1.What is the Ethical Issue in this Scenario?
2.What should Michael do? Justify your answer using at least two ethical theories.
3.Do you perceive Michael’s boss to be ethical or Unethical? Explain your answer in detail.
4.Should Michael blow the whistle? Define ‘Whistleblowing’. Explain what motivates whistle-blowers and under what Circumstances? whistleblowing is justified?
5.Based on the case study, Provide four reasons why ethics is relevant to Business?
Business ethics can be described as business activities, issues and situations that can be addressed as right or wrong on the basis of moral values (Crane and Matten 2016). It is the social responsibility of every business to work according to some professional standards to establish a welfare between economic gains and welfare of the society (Hartman, DesJardins and MacDonald, 2014). This report is based on the case of study of business ethics. Michael Vasquez was a new employee in the company. He was appointed as product manager for a start-up based on technology. He was the man who always embraces challenges. He has the qualities to bear risk and take a tough decision. But in the new job he faced a struggle. His boss handed him the private and confidential documents of the competitive firm. These documents contained information such as product details, pricing strategies, and the partnership agreements. These details were obtained by the boss through unauthorized access.
The issue that is been addressed in the situation shows how Michael’s boss breaches the ethical business practices. This issue was of stealing the competitor’s private information. The information gained by unauthorized access violates the ethical norms of the business. This is the case which addresses the unethical practice regarding the intellectual property rights (Rothlin and McCann2016). In this issue, Michael’s boss provided him with the private information of the competitive firm which he gained through unauthorized access. It is both unethical and illegal to utilize someone’s private information without the consent of the owner. Activities like piracy, phishing, spoofing etc. come under the category of unethical use of information technology (Chatterjee, Sarker, and Valacich 2015). The boss has obtained the information by downloading it from the competing firm’s server. He got the unauthorized access to the server by breaking the password. This case demonstrates the unethical use of information technology. In this case, the boss was comfortable towards adopting unethical measures but Michel believed fair practices. Michael was in the dilemma whole day. His conscience was not permitted him to use the information that was obtained by theft. The next issue was whether he should keep quiet or spread this new in the media. Company’s rules and policies were of no help to Michael. He was confused whether to work for this firm or not. The business demonstrates an example of unethical business practices. The issue outlines the struggle that employees have to face if they are in support of ethical business practices. This issue is an example of corporate embezzlement. Corporate embezzlement is done when an employee displays dishonesty and causes loss to the employer (Cabric 2015). In this case, also there are possibilities that the unauthorized access was given to Michael’s boss by some employee of the competent firm.
The course of action that Michael should adopt can be explained with reference to two theories theory of Virtue ethics and theory of Utilitarianism. Theory of virtue ethics emphasizes on individual’s character for determining his ethical behavior rather than the consequences attached to it. These virtues can be categorized into two- moral virtues and intellectual virtues. Some basic virtues are honesty, generosity, courage, and wisdom (Hooft 2014). Virtue ethics not only provide with the idea of right and wrong it provides the set of characteristics that a good person will seek to achieve. According to this theory, Michel should not characteristics and can adopt any of the actions such as politely say no, find a compromise, find another job or find a complaint. He should act as a whistle blower to the unethical deeds of his boss. He should not compromise his own characteristics such as honesty and courage. The first course of action that he should adopt is complaining about the matter to the superior authorities, if it does not work then he should expose his boss in front of media or adopt some legal procedure to deal with the issue. The next theory which guides Michael’s behavior is the theory of utilitarianism. The theory of Unitarianism states decides the right and wrong behavior on the basis of possible outcomes and or consequences. According to this theory, the individual chooses his or her course of action on the basis of outcomes expected from his actions. Here the course of action chooses happiness and well-being of all (Brännmark, J., 2015). According to this theory, Michael should not always look for the benefit of all not for his own company. He should act as a whistle blower and expose the unethical issues.
According to me, Michael’s boss is unethical. It can be clearly seen in the case study that boss was engaged in unethical and unprofessional business practices. Also, he did not have any kind of regret for his unethical behavior. He felt pride in telling Michel that he has got the competitor’s information, by getting unauthorized access to the competitor’s server. He was engaged in unethical activities to gain huge amounts of profits. He took out competitor’s information in an unauthorized manner. This is an act of stealing and comes under the issue of intellectual property rights and unethical use of information technology. Legally also this act of stealing the confidential information is a crime. This behavior may enable the boss to earn the profits but in long run ethical behavior is required to earn success. Collecting the information of competitor is ethical but it should be collected in ways such as market trend analysis, customers, public sources and the third parties (marketingscoop 2017). The boss collected the information which can term ethical the way in which he collected the information was unethical. The boss made unethical use of corporate resources. This unethical behavior of the boss can also be termed as corporate espionage. The corporate espionage is defined as the spying on the competitors to get access to their confidential information. It can be done in various ways computer hacking, bribing employees and trying to get information from relatives of worker (DuBrin 2008). The boss did the same thing he also spied on his competitor to gain his confidential information. This behavior is absolutely unethical and unprofessional.
Yes, in this case, the Michael should blow the whistle. He should expose his boss in front of higher authorities in the organization. If corrective action is not taken by higher authorities he should expose the manager in front of media. Whistle blowers are defined as the persons who take the risk of exposing any kind of information that is unethical, false or illegal. Whistle blowing can be done in two types internally and externally. Internal whistle blowing can be done if a person exposes the information inside the organizational boundaries. Externally whistle blowing is done if the information is exposed to third parties that exist outside the organizational boundaries (Miceli, Near and Dworkin 2013). Whistle blowers are the persons who are generally not motivated by financial gains; they are motivated by moral reasons (Mark 2015). They are the people to come up with the bravery to keep the truth above all their comforts. Michael should also maintain his integrity and bring out the truth in light. Whistle blowing is not always justified it is justified only under few circumstances. It is justified when a product or policy holds the potential to harm the public interest. When an employee finds that there is any serious threat to various stake holders, immediate authorities do not act and valid reason to believe the wrongdoing (Kiran 2016). In this case, Michael also has justified the reason for the whistle blowing. Whistle blowing has wide ranging consequences involving legal, moral, economical aspects. It has effects personal life, family and career. Therefore whistle blowing must be done after taking some precautions like having the document to proof, having clarity about the expected consequences and consult a lawyer to know the way to fight a legal battle.
The reasons proving ethics is important for business-
To build a good brand image of the company
In order to succeed in the long run, every company needs a good brand image. That brand image or reputation can be increased if the company works in an ethical manner (Su 2014). It will allow the people and other stake holders to trust the company easily. Whereas if the company has an image that it is associated with some or other kind of unethical practices customers and stakeholders will not be able to trust the brand. Therefore ethics are important for every business.
Attract more employees and enhances employee retention
People always like to work with the company having a good reputation. Thus ethical business is always a source of employee attraction. Also, it helps in employee retention as people like to work with an employer who would respect their rights and does not lay any undue pressure on the employees (May, Chang and Shao 2015). If a business works in an ethical manner no undue pressure will be implied on the employees.
Avoids fines and legal complications
Unethical or illegal business practices usually incur fines and other legal implications of the work. If the firm is working in an ethical way it does not needs to fear any kind of legal implication or fine. If the company is working within the legal boundaries it can provide valid documents in case of any fine is imposed on it.
To attract investors
The investors always check for company background and details. Investors do not like to invest in companies whose name has been attached to any kind of unethical practice. Thus every business needs to have a good brand image with ethical practices to attract new customers.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that boss was engaged in unethical processes. Michel’s boss was engaged in the corporate espionage. He obtained competitors private information through unethical measures. Michel was the person who believed in fair business practices. Michel’s behavior should be guided by the theory of virtue ethics and Unitarianism. He should ensure the benefit and happiness of all. He should not compromise his characteristics of honesty and bravery. He should take a stand against his boss. Although this is not easy while acting as a whistle blower he may face various complications but this doesn’t mean that issue should be suppressed. To expose his boss he should have well-documented proofs and must consult with a lawyer to know the legal aspects. The boss should learn a lesson so that the importance of ethics in business is never underestimated. Ethics in business are important for employee retention, employee attraction, avoid fines & legal issues, attract investors and enhance the overall image of the company.
References
Brännmark, J., 2015. Moral disunitarianism. The Philosophical Quarterly, 66(264), pp.481-499.
Cabric, M., 2015. Corporate Security Management: Challenges, Risks, and Strategies. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Chatterjee, S., Sarker, S. and Valacich, J.S., 2015. The behavioral roots of information systems security: Exploring key factors related to unethical IT use. Journal of Management Information Systems, 31(4), pp.49-87.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
DuBrin, A.J., 2008. Essentials of management. Cengage Learning.
Hartman, L.P., DesJardins, J.R. and MacDonald, C., 2014. Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kiran, N., 2016. Whistle Blowing: Definition, Justification and Precautions, viewed on 3 August 2017 from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business/ethics/whistle-blowing-definition-justification-and-precautions/99631/
Mark, B., 2015. What really motivates whistleblowers? misperceptions abound, viewed on 3 August 2017 from https://falseclaimsact.parsonsbehle.com/what-really-motivates-whistleblowers-misperceptions-abound/
Marketingscoop, 2017. Discover the Do’s and Dont’s of competitive intelligence, viewed on 3 August 2017 from https://www.marketingscoop.com/collecting-information.htm
May, D.R., Chang, Y.K. and Shao, R., 2015. Does ethical membership matter? Moral identification and its organizational implications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), p.681.
Miceli, M.P., Near, J.P. and Dworkin, T.M., 2013. Whistle-blowing in organizations. Psychology Press.
Rothlin, S. and McCann, D., 2016. Competitors: Intellectual Property Rights. In International Business Ethics (pp. 273-295). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Su, H.Y., 2014. Business ethics and the development of intellectual capital. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(1), pp.87-98.
Van Hooft, S., 2014. Understanding virtue ethics. Routledge.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download