I am doing a survey for my Ethics class and I need your opinions?
August 21st, 2010 | by admin |Yου аrе a nеw employee аt a data recovery company аnd thеіr tagline іѕ "Yουr reputation іѕ safe wіth υѕ!" Thеу treat аll data wіth thе strictest confidence UNLESS thеу find anything οn thе computer thаt involves plans fοr FUTURE criminal activity. Sο, wіth thаt being ѕаіd, уου аrе recovering data frοm a nеw customer’s computer аnd уου find a diary аnd photos οf a detailed murder thаt wаѕ committed bу thе customer. Yου dο ѕοmе research аnd see іf thіѕ person іn thе diary іѕ still missing οr іf thе case іѕ closed. Being seriously disturbed bу thіѕ, уου ѕhοw уουr boss thе photos аnd tеll hіm thе whole ѕtοrу οf whаt happened аnd аѕk hіm whаt tο dο. Thе boss ѕауѕ tο уου, "Whаt wе dο іѕ recover hіѕ data аnd give іt back tο hіm аnd send hіm a bill." Yου аrе appalled bу thіѕ, bυt thе boss strictly ѕауѕ, "Fіnіѕh thе work аnd ѕtοр snooping through thе customer’s files, O.K?"
Sο, out οf thеѕе OPTIONS, whаt wουld уου dο?
1) Ignore іt аnd јυѕt gο back tο work
2) Quit thе company аnd јυѕt nοt ѕау anything
3) Quit thе company аnd turn thе customer іntο thе authorities
4) Ignore whаt thе boss ѕаіd аnd turn thе customer іn anyways
***I know thіѕ seems lіkе a lot οf info bυt уουr cooperation іѕ greatly appreciated!!!
11 Responses to “I am doing a survey for my Ethics class and I need your opinions?”
By rememberthecole on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
The Law.
Ethics.
Morality.
Lets start with the last. From a moral standpoint if you know of a murder you are morally obligated to help catch the killer. If you do not, he could do the same thing again and you will be partly guilty for the future murder. How good are your morals? Mine are pretty good and I would not let a murderer get away with it.
Now lets go to the first. While the police can not review his records without a search warrant, the guy came to you to recover his information. He had to have known it was there yet he risked discovery by giving you the computer and asking you to recover it. Your finding it in no way required a search warrant and in fact, he expected you to recover (find) it. So how you got the information is totally legal. Unless there is a law on the books that says you can ot reveal it, you can give it to the cops without breaking the law.
Now to ethics. A company that is in the business of dealing with recovered files has to promise the customer some security and confidence that his information is not going to be blasted all over the place. If the company does not stick by its promise, it has compromised its ethical standards and business will drop off. Who is going to trust a company that does not keep its word and its confidentiality? From that stand point your boss is right, you should shut up and not say a thing.
Now, put the three together. What is more important? Your boss clearly thinks the reputation of the company is the most important. he does not want it to get out that they look at files and reveal what they find. His interest is future business and money. But morality requires you to turn him in. Society does not want a killer to get away, giving him a chance to kill again. The deciding factor is the law in this case. If there is no law that says you can not turn the information over to the cops, then you should turn it over to the cops. If there is a law that says you can not do it, then you can not do it. It is assumed that the law is a balance of all needs.
(I do not agree but want to give you all the info. )
(A fourth option is to copy all the stuff and blackmail the SOB. That is not only illegal, it is immoral and unethical. Three strikes all at the same time.)
By Witchy on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
4) Ignore what the boss said and turn the customer in anyways
I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t turn in the customer. I wouldn’t quit the job though—I’d wait to be fired while looking for a new job.
By Sara on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
3 you will have to live with your self and knowing what you saw. bring that poor family some justice screw some company greedy asses
By Alyssa on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
I would choose 4.
Theres no way I would want him getting away with murder!
By Barry C on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
the ethics of the policy is beyond bizarre to begin with, so why would it be compelling to care about it in the first place?
By bigbouncinjeraf2 on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
4) Ignore what the boss said and turn the customer in anyways
Its important to have a job, and we all come into situations where our superiors are not people we like. But if the boss finds out that you had turned in the customer to authorities and fires you. Just remember God had a plan for your life, and it would obviously not be working for a psycho who wouldn’t turn in a murderer.
By marshall y on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
1) Ignore it and go back to work.
You knew the companies tagline when you were hired. The Information is about a possible past crime, not a future one.
The code of conduct for lawyers, paralegals, and many other regulated professions would require you to keep information that you might learn from a client about a past crime confidential.
By marrrhaba on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
4) Ignore what the boss said and turn the customer in anyways.
It’s the right thing to do, period. You could be in deep trouble if it’s found that you hid evidence from the authorities, evidence that you said yourself "involves plans for FUTURE criminal activity." Even if the aforementioned criminal activity hasn’t happened yet, I would rather risk losing my job for the sake of saving people’s lives or business or well being. And you never know, maybe the boss would reconsider his way of doing the job. It’s not a matter of "snooping through the customer’s files." Otherwise, he could be a bad boss. If it was discovered that I overlooked this incriminating evidence, and the planned act of crime was carried out, I would appear to be abetting the criminal(s) involved. That’s not a situation I’m prepared to be part of. Like I mentioned earlier, I’d rather lose my job.
By misskohut on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
3, I wouldn’t want a part in a company like that. I know what the policy is, but going into the job you would never expect to find something like that.
By Bonnie S on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
4.) Ignore what the boss said and turn the customer in anyways.
Too many people follow orders and don’t ask questions this is how Hitler gained so much power. Unfortunately the only true way to know how people would react would be too actually do the study but this is ethically against the law. Like in the fake electric shock study you may have seen this video, if not ask your teacher if he has access to it to show the class.
By Steve on Aug 21, 2010 | Reply
This would be much easier if we could refer to the employee as Arnie, the boss as Fred, the customer as Mr. Bowen, and the company as Recoupabyte. This just helps in narrowing down the true matter of the issue I think.