The following appears in the print issue of our cover story, "What Would You Do?" this month. It's a conversation among meeting professionals about industry ethics, and we encourage you to continue the conversation in the comments section below. 

Can you use points for personal rewards?

DEBRA BARRETT, CMP, senior manager of meetings and conventions, American Academy of Dermatology: Points should not be used for personal gain.

CATHY BREDEN, CAE, CMP, COO, International Association of Exhibitions and Events: Employees can use points from their American Express cards, but don’t advertise it.

Would you accept a room upgrade while running an event?

JOAN EISENSTODT, founder, Eisenstodt Associates: Maybe. It depends on what the upgrade meant and if others (the client, for example) were given the same. Let’s say that they upgraded me to a “business plan” room that included phone calls that would save my client (or employer) money, or that the upgrade was to a floor with free breakfast, saving my client or employer the money for breakfast. In any case, I’d clear it with the client/employer before taking it and I’d get the approval in writing.

BREDEN: I would not ask for it, and I don’t ever expect it. When I am upgraded, it is a nice surprise. It’s silly to put me in a suite—I’m never in it! We receive some nice perks in this business, but one should never expect or ask for them.

BARRETT: I feel it is up to the hotel if they want to or not, I would never demand it and have denied it especially if I have VIPs who should get the room. I once had a hotel yell at me that I didn’t have my boss on the VIP list—I told them that he is not a VIP. However, if the hotel feels he is, that would be up to them.

Could you accept a round of golf or spa service? 

GAYLE WEISMAN, CMP, senior conference planner, IEEE Communications Society: I can. After all, how am supposed to know if it is worth anyone’s time to use the spa if I haven’t used it?

BREDEN: Yes I could, but I don’t play golf. If it’s part of a package we receive from a property and my attendees are offered it as well, I would accept (again, this is me personally). 

EISENSTODT: I would not. And I think this again depends on the purpose: Is it to experience the course because your meeting participants will use it while they are there? Is it offered to the client, CEO or others as well? Is it approved in writing by the client or CEO? 

BARRETT: No, but I don’t golf and if I did it would depend [on] if my group was a big golfing group, then it might be worthwhile to try out the courses so you can advise the group. 

Would you bring a guest on a FAM if you were invited to do so?

BREDEN: Me personally, probably not. 

EISENSTODT: Again, it depends on the client’s or company’s ethics or operational policies, the purpose of the FAM, if guests were asked and why I was going. If the ethics or operational policy is silent, I’d look at the CMP policy (if I were a CMP) and I’d talk with my boss or client to clarify the purpose of the FAM: what I would be doing while there, my guest’s involvement and more...and get it all in writing! 

BARRETT: We are not allowed to participate in FAM trips.

Can you accept a fruit basket in your room?

BARRETT: Yes, most times you’re up very early and may not get to eat until after everyone is into the meeting, so that banana at 5 a.m. might be your only nourishment [for hours]. 

EISENSTODT: I’d have disclosed, up front, before the trip, whether or not I was permitted to accept anything and if I thought there was a chance of something being sent, I’d say, “Thanks but no thanks” and explain why.

Can you take ink home for your printer if you’re working from home or use office equipment for personal use?

BREDEN: Yes, we reimburse our telecommuters for their office supplies. 

EISENSTODT: It depends here on the policy, what’s in writing and how permission is given or not.

WEISMAN: There have been times I’ve made copies in the office because we have to travel so much for this job I don’t have time on my own to do some of the things I need to do.

BARRETT: No.

Humans have bartered with each other for thousands of years, so it's not surprising that almost 70 percent of U.S. service employees trade or give away goods and services, which costs companies billions of dollars a year, according to a new study out of Michigan State University (MSU).

Clay Voorhees, study co-author and a MSU assistant professor of marketing, says one of the best ways to combat this illegal practice (called “sweethearting”) is through better job candidate screening.

“Our results show that by adding a few screening questions that focus on the potential employee’s risk-taking, ethics and need for social acceptance, employers could identify ‘bad apples’ up front and simply avoid hiring them,” Voorhees said. “In the long run, this approach would address the issue.”

In the short term, Voorhees says, education and training are needed about the ramifications of sweethearting and how it damages a firm. 

“Simply reminding individuals of their ethical obligations can greatly reduce deviant behavior,” he said.

The study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Marketing, is the first to look at sweethearting specifically. Voorhees co-authored the study with Michael Brady and Michael Brusco of Florida State University.

Employee theft costs U.S. firms about $200 billion a year—40 percent of which stems from sweethearting, according to previous research.

Voorhees and colleagues surveyed nearly 800 service employees and customers in restaurants, hotels, car washes, cable television installation and repair companies, tanning salons and other retailers and service providers.

Some 67 percent of respondents said they had participated in sweethearting in the past two months. Many employees surveyed said they were motivated by the prospect of receiving better tips and similar sweetheart deals at the customer’s place of business (“tit-for-tat”).

“I was surprised by how pervasive this behavior was across a wide range of service industries,” Voorhees said. “I fully expected to see this behavior in bars and restaurants, but I was surprised at how prevalent it was in industries like retail, sports and recreation, and even with insurance claims.”

So, meeting industry professionals, is sweethearting a rampant issue? Do you consider it bad? Do you practice it yourself? Please let us know in the comments.

(Story materials provided by Michigan State University.)

The Journal of Management published an interesting study last month that showed leaders are thought of as more ethical when their moral development is greater than their followers. 

"Despite a business environment that highlights the importance of executives’ ethical leadership, the individual antecedents of ethical leadership remain largely unknown," the authors wrote in the study's abstract. "In this study, the authors propose that follower perceptions of ethical leadership depend on the executive leader’s cognitive moral development (CMD) and, more importantly, on the relationship between executive leader and follower CMD. In a sample of 143 leader–follower dyads, the authors find a direct positive relationship between leader CMD and perceptions of ethical leadership. Using polynomial regression, they find that ethical leadership is maximized when the leader’s CMD diverges from and is greater than the follower’s CMD. The authors explain these findings using a social learning theory framework. Leaders who are more advanced ethical reasoners relative to their followers are likely to stand out as salient ethical role models whose ethics-related communication and behavior attract followers’ attention."

How distinct should leaders moral development be from their employees? 

"It depends what outcomes you are after," wrote Alex Fradera on BPS Occupational Digest. "If you want employees to have higher job satisfaction, evidence suggests it's actually better for the leader to closely share their values, meaning everyone is comfortably on the same page. Yet as the authors note, 'divergence leads to better outcomes when it is important for leaders to stand out and be noticed.' To close, here's a telling detail from the study: in over half the pairs, the executive actually had the lower score in moral development."

Ethisphere Institute--a think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability--includes four meeting and event industry companies on their annual World’s Most Ethical Companies list.

Kimpton Hotels, Marriott International, The Rezidor Hotel Group and Wyndham Worldwide were singled out for demonstrating real and sustained ethical leadership within their industries, putting into real business practice the Institute’s credo of “Good. Smart. Business. Profit.”

The World’s Most Ethical Company designation is awarded to companies that have leading ethics and compliance programs, particularly as compared to their industry peers.