Ethics of Misdirected Information Use
Situation A: Suppose you are buying a condo and you know that at least one other party is bidding against you. While agonizing over your best strategy, you stop at a local Starbucks. As you sip your latte, you overhear a conversation at the table next to yours. Three people are talking loudly enough that it is difficult to ignore them, and you soon realize that they are the real estate agent and the couple who is competing for the condo you want. They are preparing their offer. Should you listen to their conversation? If you do, do you use the information you hear to your advantage?
Situation B: Consider the same situation from a different perspective-instead of overhearing the conversation, suppose you receive that same information in an email. Perhaps an administrative assistant at the agent's office confuses you and the other customer and mistakenly sends you the terms of the other party's offer. Do you read that email?
If so, do you use the information that you read to your advantage?
Situation C: Suppose that you sell computer software. In the midst of a sensitive price negotiation, your customer accidentally sends you an internal email that contains the maximum amount that the customer can pay for your software. Do you read that email? Do you use that information to guide your negotiating strategy? If your customer discovers that the email may have reached you and asks, "Did you read my email?" how do you answer?
Situation D: In this scenario, a friend mistakenly sends you an email that contains sensitive personal medical data. Further, suppose you read the email before you know what you're reading and you're embarrassed to learn something very personal that truly is none of your business. Your friend asks you, "Did you read that email?" How do you respond?
Situation E: Finally, suppose that you work as a network administrator and your position allows you unrestricted access to the mailing lists for your company. Assume that you have the skill to insert your email address into any company mailing list without anyone knowing about it. You insert your address into several lists and, consequently, begin to receive confidential emails that no one intended for you to see. One of those emails indicates that your best friend's department is about to be eliminated and all of its personnel fired. Do you forewarn your friend?
Discussion Questions
1. Answer the questions in situations A and B. Do your answers differ? Does the medium by which the information is obtained make a difference? Is it easier to avoid reading an email than it is to avoid hearing a conversation? If so, does that difference matter?
2. Answer the questions in situations B and C. Do your answers differ? In situation B, the information is for your personal gain; in C, the information is for both your personal and your organization's gain. Does this difference matter? How do you respond when asked if you have read the email?
3. Answer the questions in situations C and D. Do your answers differ? Would you lie in one case and not in the other? Why or why not?
4. Answer the question in situation E. What is the essential difference between situations A through D and situation E? Suppose you had to justify your behavior in situation E. How would you argue? Do you believe your own argument?
5. In situations A through D, if you access the information you have done nothing illegal were the passive recipient. Even for item E, although you undoubtedly violated your company's employment policies, you most likely did not violate the law. So, for this discussion, assume that all of these actions are legal.
a. What is the difference between legal and ethical? Look up each term in a dictionary and explain how they differ.
b. Make the argument that business is competitive, and that if something is legal then it is acceptable if it helps to further your goals.
c. Make the argument that it is never appropriate to do something unethical.
6. Summarize your beliefs about proper conduct when you receive misdirected information.