Ethical actions are perceived by the purchasing managers as more than just obeying the law or avoiding deceit. There are many other activities that, while not involving outright deception, are also considered by focus group participants to be potentially unethical. These activities include allowing personalities and friendships to influence decisions, accepting a bid or allowing a favored supplier to rebid after the closing date, canceling purchase orders in progress and trying to avoid cancellation charges, and asking the other party for proprietary information about competitors. Examples of proprietary information include price and cost data, proprietary knowledge concerning software and production processes, and suppliers’ bids. Other identified unethical activities relating to the competitive bidding process include writing specifications that favor a particular supplier and soliciting quotations from suppliers who have no or little chance of success.