The staff member won the gift. She can do whatever she wants with it- keep it, sell it, throw it away, give it to someone else. Nothing rotten about it.

Is the supervisor male or female? If female, I would forget it. If male, I would tuck it away for a rainy day.

True, Pink, but there may be rules against a person giving a gift to a superior, especially if there is any chance it may compromise the superior's judgment come appraisal or layoff time. In all the Conflict of Interest training I've received, it has always been stressed that it not just a conflict of interest that must be avoided, but the mere appearance of a potential conflict of interest. Everything you do with respect to business relationships should be above board.

I had the thought that, if it was just "between friends" it should be dropped. But especially if theora works for a large company, with an established ethics hotline and stuff, something like that is probably worth reporting. It's not theora's job to determine if the transaction was appropriate, but it may be in her job description to report potential ethics violations.

I can probably say safely that my response is the least ethical of the the three so far, but that's just me.

You're over thinking it. Probably. Keep the knowledge handy in case it's part of a trend or something, though.

"I'll owe you a couple pizzas" is probably code, since a couple pizzas isn't going to come to 150, unless you order the extra-large truffle & Beluga caviar special with Goldschläger sauce. So I'm guessing they're probably trading in third-world orphans.

What Doohickie said.

Even if ethically unimpeachable, the act is definitely one of currying favor. Regardless of their agreement and whether it was fair or mutually satisfying, a subordinate employee can never be truly in a position of making a free and unencumbered agreement with a superior who has some power over their position. The superior always has the advantage. This is one of the reasons conflict of interest guidelines even exist: to prevent people higher up on the totem pole from extracting tithes and tributes, of whatever kind, from people lower down.

There is likely something going on between them. One does not give away a $150 prize for a couple of pizzas. I'd stay out of it, unless you see evidence of something wrong happening in the workplace.

This person gave her supervisor the prize because she is not a superior performer and needs to curry favor in other ways. This is a sign a weakness. You can destroy this person. No--you must destroy this...this...looter.

What mullacc said. Hopefully the destruction will take place with laser beams and huge flames and stuff. Now THAT would be cool.

And yeah, it's rotten, but what're you going to do? Be a whistle blower over 150 bucks? At my large company I saw some nefarious crap going on at this kind of level. I didn't have any concrete evidence, and it's not like me to get involved at this kind of level. I ain't putting my head out there for that. Ironic thing is that everyone that I actually knew was doing stupid shit no longer work for the company. It's the tip of the iceberg, and they'll get hung. Otherwise rip their hearts out with a laser beam!

I'm just pissed because nobody handed me any loot. My arm-twisting skills are weak, weak, I tell you.

There's no sex/romance going on; I just think the manager is cheesy to not let a staff member keep a nice prize, or to just pay the person a fair price.

I could make it an issue, but I don't think it would be wise. The manager is my counterpart in another group; I have to work with this person. I enjoy it less and less.

thanks for the answers.

Once I won a three-piece set of jewelry at a company holiday party. When I opened the gift boxes, one was empty. What is it about holiday parties?

The year before last, I was in a work Kris Kringle arrangement, and whoever got me just didn't bother. I sort of felt like it was some sort of justice over the fact that I actually hate christmas.

As to the orignal question: given the margin between the 'couple of pizzas' and the prize value, you should have words with the gift-receiving superior and extort a pizza for yourself.

Get a cab to deliver the supervisor a $5 hot and ready with a note that says "We know who you are. We saw what you did."

I have never participated in a workplace raffle that wasn't fixed.

The only way you could be so sure of that is if you were in charge of the raffles ;-)

There is likely something going on between them. One does not give away a $150 prize for a couple of pizzas.

Depends on the valuation the winner puts on the item in question. It's entirely possible for this trade to be pareto-superior, even apart from any favor-currying.

I mean, I can think of plenty of things that cost $150 or more that I would happily exchange for a couple of pizzas. A cheap suit, for example. Signed copies of Tim LaHaye books. An expensive haircut. A gift certificate for a good solid shouting-at from a neighborhood dominatrix.

Pretty much anything in the SkyMall catalog.