Case Study 4: A smart city project is underway, and you have been appointed Head of Procurement. Before this assignment, you hold a similar role in a major public sector undertaking (PSU), where you earned a reputation for tender drafting and vendor management skills. Given the smart city project's scale and significant procurement requirements, you seemed the perfect fit to lead the procurement section. A month ago, your section invited tenders for building supplies. Among the applicants was Mr. Sharma, a supplier you knew from your previous role at the PSU. Mr. Sharma lived in your neighbourhood, and your spouses were friends. Despite this personal connection, you have always maintain strict professional boundaries. Upon scrutinising all the tenders, your section found Mr. Sharma's terms the most competitive, so the tender was awarded to him. However, once the decision was made public, another vendor, Mr. Patel, raised an objection claiming that you had a pre-existing association with Mr. Sharma. As a result, an enquiry was initiated, and you were placed on compulsory leave pending its outcome. This situation left you questioning where you might have gone wrong despite your efforts to maintain professionalism.