Prefessional Conflicts of Interest

You work in the public relations department of a major hospital. The hospital is planning an open house for a new children’s center that will include field trips for students at a nearby grade school. One of your jobs is to plan and manage the children’s events. To make the children’s center friendly and inviting for the students, you propose hiring two professional clowns who are popular at kids’ birthday parties. Your boss loves the idea and you’re excited to book the clowns. You know you can count on the two you’ve proposed to effectively represent the hospital while they entertain the children. But one of the clowns is your brother-in-law and he and your sister own the party store that handles the clown bookings.

• What are the relevant facts in this situation?
• What are the ethical concerns?
• Does the situation differ if a Code of Ethics exists at the hospital?  If so, how?
• What are your options?  And, what is your recommendations (and why).