Ethics Paper

1. There are two ethical theories that are involved in this case, Consequential and Deontological. Starting with the consequential theory, the act of viewing the leaked data of the competitors would give Bananas! a great advantage in the industry. Which in the business world, isn’t viewed as such a terrible thing. Actually using the data would be very useful to Bananas! as well. Any company who is behind in any industry is going to be looking for anyway to get ahead. The fact that none of the information they will be using is illegal is just another incentive to go ahead and use the data for their own advantage. On the other hand, there is the deontological theory. This theory applies to a more personal level. Jennifer could feel guilt about using the data, knowing that the competitors do not know about the leak of their data. The universal rule would be to tell the competitors about this, and let them get their data protected. Of course, she wouldn’t let her employees use the information either. Even though there is no law saying Jennifer’s company couldn’t look at the data, the ethics behind it would be violated. It is like finding someone’s money they dropped, you could take it but you know the right thing to do is give it back. It is a matter of is Jennifer wants to put her company first, or her morals.

2. The resolution chosen would affect both Bananas!, and their competitors. Bananas! would be able to gain a big advantage in the industry. They would be able to have the newest features, and they could put them at a lower price. Bananas! would also be able to gain a lot of their customers back, and the value in the company would skyrocket. Bananas! would also have new products, which would allow them to get rid of some of their non-selling products.
The competitors would be affected by losing their new product launches.