I am attaching my discussion in the attachments
Directions:
Review your classmates’ answers and find two with which you do not agree. Explain how these classmates might revisit their ethical determination based on your perspective.
Ethics of Spying on Competitors
1. Buying competitors’ garbage (U, L)
2. Dissecting competitors’ products (E/L)
3. Taking competitors’ plant tours anonymously (U/L)
4. Counting tractor-trailer trucks leaving competitors’ loading bays (E/L)
5. Studying aerial photographs of competitors’ facilities (E/L)
6. Analyzing competitors’ labor contracts (U/L)
7. Analyzing competitors’ help-wanted ads (E/L)
8. Quizzing customers and buyers about the sales of competitors’ products (E/L)
9. Infiltrating customers’ and competitors’ business operations (U/I)
10. Quizzing suppliers about competitors’ level of manufacturing (E/L)
11. Using customers to buy out phony bids (U/I)
12. Encouraging key customers to reveal competitive information (U/L)
13. Quizzing competitors’ former employees (E/L)
14. Interviewing consultants who may have worked with competitors (E/L)
15. Hiring key managers away from competitors (E/L)
16. Conducting phony job interviews to get competitors’ employees to reveal information (U/I)
17. Sending engineers to trade meetings to quiz competitors’ technical employees (E/L)
18. Quizzing potential employees who worked for or with competitors (E/L)
“Business ethics can be defined as principles of conduct within organizations that guide decision making and behavior” (David and David, 2017). The law often guides business, but at other times business ethics provide a basic guideline that businesses can choose to follow to gain public approval. Some issues that come up in a discussion of ethics include corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, social responsibility, and fiduciary responsibilities (Twin, 2020). Companies believe that to enhance attractiveness and survivability, it must gather and utilize strategic information about competitors. But how that information is obtained can raise concerns.
One ethical example that I struggled with was the first example, buying competitors garbage. I was confident that this was a legal act but unsure if it was ethical or unethical. At first, I thought that this example could be ethical. Then after reviewing other examples and the characteristics of unethical business actions, I determined this action is unethical. It is the use of the company’s funds for gain. “Competitive intelligence gathering is an increasingly vital tool in today’s global marketplace, but pressures to gather intelligence have resulted in some unethical practices” (Rittenburg, Valentine & Faircloth, 2007).
References:
David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic Management (16th ed.). Pearson Education Inc.
Rittenburg, T. L., Valentine, S. R., & Faircloth, J. B. (2007). An ethical decision-making framework for competitor intelligence gathering: JBE JBE. Journal of Business Ethics, 70(3), 235.
Twin, A. (2020, January 29). Business Ethics: Fair Business Policies Within Controversial Subjects. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business-ethics.asp
1.Buying competitors’ garbage – U/L
2. Dissecting competitors’ products – E/L
3. Taking competitors’ plant tours anonymously – E/L
4. Counting tractor-trailer trucks leaving competitors’ loading bays – E/L
5. Studying aerial photographs of competitors’ facilities – U/L
6. Analyzing competitors’ labor contracts – E/L
7. Analyzing competitors’ help-wanted ads – E/L
8. Quizzing customers and buyers about the sales of competitors’
products – E/L
9. Infiltrating customers’ and competitors’ business operations U/L
10. Quizzing suppliers about competitors’ level of manufacturing – E/L
11. Using customers to buy out phony bids – U/I
12. Encouraging key customers to reveal competitive information – U/L
13. Quizzing competitors’ former employees – E/L
14. Interviewing consultants who may have worked with competitors –
E/L
15. Hiring key managers away from competitors – E/L
16. Conducting phony job interviews to get competitors’ employees to
reveal information – U/I
17. Sending engineers to trade meetings to quiz competitors’ technical
employees – E/L
18. Quizzing potential employees who worked for or with competitors –
E/L
I struggled with number three – taking competitor’s pant tours
anonymously. This type of behavior appears untrustworthy and based on
one of the Seven Principles of Admirable Business Ethics, businesses
should follow the motto, “do unto others as you would have them do unto
you,” (David and David, 2017). Businesses should remain abreast of
competitors’ progress; however, the knowledge should be researched
and presented within the scope of ethics. I choose this act as ethical
because the competitor may not have requested information such as
name and company information for tours. However, the organization
should have been transparent with its competitor before initiating the
tour.
#11 & 16
Infiltrating customers’ and competitors’ business operations. The action
that led to the infiltration must be explored before declaring the act
illegal. Illegal activities are defined in law and punishable.
References:
David, F. R, & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic Management. Concepts
and Cases. A Competitive Advantage Approach. (16th Ed.). Boston:
Pearson Education, Inc.