Written Assignment Unit 1
MBA Business Administration
University of the People
BUS 5115-Business Law, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
Conflict of interest (COI) happens when individuals, groups, or parties use their financial,
professional, or personal relations for personal gains (Blakely, 2022). These incidents can occur
in public offices, the private sector, and nonprofits alike. Conflict of interest may include hiring
individuals based on personal ties, sharing confidential information with competitors, and
disclosing private information to third parties for personal gain (Everfi, 2022).
These incidents damage the credibility and trust a company or individual has and may leave a
long-term scar on the brand image (Blakely, 2022). Furthermore, it affects the public interest and
fair market competition. Consequently, laws and policies are required to identify and mitigate
conflict of interest and its impact.
As mentioned above one of the forms of conflict of interest is making a decision based on family
relations. This could happen in various business activities, especially in procurement activities.
In our country, the major employer of the construction industry is the government. One of the
public agencies that focus on building affordable housing is the Addis Ababa Housing Agency
(AddisBiz, 2021).
The agency invites several contractors to bid for the construction of affordable housing in Addis
Ababa. The agency uses open bidding and short-listed bidding which is a form of the competitive
bidding process. In the open bidding process, competent contractors are invited to provide their
best offer to the bid using a public advertisement. In short-listed bidding, the agency will use
various criteria to short-list a few contractors. Then the contract will be awarded to the most
responsive bidder based on a bid evaluation process.
These bidding processes are implemented so that the basic principles of the procurement process
like transparency, fairness, market competitiveness, non-discrimination, the best value for
money, economies of scale, efficiency, economy, and, effectiveness are ensured. However, if a
conflict of interest occurs between the agency and the contractors all these principles will not be
ensured.
MBA Business Administration
University of the People
BUS 5115-Business Law, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
Conflict of interest (COI) happens when individuals, groups, or parties use their financial,
professional, or personal relations for personal gains (Blakely, 2022). These incidents can occur
in public offices, the private sector, and nonprofits alike. Conflict of interest may include hiring
individuals based on personal ties, sharing confidential information with competitors, and
disclosing private information to third parties for personal gain (Everfi, 2022).
These incidents damage the credibility and trust a company or individual has and may leave a
long-term scar on the brand image (Blakely, 2022). Furthermore, it affects the public interest and
fair market competition. Consequently, laws and policies are required to identify and mitigate
conflict of interest and its impact.
As mentioned above one of the forms of conflict of interest is making a decision based on family
relations. This could happen in various business activities, especially in procurement activities.
In our country, the major employer of the construction industry is the government. One of the
public agencies that focus on building affordable housing is the Addis Ababa Housing Agency
(AddisBiz, 2021).
The agency invites several contractors to bid for the construction of affordable housing in Addis
Ababa. The agency uses open bidding and short-listed bidding which is a form of the competitive
bidding process. In the open bidding process, competent contractors are invited to provide their
best offer to the bid using a public advertisement. In short-listed bidding, the agency will use
various criteria to short-list a few contractors. Then the contract will be awarded to the most
responsive bidder based on a bid evaluation process.
These bidding processes are implemented so that the basic principles of the procurement process
like transparency, fairness, market competitiveness, non-discrimination, the best value for
money, economies of scale, efficiency, economy, and, effectiveness are ensured. However, if a
conflict of interest occurs between the agency and the contractors all these principles will not be
ensured.
