Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I am writing a paper based on the following (fictional) premise (paraphrased) that I thought I would share with you as it is quite an interesting question IMHO... Your thought are very welcome... Jane has been asked to complete a software package upgrade by her line manager, and given 2 weeks in which to complete the task. This task is very complex and would normally take much longer to do, something which her line manager is unaware Through a combination of utilising and gleaning colleague and competitors information she completes the task within 10 days Has she been 'ethical'? Discuss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 hmm... depends what is considered "ethical" by jane, what is ethical according to her manager- and most importantly - whats ethical in a business sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 So has she been? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 hehe- ok - from janes point of view - i would say yes, she has been - as she was told to undertake a task - even though she had time constraints she pushed ahead and completed it . managers point of view - maybe/no .... manager should of been informed of the actual time it can take instead of the assumption he was lead to believe... if there was a setback - it would of been on his shoulders - also it would of helped identify training needs if any. Business pov - she has been ethical but again but i would have to say no. - if she failed it would of been against her - she should of informed the line manager of the time it normally takes. there is also a health and safety risk attached - i.e. work related stress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Through a combination of utilising and gleaning colleague and competitors information she completes the task within 10 days It all depends that if the information gleaned from the other resources has been done above board, ie not intellectual property that is off limits. If the information she has obtained is done in a proper fashion, then she has simply made use of the resources at her disposal. Should the information be restricted then the output of her project will more than likely result in a serious problem, due to the fact that it may infringe on copyright, patent or NDA issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 Ok - what about her colleagues reaction against her... intellectual property rights of the competition information...how did she get it...what will her priest say on Sunday...? What country are we in BTW? Is there a corporate ethical policy...has the letter or spirit of that law been broken...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 if i'm doing your essay - pm me with your card number Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 It is possible to get a lot of information from competitors, such as methods / procedures without violating NDAs.. so in that particular instance it would not be unethical. It maybe a little simple to say, however all employees at a company are a resource, and if they are able to respond to an internal job without affecting their own output, then in theory it would be unethical for them NOT to help. Without more information with regards to the information she obtained, it would not be possible to make a call either way. But re-using information within business is not frowned upon I wouldn't have thought. Saves re-inventing the wheel everytime a similar task is required. This is where most companies fall down IMHO, information/procedure sharing is terrible in most companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 if i'm doing your essay - pm me with your card number LOL! BTW - define 'ethical'? Don't you just love this stuff...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Ethics (from the Ancient Greek "ethikos", meaning "arising from habit") is one of the major branches of philosophy, one that covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right, wrong, good, evil, and responsibility. It is divided into three primary areas: meta-ethics (the study of what ethicality is), normative ethics (the study of what ethical truths there are and how they are known), and applied ethics (the study of the use of ethical knowledge). As per wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics Ethics are subjective, and vary from person to person... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 google defines it as: Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the "science (study) of morality". In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is "good" or "right." The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. This is one part of value theory (axiology) – the other part is aesthetics – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic. or Pertaining to moral philosophy; the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Are there any Hovis pictures of Jane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 It maybe a little simple to say, however all employees at a company are a resource, and if they are able to respond to an internal job without affecting their own output, then in theory it would be unethical for them NOT to help. If Jane was using it to forward her own career on the backs of others...? Perhaps she has three kids she needs to feed and the information was stolen off her colleagues computer...? Perhaps she has been there for 20 years and hit the 'glass ceiling' time and time again...? Perhaps the info was in breach of IPR - but If she hadn't completed the task she would have got fired...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 If in doubt always refer to the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition...... Rule 28. Morality is always defined by those in power If Jane was using it to forward her own career on the backs of others...? Sadly, this is always common practice in most business, the more oppurtinistic people will take advantage and get ahead.. such is life and business. Ferengi rule of acquistion 198: Employees are the rungs on your ladder to success - don't hesitate to step on them Perhaps she has three kids she needs to feed and the information was stolen off her colleagues computer...? That is completely unethical from a business point of view. Ferengi rule of acquisition 14. Anything stolen is pure profit Perhaps she has been there for 20 years and hit the 'glass ceiling' time and time again...?In this case, it is an HR matter and not a project matter, and doing something unethical is not an excuse. Ferengi rule of acquisition 101. Never do something you can make someone do for you Perhaps the info was in breach of IPR - but If she hadn't completed the task she would have got fired...? If she approached her manager and expressed the view that timescales were a little too aggresive, she should be able to either get support in which negating this entire arguement or an extension to the time, either way approaching a manager with a problem is not and should not ever be a problem if the management structure is correct. Feregni rule of acquisition 97. If you would keep a secret from an enemy, don't tell it to a friend And finally always remember rule 282. Business is like war; it's important to recognize the winner PS : The ferengi rules are purely fictional, and put in an attempt to create some humour and must not be taken seriously.... (Just had to say that before someone else did) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 i'm going to start living my life according to the rules of ferengi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 The bottom line is Jane came trough and produced a beauty result for her company so who cares if she was ethical about it. Give her a raise. I think thats the most important thig to be discsused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Are there any Hovis pictures of Jane? How unethical of you Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 ethics in business?? do me a favour... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I am writing a paper based on the following (fictional) premise (paraphrased) that I thought I would share with you as it is quite an interesting question IMHO... Your thought are very welcome... Jane has been asked to complete a software package upgrade by her line manager, and given 2 weeks in which to complete the task. This task is very complex and would normally take much longer to do, something which her line manager is unaware Through a combination of utilising and gleaning colleague and competitors information she completes the task within 10 days Has she been 'ethical'? Discuss You're asking this lot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 Pearls before swine mate Some phrase or insight might well come to pass At the present I am confusing myself even more when comparing the the work of Helmut Becker and David J. Fritzsche v Steven Lysonski and William Gaidis. Who appear to be at odds when comparing management from different countries and their responses to ethical dilemmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Hmmm, is this MBA stuff by any chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 Maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Why doesn't she speak to her line manager and discuss the timescales? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 True - but she didn't - so did she behave ethically... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 too many variables and its very very broad - i suppose there could/would/should be a word limit on the answer - hmm.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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