her family were

struggling financially. As carter finished her research and

began to compare prices, she realized that Ali was selling

her grape seed oil at a more expensive price than most other

competitors.

Ms. Wong asked for the best deal on grape seed oil, but

Carter felt obligated to help Ali’s family. After

considering the matter carefully, when Ms. Wong asked for

Carter’s results, Carter gave her the address and phone

number for Valley Grape seed Oil Company, which sold the oil

at the lowest price. Carter also made a point to suggest to

Ali that she may have her grape seed oil priced a little too

high, based on her recent research.

An employee starts a company that provides similar services

to similar clients as those of her full time employer.

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The 'Judge' for a custody hearing on a minor child is

related to one of the parents of the child. This judge

would be considered to have a conflict of interest because

they were related to one of the parents and may pass

judgment for the parent they are related to, regardless of

the evidence in the case. 

Your lawyer is a member of the board of directors of a

business, or owns stock in the business, which you are

filing a lawsuit against. This lawyer would have a conflict

of interest because they are tied to the business and may

or may not do certain things that could affect the outcome

of the lawsuit.

As a sound mixer at a large recording studio in San

Francisco, Pascal works with state-of-the-art recording

equipment on million-dollar contracts with famous musical

acts. Though his job is glamorous and fun, Pascal struggles

to pay the bills and feed his family.

Pascal’s modest yearly salary increases are no match for the

rising cost of living in San Francisco. Ever since his wife,

Pru gave up her teaching position to pursue a music career,

Pascal has been the sole breadwinner for his family.

Lately, Pru has been gaining recognition as a local singer

and songwriter. Hillel, a talent scout from a major record

label, has expressed interest in her work.21 | P a g e

The problem is, Hillel must return to his office in New York

by the end of the month, and he can only take five recording

of Pru’s work by the end of the month in order to convince

his supervisors to sign her a deal- a deal that could bring

in hundreds of thousands of dollars to the family.

The poorly mastered home recordings Pru has will not be

sufficient. Pascal and Pru know that this is an opportunity

of a lifetime, but their limited budget will not allow them

to pay a professional studio to do the job.

Though the solution seems painfully clear, Pascal is worried

about using company time and equipment to work on a personal

project. He is working on several major CDs with tight

deadlines-big money, advertised release dates, and the

company’s reputation are at stake.

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SECTION FOURConclusion

A summary of all the information in this seminar paper is that

conflict of interest in the workplace challenges will surface but

how we approach and treat it as Christian writers is what

matters.

Employees are expected to make decisions that are in the best

interest of the company. Sometimes, however, a decision that is

in the best interest of your company is not going to be in your

best interest.

Employees can uphold Honesty and Fidelity which in turn can be

used as effective framework for understanding how to resolve

conflict of interest situations. Loyal employees typically make

decisions based on what’s best for the company-rather than on

what’s best for themselves.

We should remember that we are accountable to God and always have

the scripture “do unto others what you want others to do unto

you” in mind, if you know that a decision you are about to make

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is detrimental or bad business for your organisation then do not

make such decision because you have to remain loyal and devoted

to your organanisation.

Do only what is right in the sight of God and for your

organisation.

Recommendation

An organizational culture that makes it clear that conflict of

interest situations are part of life

and should be dealt with, can help empower all employees and

volunteers to take responsibility for ethical behaviour and

decision-making within the organization.

Creating a culture in which people are comfortable taking

responsibility to “self-declare”

Conflicts of interest will help avoid the development of a

culture of accusations and finger-pointing

However in the a circumstance where our organizations are yet to

adopt employee friendly policy that helps the employee deal the

conflict of interest situations easily then as Christian writers

we should ensure with conflict of interest situations,

I. Openly and fairly

II. Be objective

III. Have it in mind that you are accountable not just to God but

also your organisation so do what is right.

IV. Be disciplined

V. Continue in loyalty

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VI. In circumstances where it’s so hard not to compromise then

pray and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

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REFERENCES

Categories/Examples of conflict of interest (2013) accessed on

http://www.peopleinaid.org/pool/files/pubs/Managing-Conflict-of-

Interest.pdf on the 6th of Oct. 2013.

Chase, K.R.: 2004, ‘Christian Perspectives on Business Ethics:

Faith, Profit, and Decision Making’, Business & Professional

Ethics Journal 23 (4)

Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists (2013) accessed on

www.nigerianpresscouncil.com on the 1st of Oct. 2013.

Conflict of Interest (2013)

www.dictionary.com//browse/conflict+of+interest accessed 1st Oct.

2013

Conflict of Interest (2013)

www.securityinfowatch.com/conflictsofinterestandtheworkplace

accessed on the 1st Oct, 2013

Conflict of Interest (2013)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest accessed on 12

Sept. 2013

Encyclopedia Britannica

Examples of conflict of interest (2013) accessed on

http://www.labourguide.co.za/workplace-discipline/complicated-

cases-of-conflict-of-interest-211 on the 6th of Oct. 2013

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Examples of Potential Workplace Conflicts of Interest (2013)

accessed on

http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryc/qt/conflict-of-

interest.htm on the 6th of Oct. 2013

Fidelity (2013) http://www.ehow.com/about_5419060_definition-

fidelity.html accessed on 1st of Oct. 2013

Honesty (2013) www.wikipedia.com accessed on the 30th of

September 2013.

Honesty (2013) www.eHow.com accessed on 30th of September 2013

Jagg Xaxx (2013) Honesty accessed atwww.eHow.com, on the 30th of

September 2013.

Integrity (2013) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity accessed

on the 4th of October, 2013

Objectivity (2013) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/objectivity

accessed on the 1st of Oct. 2013

Objectivity (2013) www.principlesofobjectivity.com accessed on

the 4th of October, 2013

Objectivity (2013) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/objectivity

accessed on the 1st of October, 2013

Rossouw, G.J.: 1994, ‘Business Ethics: Where have All the

Christians Gone?’ Journal of Business Ethics 13 (7)

The Student Bible, New international version.

Thompson, Dennis (1993) "Understanding financial conflicts of

interest" New England Journal of Medicine 329 [8]

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