Question

On a separate sheet of paper, number from 1 to 18. For the 18 spying activities listed as follows, indicate wheter or not you believe the activity is ethical or unethical AND legal or illegal. Place either an E for ethical or U for unethical, and either an L for legal or an I for illegal for each activity. Compare your answers to those of your classmates and discuss any differences.

1. Buying competitor's garbage
2. Dissecting competitor's products
?3. Taking competitor's plant tours anonymously
4. Counting tractor-trailer trucks leaving competitor's loading bays
5. Studying aerial photographs of competitors' facilities
?6. Analyzing competitors' labor contracts
?7. Analyzing competitors' help-wanted ads
?8. Quizzing customers and buyers about the sales of competitors' products
?9. Infiltrating customers' and competitors' business operations
?10. Quizzing suppliers about competitors' level of manufacturing
11. Using customers to buy out phony bids
12. Encouraging key customers to reveal competitive information
?13. Quizzing competitors' former employees
?14. Interviewing consultants who may have worked with competitors
?15. Hiring key managers away from competitors
?16. Conducting phony job interviews to get competitors' employees to reveal information
17. Sending engineers to trade meetings to quiz competitors' technical employees
?18. Quizzing potential employees who worked for or with competitors

Answer 1

1. Buying competitor's garbage - E and L if it is done with no intentions of harm to competitor and with appropriate legal sources
2. Dissecting competitor's products - E and L if the purpose is not to copy the product manufactured.
?3. Taking competitor's plant tours anonymously - U and L if done legally
4. Counting tractor-trailer trucks leaving competitor's loading bays - E and L
5. Studying aerial photographs of competitors' facilities - E and L if the purpose is not to burn/damage the facility.
?6. Analyzing competitors' labor contracts - U and I
?7. Analyzing competitors' help-wanted ads - E and L
?8. Quizzing customers and buyers about the sales of competitors' products - E and L
?9. Infiltrating customers' and competitors' business operations - U and I
?10. Quizzing suppliers about competitors' level of manufacturing - E and L
11. Using customers to buy out phony bids - U and I
12. Encouraging key customers to reveal competitive information - U and L
?13. Quizzing competitors' former employees - E and L unless there is a signed contract and company sensitive information is not asked.
?14. Interviewing consultants who may have worked with competitors - E and L unless there is a contract signed and company sensitive information is not asked.
?15. Hiring key managers away from competitors - E and L
?16. Conducting phony job interviews to get competitors' employees to reveal information - U and I
17. Sending engineers to trade meetings to quiz competitors' technical employees - E and I
?18. Quizzing potential employees who worked for or with competitors - E and I