Ellen Corhy and Bryn Davis, Two Salespersons in Adjoining Territories

Essay

Ellen Corhy and Bryn Davis, two salespersons in adjoining territories, regularly compete for bonuses. During the last month, their dollar volume of sales, on which the bonuses are based, was nearly equal. On the last day of the month, both made a large sale. Both orders were shipped on the last day of the month and both were received by the customer on the fifth of the following month. Ellen's sale was FOB shipping point, and Bryn's was FOB destination. The company "counts" sales for purposes of calculating bonuses on the date that ownership passes to the purchaser. Ellen's sale was therefore counted in her monthly total of sales, Bryn's was not. Bryn is quite upset. She has asked you to just include it, or to take Ellen's off as well. She also has told you that you are being unethical for allowing Ellen to get a bonus just for choosing a particular shipping method.
Write a memo to Bryn. Explain your position.