PREFINAL EXAM

NAME : MARSHELLA M. CONDE

COURSE/YEAR/SECTION : BSBM 102-E DATE : MAY 12, 2021

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
This Is a test of your ability to reason out. You need to read and analyze the situation carefully. Take your time in
reading to be able to answer it correctly.

Task: Michael Vasquez was proud of his job as a new product manager for a technology start-up,
and he loved the challenges, risks and tough decisions that went along with the job. But as he sat in
his office after a long day, he was troubled, struggling over what had happened earlier that day and
the information he now knows. Just before lunch, Michael’s boss had handed him a pile of private
strategic documents from their closest competitor. It was a competitive intelligence gold mine –
product plans, pricing strategies, partnership agreements and other documents, most clearly marked
‘private and confidential’. When Michael asked where the documents came from, his boss told him
with a touch of pride that he had taken them right off the competing firm’s server. ‘I got into a private
section of their intranet and downloaded everything that looked interesting,’ he said. Later, realizing
Michael was suspicious, the boss would say only that he had obtained ‘electronic access’ via a
colleague and had not personally broken any passwords. Maybe not, Michael thought to himself, but
this situation wouldn’t pass the 60 Minutes test. If word of this acquisition of a competitor’s
confidential data ever got out to the press, the company’s reputation would be ruined. Michael didn’t
feel good about using these materials. He spent the afternoon searching for answers to his dilemma,
but found no clear company policies or regulations that offered any guidance. His sense of fair play
told him that to use the information was unethical, if not downright illegal. What bothered him even
more was the knowledge that this kind of thing might happen again. Using this confidential
information would certainly give him and his company a competitive advantage, but Michael wasn’t
sure he wanted to work for a firm that would stoop to such tactics.

Sources: Adapted from Weber, Kent (January−February 2001).Gold Mine or Fool’s Gold? Business
Ethics, 18.

Questions (25 points)

1. What is the ethical issue in this scenario?

In this scenario the ethical issue, Michael Vasquez is confronted with an ethical dilemma when his
immediate employer has given him the private strategic documents and other classified details of the
company's nearest rival. Furthermore, he was informed that the data was accessed by electronic
access with the aid of a coworker and that the supervisor had not personally broken any passwords.
Michael was torn between whether or not he should use such sensitive competitor information for
the company's benefit. Since there is no guideline on the company's correct policies, a legal question
exists. Michael is also mindful that using such knowledge is immoral, and as a result, he does not
feel confident about it. He is obligated to follow the orders of his supervisor or employer when he is
employed by the firm. Even if he understands that engaging in such practices would provide him and
the business with a strategic edge, he does not want to work with a company that employs such
strategies to achieve commercial success.

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 2. What should Michael do? Justify your answer using at
least two ethical theories.

Michael should use that knowledge as directed by his supervisor for the good of the company,
according to the readings obtained in the given business ethics case study. He is obligated to follow
the orders of his bosses because he is an employee of the company. In situations where individuals
are asked to make ethical decisions, the deontological ethical philosophy states that they must follow
their roles and responsibilities. This is a moral theory based on the act utilitarianism that helps
someone to decide what time right moral duty for someone to fulfill. This ethical theory helps the
professional to maximize the well-being of the company. Michael knows that this private and
confidential data of other company will help them achieve certain competitive advantage but is
capable of causing for the longer term. virtues ethics theory might prove to be effective in the scenario
that guides someone to help other person helps to him to overcome circumstances in the right
moralistic way. The guidelines also highlight that professionals to organizations must respect
requests related to the confidentiality of information. This could help Michael to warn his boss about
the future consequences that such strategies could bring for the company.

3. Do you perceive Michael’s boss to be ethical or unethical?

Explain your answer in detail

Michael’s boss is perceived is thought to be unethical and the method used to gain a strategic edge
in the industry is unethical. Ethics in industry promotes fair rivalry by preventing businesses from
engaging in unethical activities in order to achieve a competitive advantage. The fundamental focus
of fair competition is on providing consumers with high-quality goods and still searching at
opportunities to improve it so that it can outperform rivals. It further strengthens the companies'
strategic foundations and allows them to maximize their scarce capital in order to sustain efficiency.
This is the unethical activity that Michael's employer demands be carried out in order to ensure the
company's success. Obtaining a competitor's private and sensitive data by unethical means is
unethical.

4. Should Michael blow the whistle? Define ‘whistleblowing’.

Explain what motivates whistle-blowers and under what circumstances whistleblowing is justified?

Michael is advised to blow the whistle against the manager of the organization where he is engaging
in unethical activities, as well as to make use of that knowledge for the company's profit. He is justified
in blowing the whistle because he has documented evidence in the form of private records from its
competitor, which include sales policies, product schedules, relationship arrangements, and other
relevant documents that have been labeled private and confidential. Whistleblowing is a major
offense and may have serious ramifications on both the whistleblower and the company. The
employer has told him two stories about how confidential data are obtained from a rival. Before
resorting to the final action of blowing the whistle, there are many options. Whistleblowing is
considered justified in a variety of situations. To begin with, whistleblowing is justified where an
individual may detect a serious risk of injury to other employees, customers, taxpayers, or their moral
concerns.

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 5. Based on the case study, provide four reasons why ethics
is relevant to business?

Ethics are important to the business organization as well as the whole community. Ethics should
preferably be incorporated into all facets and activities of a company. An organization's productivity
can be improved in the long term if ethical management is implemented successfully. The first reason
is ethics allows making strategic decisions because employees and bosses of firms that demonstrate
ethical leadership are capable of making choices that are deemed socially appropriate. the second
reason is ethics Increases employee retention because employee retention may be described as a
company's desire to keep its staff for a longer time. Employees tend to serve in organizations or
businesses that respect their views and rights, according to their perceptions. The third reason is
ethical practices play an important role in building and maintaining reputation because customers
consider the principles of a company before deciding whether or not to do business with it. Only
when a company can retain a positive image with its consumers will it be considered effective. The
last reason is business ethics allows healthy competition because ethical action does not contribute
to businesses engaging in illegal activities; rather, it allows consumers to make their own decisions.
The corporation is found to be using unfair means to gain a strategic edge in the industry in the given
Business ethics case study.

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