Keeping an Ethical Perspective While Checking Out the Competition

 

 

Statement of the Situation

Time Warner Cable’s means of obtaining information on business rival Southwestern Bell is considered unethical, violating The Society of Competitive Intelligence’s, along with their own, company Code of Ethics.

 

Background of the Situation

Time Warner Cable dishonored the business Code of Ethics by presenting Houston employees free internet service and a chance to win $100 by simply ordering high speed internet service from their competitor, Southwestern Bell. After confirmation, the order was then canceled by the employees, who then had to give an account back to their Time Warner employers of what took place. 

 

Issues to be Resolved

• Should Time Warner reimburse Southwestern Bell for making their employees order expensive services?
• Southwestern Bell has to endure the processing costs to the fake customers, preventing them from helping real customers.
• The embarrassment brought on by Time Warner to themselves through their deceitful method of gaining competitive intelligence.
• Although there are no set rules against placing fake Internet service orders, it is clearly over stepping the boundaries of what companies can do in attempting to gain knowledge about their competitors.
• Should the employees have accepted the deal? By conforming to what was asked of them to do questions the employees’ loyalty to their company Code of Ethics.
• The business ethics of Time Warner employers are questionable, obviously they knew their plan was against company policies, otherwise a public invitation of signing up for Southwestern Bell internet service would have been announced instead of having fliers placed in the employee’s paychecks.

 

Procedures Employed

Time Warner Cable’s managerial mischief has lured their employees into ordering Internet service from Southwestern Bell in order to discover where their services were available, and possibly unearth any market weaknesses. According to The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, Time Warner Cable violated several of the codes in their Code of Ethics. First off, they did not comply with the company policies and guidelines, nor did they avoid conflicts in their pursuit of knowledge. They were also dishonest and did not propose sensible means of checking on their competitors.

 

Outcomes

Southwestern Bell has reported complaints with the Federal Communications Commission, who regulate media and communications markets, and also with the Texas Public Utility Commission, who regulate media markets in Texas.

Ethics programs should also be implemented among the managers and employees alike in order to lessen the chances of either employer or employees from adhering to bad business ethics.

 

Summary of the Case

While it is legal for companies to do their own competitive intelligence searches, there are certain limits as to what companies can do, or ask their employees to do. According to George Dennis, corporations should stray from doing things they would be embarrassed of if their family should see it on television. Apparently, this situation is one that the entire company is ashamed of. Houston division President Ron McMillan admitted that they made a mistake, and their plan was immediately abandoned once senior managers heard news of it. Time Warner Cable’s business ethics are in serious jeopardy if the managers themselves came up with the deceitful scheme. For employees to follow along also reflects on that fact.

 

Principles of Practice Demonstrated

• Competitive Intelligence helps companies understand their industry and also figure out their rival’s strengths and weaknesses through data collection and interpretation of the publicly available data.
• Business Ethics sets the standards as to what is right and wrong within a company. Companies usually have a set of rules or policies that describe what their Code of Ethics are.

 

 

Identify the Competencies Demonstrated

Competitive Intelligence, Business Ethics.