Everyday dilemmas
Corruption or unethical conduct can be found anywhere in our organisation. It can have many causes and can be difficult to detect. The dilemmas below are examples of challenging situations that you as an employee may face and where the answer is not always black or white. The information that follows can provide you with guidance with regard to how to handle such situations.
Gifts
In connection with international students arriving in the autumn, before the course starts, someone visits you in your office. A student who will be taking your course brings several lovely gifts from her home country, and you feel impolite, not wanting to reject her. Reluctantly, you accept the gifts and place them on your shelf.
Private individual or researcher
You are a researcher, but also a partner in a company. In your latter role, you are invited to a conference, where the organiser pays for all expenses. The topic of your lecture also happens to be your research domain. Since you are invited as a private individual, you accept and attend the conference.
Dinner with an evening activity
As a thank you for us being a major customer, a supplier has invited you as the manager to a joint activity followed by dinner. The supplier has tickets to a handball match that you will go to together, and then you will have dinner at a restaurant.
Administration of a related party’s application
Your sister has submitted a late application for a course, and you have received the matter for administration. She does not have the same surname as you, and no one knows you are related. You see no issues with her application or entry requirements and enter her as accepted.
Commissioned training
You have a commissioned training teacher assignment. After a while, the companies begin to contact you directly, and since your schedule is fully booked, you feel that you can teach the courses in your leisure time instead of in KTH time. After all, you already have the material from KTH. You ask that the payment be made directly to you.
Christmas buffet
A supplier invites you to a showcase of new products and, in connection with this, you are invited to a Christmas buffet. This is an annual and highly popular arrangement. Several people from your department usually participate, so naturally, you sign up.
Gifts from suppliers
Every Christmas, the supplier stops by with a large box of chocolates. It is for you, as a thank you for your good collaboration during the year, he says. You gratefully accept it and bring it home to the great joy of your family.
Examination
A student has missed their exam for the third time. You perceive the student as almost threatening. Their parents call you and are upset, and the student visits you in your office several times. You decide to review the student’s results, since they are so close to the limit now.
Procurement
KTH is in the middle of a major equipment procurement. Several parties have submitted tenders. As a member of the procurement working group, you are wondering whether it matters that you play golf with one of the parties every Saturday. You almost never talk about work, so you think it is OK.
Travel
You are travelling for work, and KTH has a procured travel agency that must be used when booking a plane ticket. You have found a cheaper plane ticket online, thinking that you might be able to save money for KTH in this way.
Social media
You are sitting at home and surfing the web when, in a social forum, you see a colleague’s rather rude post about the students on the course your colleague is responsible for. Your colleague describes them as quite lazy and uninterested, although in a humorous way. Still, you are not sure whether you should like the post.
Research Project
You are about to choose partners with whom to jointly seek funding from a government financier. You choose company A because you owe their CEO a favour. You also choose company B, which is your nephew’s company and where you are a board member, since the company could use the extra income.