Bruce Maitland Case Study

Define the Problem Bruce Maitland, like most business men, started his business with the intent to provide for his family and be an entrepreneur. The interaction with Chuck Harper might have seemed like a relationship that was going to benefit his business in a positive way and create a long lasting friendship. The problem that he did not perceive with the initial meeting was the potential for a fraud pyramid to occur. The first factor in the fraud pyramid is the motive. The motive in Bruce’s case was to secure a stable customer and have a steady stream of profit for the company. The second fact is the opportunity. The opportunity presented itself first at the New Year’s Eve party and the conversation of the night being written-off as a business expense. This occurrence led to other actions of bribery and gifts. The final factor is the rationale behind the actions being taken to justify the reasons for the behavior. Bruce’s rationale was that the bribes …show more content…
Maitland could listen to the discomfort that he is feeling towards the growing favors and end his relationship with both divisions of Wisconsin-National, Inc. This option might seem extreme, but it would remove him from the unethical behavior that is occurring. He would have a dilemma as to how the contracts and time limits would be dealt with. He would most definitely receive backlash from Mr. Harper, his long-time friend, for stopping al business with his company. The also could create animosity between the two and Mr. Harper could accuse Mr. Maitland of bribing the company to make sure his business was the sole provider of the vehicles in use at that time. The largest disadvantage would that he would be losing the largest contributors to the profit for the business. This would not only affect Mr. Maitland’s business, but it would affect his family’s lifestyle and comfort. The distance from the friends they had developed over the years would change the dynamics of how the family interacted in the