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The Ethical CIO: Avoiding Vendor Benders

Selecting and managing vendors is a key component in any CIO's job, but it can be a task that can create potential ethical pitfalls. In fact, a small but significant number of CIOs have lost their jobs, been fined and even imprisoned resulting from ethical breaches in dealing with vendors. Some of these breaches are clear cut. If the ABC software company hires your ner-do-well brother-in-law as a $150,000 a year consultant or presents you with season passes to the Laker games in exchange for your business, you are, of course, courting dismal or worse. But often, ethical questions fall into a grey area where determining what to do—or not do—is not so readily, or easily, defined.

What follows is a questionnaire CIOZone.com has put together to gauge your responses in dealing with vendor related ethics questions. All responses are strictly confidential. No names or company affiliations will be used. Only aggregate survey numbers will be posted. There are 9 questions in total.

1. Does your organization have an ethic policy in place for dealing with vendors?*
Yes
No