Ethical Scenario Analysis: Business Ethics and Whistleblowing

This report provides an in-depth analysis of an ethical scenario involving a new product manager, Michael, who is faced with a dilemma when his boss obtains confidential information from a competitor through illegal means. The report delves into the ethical issues at play, primarily competitive spying and the violation of privacy. It explores the steps Michael should consider, emphasizing the principles of virtue ethics and utilitarianism, and the importance of whistleblowing. The analysis examines the reasons why ethics is relevant to business, including staff engagement, preventing ethical violations, providing a reference point for corrective frameworks, and fostering honesty. Furthermore, the report discusses the ethical implications of whistleblowing, the importance of establishing strong ethical policies, and the role of honesty and integrity in the workplace. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of creating a viable atmosphere of justice and fairness to mitigate unethical practices within companies. This report is a valuable resource for students studying business ethics and related fields.

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Analysis of an ethical scenario (individual assessment)
Student’s Name
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Professor’s Name
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Table of Contents
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................
Ethical Issues...................................................................................................................................
Steps to be considered by Michael...................................................................................................
Based on the case study, provide four reasons why ethics is relevant to business?........................
 Staff & Ethics.....................................................................................................................
 Averts ‘innocent’ violations of ethics.................................................................................
 Offers explicit point of reference when applying corrective frameworks..........................
 It develops honesty.............................................................................................................
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................

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Introduction
Nowadays, there are multiple companies that have been facing
numerous challenging ethical issues due to lack of proper frameworks that
would foster ethical practices and norms within their operations. Such
ethical issues literally affect the overall success, development, and
reputation of companies as well as their profitability (Weiskopf, & Tobias-
Miersch, 2016). Therefore, it is important for companies to adopt new ways
that are effective and always consider ethical policies, as it would ensure
that any negative issues are dealt with properly. This paper is based on an
ethical scenario that seeks to address how the ethical issues at various
workplaces ought to be solved and problems that might be faced while
using certain resolutions. Moreover, this paper will elaborate on the
various ethical issues within the case, their main causes and the
necessary strategies that ought to be implemented to mitigate such
issues effectively. The study would also elaborate on the concept of
whistleblowing and analyse its importance in the workplace. On a daily
basis, where choices have to be made between a number of alternatives,
people are often faced with various ethical issues. Ethics can simply be
described as the codes used by organisations to govern the conducts of
employees and guide on the decisions which they make, or values and
morality that they follow. Ethical decisions are built on the grounds of
trust and honesty and often include complex issues such as governance,
compliance diversity among others. In the corporate world, there are
several instances where various ethical issues are raised and thus require

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to be resolved, with consideration to ethical integrity. In the following
sections, the given cases scenario will be evaluated (McIntosh, et al., 2019).

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Ethical Issues
In this case, the major ethical issue can be related to the
inappropriate manner in which the information from a rival organisation
was obtained, along with the objectives behind obtaining the information.
Spying on a rival company is often perceived as obtaining material
information about another organisation in an effort to gain competitive
advantage. The reason why spying on a rival company is often seen as
unethical is due to the fact that the material which is obtained from the
rival company is private and confidential, and thus if the other company
realises that such information has been missing, it can result to huge legal
suits. Another reason why such conducts are considered as unethical
emanates from the fact that the information has been obtained in a way
which is considered illegal and while at some point it might be legal, it is
still not ethical as it would only consider the provisions of the law and not
the intrinsic objectives (Brown, 2013). In this scenario, Michael’s manager
obtained confidential information by hacking into the private intranet of
the rival company, which was illegal. This demonstrates that the conduct
of Michael’s manager was unethical because of the manner in which he
used to obtain the information. The information was obtained for personal
benefits of the organisation. As a result, ethical issues were raised in this
case since it is considered as competitive spying.
Steps To be considered by Michael

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In this scenario, Michael ought to follow the procedures set out in
the concept of virtue ethics and Utilitarianism. According to these
concepts, the thought process and character of an individual should guide
the decisions that an individual takes. Moreover, these concepts provide
that, when a person demonstrates honesty and integrity, that person is
able to express his or her good character. In this case scenario, it is
important for Michael to act on the foundation of virtue ethics. This
implies that he should consider virtues such as justice, honesty and
fairness in the next steps he would embark on. Rather than using data
that his manager had provided him, he ought to use the evidence and
blow the whistle on his boss. He should honourably demonstrate to the
entire world that the material was obtained through corrupt ways and
therefore the aspect of fairness needed to prevail.
Cases of whistleblowing often occur within two primary fields: First,
in matters concerning professional misconduct, mainly corruption - either
in the private or public corporation. The second one involves violation of
the rights of other employees and information is perpetrated by some of
the employees of an organisation usually under the veil of secrecy
(Lichtenberg, 2010). As in the case of Michael, whistleblowing would play a
huge role in preventing the use of confidential information available to
either the boss. When employees make use of information from another
company in an effort to serve their own advantage, often in the assurance
that their action will remain unpunished, Whistle-blowers such as Michael
who reveal cases of misconducts significantly contribute to denounce such

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crimes and re-establish the confidence and proper function of the
organisation (Knapp, et al., 2013).
Here is Michael’s case, his intent to whistleblowing is permissible
especially since it already exhibited the right intentions that addressed
issues of huge concern to the companies. The need for justification of
Michaels actions arise because he is part of the organisation. Therefore it
can be argued that, by agreeing to work for the company, Michael is
obliged to adhere to the rules governing it. However, employees are not
only obliged by an agreement, but by a duty of loyalty towards the
company and their fellow employees (Rothschild, 2013). Therefore, disclosure
of unethical activity not only conforms to the obligations of being an
employee but also creates the basis of accountability towards fellow
employees.
While companies have established strong internal procedures to
address various concerns of employees, disclosure of internal matter is
not justified. Nevertheless, it is very clear that any disclosure involving
stealing information from another company often inhibits the very
procedure of redress (Taylor, & Curtis, 2010).Therefore, the question is
whether whistleblowing in Michael’s case can be a legitimate instrument
that can be used to correct wrongs in such circumstances, where no
strong internal procedures are available. In virtue of this scenario,
whistleblowing can be accounted as an act of last resort, which should not
be treated as a conventional procedure .Therefore, it is acceptable when it
helps to reinforce the existing structure of the company. When the

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evidence links the complicity to the top officials, whistleblowing is
applicable as a redress to the limitations that the subordinate often
experiences while trying to uphold accountability (Sumanth, Mayer, & Kay,
2011). Michael was therefore justified to blow the whistle on his boss as it is
the only mechanisms that he can use to fulfil his mandate for the
company.
Looking at whistleblowing from a philosophical perspective, De
George, (2011) posed the questions of whether the activity is right and
whether it allows for responsible conduct or whether it is an institutionally
imposed liability among employees. He further argues that if a company
establishes internal whistle-blowing policies, it is because it considers
moral conducts to be weak and the workforce are expected to raise the
alarm in case they see misconducts. Therefore, if employees don’t blow
the whistle in compliance with the corporate policies, they are then
accountable of wrongdoing, rendering the policy a framework that
controls employee’s conducts. The liability for misconducts now shifts
from the company to the individual employee. The Morality of whistle-
blowing might be considered from the perspective that companies have
moral obligations not to harm. Crane, & Matten, (2016) provide fundamental
criteria where whistleblowing is morally licit. Briefly
(1) The actions of the company will do considerable harm to other
companies.
(2) The act of whistleblowing is justifiable if the employee reports it to the
manager in order to ensure that her moral concerns are considered.

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(3) Lack of any other action by the boss, the staff should take the matter
all the ways to the senior management if necessary.
(4) It is important to have documented evidence that would convince an
impartial observer that one's views of the matter is correct and
considerable harm might occur (Lewis, & Trygstad, 2009).
Based on the case study, provide four reasons why ethics is
relevant to business?
Staff & Ethics
Recent studies show that 45% of the employees in various
companies want to work for a company that has a positive impact on the
society. An organisation with proper focus on ethics is more likely to keep
their workforce as they have built the interest of growing their business
through ethical means. Michaels working practices and desires to act
ethically establish a feeling of purpose to his role (Labriola, 2017). All these
make growth and success more of a long-term framework. There is an
increasing number of ethically engaged employees who just require the
necessary framework that would assist them to work within the
frameworks of an organisation. Therefore, it is important for employers to
establish frameworks that align with their ethical business ethical models.
However, overlooking these developments could imply cutting the
business off from a large fraction of ethical employees (Lewis,2011).
Averts ‘innocent’ violations of ethics

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Another reason for maintaining ethics in consideration to the case
scenario is that it would help in addressing issues affecting workers on
their own. While whistleblowing does not essentially touch on issues of
illegality, they do help in addressing issues that would significantly affect
the reputation of the company. Having detailed whistleblowing policies,
outlining the standards that qualify for such actions, the employees will
sensitise each other to matters that might not have been obvious to them
and at the same time avoid potentially harmful reporting’s (Jackson, et al.,
2011)..
Offers explicit point of reference when applying corrective
frameworks
This is another reason to think through establishing whistleblowing
policies as part of a company’s culture. In Michael's case, the evidence
will help as a reference for remedial actions to be taken or even the
termination of his boss for his failure to meet the set standards. This
would further help in eliminating any arbitrary from dealing with the
workforce who have failed to conduct themselves in a manner that meets
the standards of the organisation (Kumar, & Santoro, 2017). Michael’s boss can
even cause a lot of harm to the company, but the company expectations
for the workers' behavior would provide a strong foundation for
addressing such kind of issues. Therefore, when developing a policy, it is
important for the framework to be simple and straightforward.
It develops honesty

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Every company desires integrity and honesty among its employees.
Having honesty among employees allows proper dedication to the mission
and success of the company. In the case of Michael, he was trying to act
honestly by wanting to raise the issue to the management, by
encouraging whistleblowing culture, the company is promoting honesty
from among its workforce (Ceva, & Bocchiola, 2019).Honesty allows every
employee to provide complete dedication to the mission and success of
the company.
Conclusion
By establishing strong policies , a company conveys a message to
its personnel concerning ethics , morality and social responsibility .For
any company , the existence of challenges related to whistleblowing and
the implementation of whistleblowing policies should not be considered
with apprehension , rather should be welcomed as an important
opportunity that would encourage the workforce to incorporate their
values into the process of assisting in improving the general
effectiveness of the company. By creating a viable atmosphere of justice
and fairness, companies ought to ensure that they are interested in
mitigating unethical and harmful practices which might have previously
occurred unnoticed.

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