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1. You explain to your grandparents that since the practice is so widespread and entrenched, the sales personnel probably don't perceive it as unethical at this point. They will strongly resent any punitive action and this may have an adverse affect on sales revenue for the firm. It is in their best interests to look for root causes, such as below standard compensation, and introduce a plan to modify their behaviour that includes rewards as well as punishments for continuing the behaviour.

It is a strategic approach to behaviour modification that balances the need of addressing the problem with the need to preserve the functioning of the firm.

This outcome is the best achievable for the firm, but certainly not ideal for Alice. Frequently, in whistle-blowing situations, especially those that are internal to a workgroup, dislocation of the whistle-blower is an inevitable outcome. Your position in the sales team will become very difficult and you will need to find another placement. It must also be considered that your unannounced connection with the firms owners represented a from of hidden supervision of sales personnel, and this may also be considered mildly unethical on your part. In Alice's case, her departure from the sales team would also be a result of her own prior misbehaviour of not disclosing her connection with the owners.

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