SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

ACCOUNTANCY, BUSINESS, AND MANAGEMENT (ABM)

BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Mr. Japril D. Catalonia, MBA

Instructor, Senior High School

Margarita Denise I. Doria

12- ABM DD
News Article

Reference:

AFP Forum. (2019, February 25). Ex-Coca-Cola Engineer Charged with Stealing Secrets

for Chinese Firm. Retrieved from https://usa.inquirer.net/22441/ex-coca-cola-

engineer-charged-with-stealing-secrets-for-chinese-firm.
Position Paper

Theft of Trade Secret: Is it morally wrong?

Just like how much we want to keep our secrets, every successful business has its own

trade secrets that shouldn’t be disclosed to its competitors. As part of its business organization,

everyone in the company is entrusted to keep the company’s trade secret confidential, but what

happens when someone breaks that trust and steals the company’s valuable information?

In February, 2019, an ex-coca-cola engineer was arrested on charges of trying to steal

trade secrets worth an estimated $120 million from companies doing research with Coca-Cola

Company. You Xiaorong used her employment at an Atlanta-based company and then at

Kingsport, Tenn.-based company to steal formulations used to coat the insides of cans and other

food and drink containers which are scarce and highly valuable in the food packing industry.

According to Philippine Daily Inquirer News, she conspired with Chinese national Liu

Xiangchen and an unnamed relative of Liu to steal technology for valuable BPA-free packaging

which Liu wanted for his company. In return, You Xiaorong will be given a job and win the

highest award from a Chinese government-backed program that will bring great honor to

Chinese returning from study or abroad.

From a moral perspective, the theft of trade secrets is morally wrong because it goes

against the law under both federal and state laws. The most significant federal law dealing with

trade secret theft is the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA) wherein they will be prosecuted,

punished and be given severe penalties. You Xiaorong used unethical tactics against her own
company in order to fulfill her own selfish desires such as securing a much better job and

attaining one of China’s highest awards for research and innovation. She did this even if it means

betraying her own companies. In the same way, Liu Xiangchen and his relative were ethically

wrong since they stole something of great value from their competitors just to gain a competitive

advantage. Their actions are an indication of their egoism. Egoism is a moral philosophy wherein

an individual is motivated by their own interests and desires. Individuals practicing this

philosophy are more likely to engage in immoral and unethical conduct that satisfies their needs.

In every start-up business, having access to company intelligence and being able to

analyse and interpret it is critical. This is especially true when you need to engage in effective

decision-making within today’s competitive and constantly changing market. However, You

Xiarong, together with her fellow conspirators, choose to deal with this matter in another way.

When a person is given the opportunity to elevate his/her status, the battle for their moral

principles comes to take place. For You Xiaorong’s ethical dilemma, she has the choice between

being a trustworthy employee in the company or a trustworthy companion to Liu, a fellow

conspirator, in stealing trade secrets. To whom does You Xiaorong owe greater efforts in this

situation? Should she have rejected Liu's offer in the first place to avoid unethical behavior? Or

should she continue stealing trade secrets of companies to satisfy one's self-interest and personal

desires? Sadly enough, she chose the latter. Oftentimes, when people are given choices, they

usually choose what benefits their ego the most. Her ego was satiated by recognition in the form

of the Thousand Talent award and other Chinese financial awards. As a result, in every company

that she had worked with, she stole their technologies and confidential information to integrate it

belonging to the "new Chinese company".

 For theft of trade secrets to be avoided, preventive measures should be taken. Firstly,

considering whether the secret is patentable and, if so, whether it would not be better protected

by a patent. Secondly, making sure that a limited number of persons know the secret and that all

those who do are well aware that it is confidential information. For example, such steps can

include restricting access to buildings, marking confidential documents and establishing IT

security. Thirdly, including confidentiality agreements within employees’ contracts. The duty to

maintain confidentiality on the employer’s secrets generally remains, at least for a certain period

of time, even after the employee has left the employment. Fourthly, signing confidentiality

agreements with business partners whenever disclosing confidential information. Lastly,

prohibiting personal and non-authorized electronic devices, including smartphones, from

proximity to trade secrets or sensitive installations.

With this being said, theft of trade secrets or stealing confidential information of a

company is ethically and morally wrong that shouldn’t be practiced or executed in the future. We

shouldn’t let our greed and ego get the best of us. Stealing trade secrets may help gain a

competitive advantage among other competitors when successfully done. But regardless of the

outcome, what’s wrong will always be wrong. It will haunt our guilty conscience no matter how

long we live. We must think of the consequences first before we take actions to prevent making

wrong decisions.
One-Minute Speech

Every employee is entrusted to keep their company’s trade secret confidential, but what

happens when someone breaks that trust and steals the company’s valuable information?

In 2019, an ex-coca-cola engineer, You Xiaorong, was arrested on charges of trying to

steal trade secrets worth an estimated $120 million from companies doing research with Coca-

Cola Company, with the intent to set up a competing venture in China and win a reward from a

Chinese government-backed program. For You Xiaorong’s ethical dilemma, she has the choice

to be a trustworthy employee to the company or a trustworthy companion to Liu, in stealing trade

secrets. Their actions can be based on egoism wherein they do it for their self-interest since she

chose the latter. To avoid this issue from happening again, preventive measures like

strengthening the I.T security, making confidentiality agreements within employees’ and

business partners’ contracts and prohibiting personal and non-authorized electronic devices, from

proximity to trade secrets.