Discussion

Strategic Management Module 6 - Discussion 

 

Complete the Assurance of Learning Exercise of your text; “Ethics of Spying on Competitors.” 

When complete, select the one ethical choice/example (from the list) that you struggled with in 

terms of determining whether it is ethical or not. Write a short narrative stating which scenario was 

the most difficult to decide, how you made you final decision.​

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.

David, F. R. & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach (16th ed.). Florence,

South Carolina. Pearson