Thought for the day:'Tis the season to be jollied
- Posted:
- 00:00 23 May 2002
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The latest party-funding debate set me thinking - what if we in IT applied the same "ethics" to our own dealings with our sponsors, especially as we teeter on the verge of the annual hunting season for IT budget holders.
Any day now, the sounds of the first champagne corks popping will clearly herald the traditional corporate hospitality season, and once again those of us with money to spend will find ourselves being courted by business partners.
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From now until mid-July our in-trays will be littered with very attractive invitations - Test matches, Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, Henley you name it. If there's a chance to splurge on bubbly, foie gras and strawberries then somebody, somewhere, will be offering it to IT customers - no strings attached, of course.
Sure, I understand that most corporate hospitality is freely given and freely received without obligation - but is there really such a thing as a free canapé in this business? Isn't there always a quid pro quo, at least implicitly?
Even if corporate hospitality consists of nothing more than the opportunity to share an enjoyable summer's day in pleasant company, there is always the danger that others may misconstrue our participation in such events.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be a party-pooper. I like a jolly as much as the next person. All I am saying is that everything must be seen to be completely above board, particularly when budgets are tight. The slightest element of "sleaze" will, undoubtedly, leave us open to the same sort of suspicion and accusation being directed at the Labour party.
My strategy is simple, I will not accept any hospitality from a potential bidder during any procurement selection period and I advise any of my staff to apply the same judgement if they are approached.
Of course, many organisations already have clear hospitality guidelines for their managers. For those that don't, I would recommend that at the very least you isolate any budget holder, or project sponsor, during a vendor selection process. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
Mind you, I'm not buying anything particularly at the moment - so a weekend at the Monaco grand prix or Silverstone could do wonders for my resolve. As Oscar Wilde said "I can resist everything, except temptation".
Do IT departments need to have corporate hospitality guidelines? >> CW360.com reserves the right to edit and publish answers on the Web site. Please state if your answer is not for publication.
Colin Beveridge is an interim executive who has held top-level roles in IT strategy, development services and support. His travels along the blue-chip highway have taken him to a clutch of leading corporations, including Shell, BP, ICI, DHL and Powergen.
