Joseph Green of Purchasing
Joseph Green, who is in charge of departmental purchases, is puzzled by a purchase order submitted by Daniel Terry a post-doc in the Oldham lab. The chemical is the same one that Terry has been purchasing every couple months on his NIH post-doc grant, but this time the form indicates that the purchase should be charged to Prof. Oldham's NSF grant account. So, Green gives Terry a call to check. "Yes, that's correct," Terry says when Green explains the situation. "I'm getting low on funds in my account, so Dr. Oldham told me to start putting my supplies on his NSF account. There should be plenty of money there." When Green explains that he can't approve charging supplies for one project to an unrelated project because that would be against university and federal policy, Terry becomes agitated. "Look," he says, "just do as I've asked, OK? I'm already in trouble with Oldham. He says I'm bothering him too much about little things. Just this morning he was going on about how I need to make decisions on my own and be more independent. I need him to write me a good recommendation letter for a job I'm looking at. How is it going to look if you bother him about my purchase order?"
Case Discussion
Interests of the Affected Parties
- Joseph Green has an interest in keeping his job as well as maintaining good relationships with the members of the departments with whom he works, particularly the faculty.
- Daniel Terry, as a post-doctoral fellow, has an interest in learning and doing as much as he can in his current position so as to prepare himself for the next step in his career path. At this stage, he is interested in demonstrating his competence and ability to be an independent researcher.
- Prof. Oldham is interested in minimizing the time he spends on administrative details, and maintaining his good standing as a recipient of federal grant funding. He also has an interest in training excellent post-docs who will do well in the future and so increase his reputation.
- The university has an interest in continuing to receive federal grants, and avoiding audits, scandals and sanctions. It is interested in being a good place for its employees to work. It also has an interest in being perceived as a good place for post-doctoral training to enhance its reputation as a research university.
- Sponsors of research such as the NIH have an interest in having grant monies used for only the projects they have approved for funding.
Obligations
- Joseph Green, as an administrative staff member, has obligations to the funding agencies, the university, and researchers such as Terry and Oldham to be sure that the relevant policies are followed when purchasing research materials. In short, he has a responsibility to monitor sponsored awards effectively. He also has obligations to the members of the university's research community to facilitate their work, and to avoid causing harm.
- Daniel Terry, as a post-doc, has an obligation to learn and begin taking on the responsibilities of an independent researcher, including the obligation to act ethically and within the constraints of accounting policies. He also has an obligation to avoid pressuring anyone to do something that is illegal.
- Prof. Oldham has obligations to follow established policies in spending his research funds, to oversee the use of those funds, in addition to helping Terry to develop into an independent researcher, and to writing accurate letters of recommendation for Terry.
- The university has an obligation to have policies that are as clear as possible and to see that the relevant parties are aware of these policies. It is obligated to follow its own policies and those of research sponsors. The institution also has obligations to facilitate the work of faculty and other members of the research community, and to support its administrative staff.
Ethical Issues
There appears to be a conflict between Green's obligation to follow financial policies, and his obligation to facilitate the work of researchers. The clearest conflict is between following financial policy, and aiding in the growing independence of Terry and his advisor's positive view of him. There also is a conflict between Green's responsibility to Oldham's trainee, Terry, and his responsibility to Oldham himself to properly account for Oldham's research funds. The latter responsibility is also connected with Green's responsibility to fulfill the obligations contained in the terms of sponsored projects.
Consequences of Actions
If Green does nothing, proceeds as Terry asks, and the charge to the NSF grant is later questioned, he is exposing himself and Oldham to serious consequences. Green could even lose his job.
If Green takes aggressive action and contacts Oldham saying something like "I just had to call you; your post-doc is trying to get you into trouble with the NSF" he will be undercutting Terry and most probably harming Terry's relationship with Oldham. By taking such a heavy-handed approach, Green may even be damaging his own future interactions with Oldham.
However, a measured approach by Green could result in good outcomes for all concerned. He could insist that Terry check with Oldham again, suggesting the Oldham may have overlooked the requirements of the federal regulations. Green could also check with Oldham directly, but do so in a questioning rather than accusative mode being careful to avoid impugning Terry. With a little sensitivity mixed in with a firm assertion of what can and cannot be done, Green should be able to get the purchase charged to an appropriate account without unduly harming the relationship between Oldham and Terry.
