ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT
TEETH
It's Christmas and all over America,
professional purchasing personnel are facing their annual dilemma. Should they
accept gifts and favors from sales representatives? If so, how much should they accept? Where does a buyer draw the line? Can a gift sway a buyer's judgment and
honesty? Three companies employed me in
their purchasing functions, and I faced this issue every year.
Some
of my employers allowed buyers to accept gifts of “nominal” value. Other companies
were far more stringent, allowing nothing of value to be accepted. In one
instance, my boss returned a Christmas gift of three rolls of aluminum foil to
the Alcoa sales representative. It was petty to send him three lousy rolls, and
even more petty of him to return them.
When
I first began working in purchasing, the annual Christmas gift giving was a
rampant cancer. Buyers received gifts of considerable value, a function of
their purchasing authority. Liquor was the gift of choice for many in the field.
It was embarrassing to come to work and have high cost booze delivered to your
work place by a low paid mailroom employee.
Gradually,
this practice died out. A Professional Purchasing Association came into being,
and those who became active members embraced its code of ethics that forbade
gifts. Coupled with the determination to forgo drinking alcohol during lunch, a
noticeable improvement in Corporate Purchasing evolved. Companies began to
increase the academic requirements of its Purchasing staff. Universities began
to offer specific programs leading to a degree in Purchasing. No longer were
buyers people who drifted into the field haphazardly. They were more likely to
be individuals who had chosen this field as a profession. In turn, companies
began to tie salary increases to scholastic achievements, including the
attainment of a Certified Professional Manager upon completion of a rigorous
examination conducted under the auspices of the Purchasing Management
Association.
Still,
Christmas is a time for sharing, and many a buyer may get a gift or two, wanted
or not. Vendors find a way of sending gifts to your home. What can you do if
some firm insists on sending you a fruit cake?
A box of Swiss cheese could not possibly influence a Professional Purchasing
Agent’s judgment (unless it happened to contain tickets to the Super Bowl).
One
has to be pragmatic about accepting gifts. My attitude was that sales
representatives could give me anything, provided they paid for the item out of
their own pocket, and that its value was such that I could afford to
reciprocate. This seemed to work effectively, because rarely did vendors shower
me with anything of value, with one notable exception.
While
visiting the facilities of a local electrical supply house to say goodbye to
its manager who had been transferred to L. A., a chalk drawing hung on his wall
caught my eye. It was a surrealistic impression of SRP’s
Administration
Building
created by his wife, a well-known artist. I told him how much I admired it.
A
week later, this framed work of art showed up at my office. My vendor friend
had it dropped it off after he and his wife left town. They told my secretary
they did not want to bring it with them, and could think of no one else they
would rather give it to. Their thoughtful gift left me nonplussed. Reluctantly,
almost sheepishly, I mounted it on my office wall. Over the years, it continued
to please my unprofessional artistic eye.
I
brought it home upon my retirement, planning to hang it on somewhere or other.
My wife took one look at it and “ixnayed” the plan. Faced with her ultimatum, I
gave it to SRP’s Building Services
Manger who said he would consign it to the company archives. My guess is that
it is now hidden away, gathering dust, fading into the scrap heap of history, a
work of art that had sentimental
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT
TEETH
It's Christmas and all over America,
professional purchasing personnel are facing their annual dilemma. Should they
accept gifts and favors from sales representatives? If so, how much should they accept? Where does a buyer draw the line? Can a gift sway a buyer's judgment and
honesty? Three companies employed me in
their purchasing functions, and I faced this issue every year.
Some
of my employers allowed buyers to accept gifts of “nominal” value. Other companies
were far more stringent, allowing nothing of value to be accepted. In one
instance, my boss returned a Christmas gift of three rolls of aluminum foil to
the Alcoa sales representative. It was petty to send him three lousy rolls, and
even more petty of him to return them.
When
I first began working in purchasing, the annual Christmas gift giving was a
rampant cancer. Buyers received gifts of considerable value, a function of
their purchasing authority. Liquor was the gift of choice for many in the field.
It was embarrassing to come to work and have high cost booze delivered to your
work place by a low paid mailroom employee.
Gradually,
this practice died out. A Professional Purchasing Association came into being,
and those who became active members embraced its code of ethics that forbade
gifts. Coupled with the determination to forgo drinking alcohol during lunch, a
noticeable improvement in Corporate Purchasing evolved. Companies began to
increase the academic requirements of its Purchasing staff. Universities began
to offer specific programs leading to a degree in Purchasing. No longer were
buyers people who drifted into the field haphazardly. They were more likely to
be individuals who had chosen this field as a profession. In turn, companies
began to tie salary increases to scholastic achievements, including the
attainment of a Certified Professional Manager upon completion of a rigorous
examination conducted under the auspices of the Purchasing Management
Association.
Still,
Christmas is a time for sharing, and many a buyer may get a gift or two, wanted
or not. Vendors find a way of sending gifts to your home. What can you do if
some firm insists on sending you a fruit cake?
A box of Swiss cheese could not possibly influence a Professional Purchasing
Agent’s judgment (unless it happened to contain tickets to the Super Bowl).
One
has to be pragmatic about accepting gifts. My attitude was that sales
representatives could give me anything, provided they paid for the item out of
their own pocket, and that its value was such that I could afford to
reciprocate. This seemed to work effectively, because rarely did vendors shower
me with anything of value, with one notable exception.
While
visiting the facilities of a local electrical supply house to say goodbye to
its manager who had been transferred to L. A., a chalk drawing hung on his wall
caught my eye. It was a surrealistic impression of SRP’s
Administration
Building
created by his wife, a well-known artist. I told him how much I admired it.
A
week later, this framed work of art showed up at my office. My vendor friend
had it dropped it off after he and his wife left town. They told my secretary
they did not want to bring it with them, and could think of no one else they
would rather give it to. Their thoughtful gift left me nonplussed. Reluctantly,
almost sheepishly, I mounted it on my office wall. Over the years, it continued
to please my unprofessional artistic eye.
I
brought it home upon my retirement, planning to hang it on somewhere or other.
My wife took one look at it and “ixnayed” the plan. Faced with her ultimatum, I
gave it to SRP’s Building Services
Manger who said he would consign it to the company archives. My guess is that
it is now hidden away, gathering dust, fading into the scrap heap of history, a
work of art that had sentimental value only to me.
The
fact that I chose to keep this gift did not influence my professional
purchasing judgment. Had the vendor given me a Picasso or a Monet, my judgment
might have been swayed. I say this now, idly sipping cheap bourbon, snacking on
stale cheese the aluminum foil failed to preserve, still looking through the
package in search of some Super Bowl tickets. It is discouraging to think I may
have had a price and yet no one ever bought me.
▄
.
value only to me.
The
fact that I chose to keep this gift did not influence my professional
purchasing judgment. Had the vendor given me a Picasso or a Monet, my judgment
might have been swayed. I say this now, idly sipping cheap bourbon, snacking on
stale cheese the aluminum foil failed to preserve, still looking through the
package in search of some Super Bowl tickets. It is discouraging to think I may
have had a price and yet no one ever bought me.
▄
.
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