The business ethics are the practices and policies associated with controversial issues like, discrimination, CSR, bribery, corporate governance and fiduciary responsibilities (Minus, 2013). The rules, laws and regulations help in establishing the ethics of business and also provide with the framework that can help in gaining acceptance from public (Investopedia, 2018). The case talks about a scenario. Michael is a new product manager in a technology start up. He loves his job. One day, before lunch, his boss came to home and handed him with the private strategic documents of closest competitor. The strategic documents of the other company were related to the pricing strategies, product plans and the partnership agreements. He told to Michael that he had taken the documents from the competitor company’s server through the intranet and downloaded all the interesting information and documents. The case is analysed in terms of ethics. The unethical issue that is identified in the case is that Michael’s boss obtained the private strategic document of the competitor’s company through intranet using the server and downloaded it, which is unethical as all the documents were private and confidential and are obtained by him in an unethical manner. The ethical theories and the concepts are implemented in order to analyse the case in an effective manner. The actions of Michael that can be performed by him are stated in the analysis and the ethical theories that can be followed by him to take the actions are presented. The analysis also identified that the actions of Michael’s boss are unethical.
The ethical issue in the scenario is that Michael’s boss had obtained the private strategic documents of closest competitor related to pricing strategies, partnership agreements, product plans and other documents in an unethical manner. He told Michael that he got it from the server of the firm. He downloaded all the interesting things through intranet of the firm. The acquisition of the confidential data of the competitor and using it for the benefit of the company is unethical.
Michael knows that his boss has obtained the private and confidential data of the firm in a wrong manner. He knows that using and obtaining the private documents of competitor can be beneficial but, it is not good for the reputation of the company when the media will have this information about the actions of his boss. Hence, he should adopt the utilitarian ethical theory as he know what the consequences will be if, this information will spread among media. It is important for him to adopt the method that can help in obtaining the benefits to most of the people in the company by doing the things ethically right. Michael should talk to his seniors about the situation and the actions of his boss for the benefits of the company. It will help him to do the ethically right things for the best of the company and can save the company to suffer in the future (Messerly, 2010). On the other hand, the other ethical theory that is deontology should be followed in order to make sure that he will take the actions considering his obligations and duties. Making the decision by considering the ethics is important and as the actions of Michael’s boss was not ethical and hence, it is the responsibility of Michael to act in a manner so that it can benefit the company. It is not right to use the private information of a firm for the benefit and it can affect the reputation of the company in future and hence, considering the duties and obligations, Michael should inform about this to his seniors so that company will not suffer in future and the seniors can take the right decision related to the actions of Michael’s boss. It will help in protecting the future and the reputation of the company (Melden, 2013).
The actions of Michael’s boss were unethical. This is because he obtained the private strategic documents of the competitor’s firm in an unethical manner. The documents contained the information related to the different strategies and the plans related to pricing, products and such others. He obtained the documents that clearly stated that they are private and confidential documents of the firm. He obtained the documents with the help of the competitor company’s intranet directly. When he got to know that Michael is suspicious, then he said that he obtained the electronic access through a colleague and has not broken any passwords. He unethically obtained the documents of the competitor company. In case, the press will get to know about this action, then it can ruin the company’s reputation in the eyes of the people.
Michael should blow the whistle as the actions of his manager were not appropriate. It is wrong to obtain the private and confidential documents and the information related to private plans and the other documents of the competitor company, for the benefit of the company. Doing this may help the company to obtain the ability to lead in the competition, but in case, the press will get to know about such actions then the reputation of the company can get ruined (Vandekerckhove, 2016). Michael should inform his seniors about the actions of his manager so that the company can maintain its reputation in the market, as the actions of the manager were wrong and can affect the company. Michael has the evidence that his manager handed him with the documents of the competitor company’s strategic plans and the other documents. Hence he can blow the whistle.
Whistle blowing is considered as the term that is used at the time when the information is passed by the worker about the wrongdoing. It is considered as the disclosure of wrong doing in the company. The wrong doing need to be witnesses by the worker at the work place. The disclosure of the wrong doing can help in identifying the present, past and future wrongdoing as well. It is important for the employers to adopt the practices that can help in creating safe, transparent and open environment at the workplace among the employees so that they can speak out the things like this (Department of Business Innovation & Skills, 2015).
The whistle blowers are mainly concerned about the organization and are more responsible towards the duties and the obligation that they need to perform for providing the information to the organization and protection from the loss that can affect the organization (Lewis, 2011). When the employees feel that they are a part of the organization and the wrong doing by others can affect them and the organization as a whole, then they are able to whistle blow. The disclosure of the wrong doing at the workplace can help the employees to get the appreciation from the higher management of the organization, which can help them to act in a manner so that the organization can attain the benefits and it motivates them to blow the whistle. The ethics and the values of worker can also motivate them to whistle blow. In order to disclose the wrong doing at workplace, it is important for the worker to provide the evidences of the wrong doing by the people at work (Johnson, 2013). This can help in justifying that the wrong things are performed in the organization. The policies and the procedures related to the whistle blowing also help the employees to get motivated to disclose about the wrong doing. The policies and the procedures related to it can provide with the ability to worker to disclose the wrong doing with the help of evidences (Miceli et al., 2013).
The four reasons that can help in stating that the ethics are relevant to business are:
Helps in enhancing the reputation of company: the organizations that follow the ethical practices are able to maintain the good image in the market and among the customers in an effective manner. This can also help the company to establish the competitive advantage. All the actions and the activities in the organization can be performed ethically through the inclusion of the ethical practices (Sanjeev & Khanna, 2008).
Reduce the unethical practices and behaviour: the ethical culture can be developed in the organization through the adoption of the ethical practices in the organization. This can help the company to maintain the discipline and ability to perform in a right manner. When the employees are able to understand the importance of the ethical practices, then it can support in reducing the unethical practice and behaviour in the organization (Heath et al., 2018).
Reduction in the conflicts: the conflicts can be reduced in the company when the ethical practices and policies are adopted. The policies will help in ensuring that all the employees are able to perform the actions ethically and will also contribute in reducing the conflicts due to clarity in actions and responsibilities (Fernando, 2010).
Right decisions can be made: the ethics can help in taking the right decision so that more profits can be experienced and the right actions can be performed. The decisions that are ethically right and best for the organization can be made by following the ethics.
Conclusions
The business ethics are important for the organization as it can help in enhancing ability to make right and better decision. The case stated that the wrong actions were performed by Michael’s boss and it is important for Michael to blow the whistle so that the company can be protected from the future risk of damaging the reputation. It is important to make sure that no person in the organization will perform the unethical actions and practices. It is important to develop the practices and policies that can help in managing the business ethics and identify the wrong doing. The business ethics are relevant to business and can help in developing the culture to perform the right practices and make the right decisions.
References
Department of Business Innovation & Skills, 2015. Whistleblowing. [Online] Department of Business Innovation & Skills Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415175/bis-15-200-whistleblowing-guidance-for-employers-and-code-of-practice.pdf [Accessed 03 November 2018].
Fernando, A.C., 2010. Business Ethics And Corporate Governance. Chennai: Pearson Education.
Heath, E., Kaldis, B. & Marcoux, A., 2018. The Routledge Companion to Business Ethics. London: Routledge.
Investopedia, 2018. Business Ethics. [Online] Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business-ethics.asp [Accessed 03 November 2018].
Johnson, R.A., 2013. Whistleblowing: When it Works–and why. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Lewis, D., 2011. Whistleblowing at Work. London: A&C Black.
Melden, A., 2013. Ethical Theories. UK: Read Books Ltd.
Messerly, J.G., 2010. An Introduction to Ethical Theories. US: University Press of America.
Miceli, M.P., Near, J.P. & Dworkin, T.M., 2013. Whistle-Blowing in Organizations. London: Psychology Press.
Minus, P.M., 2013. The Ethics of Business in a Global Economy. Springer Science & Business Media.
Sanjeev, R. & Khanna, P., 2008. Ethics and Values in Business Management. New Delhi: Ane Books.
Vandekerckhove, W., 2016. Whistleblowing and Organizational Social Responsibility: A Global Assessment. London: Routledge.
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