Chairman of Hewlett Packard Was Forced to Resign - Admission/Application Essay Example

INFORMATIONAL PRIVACY: HEWLETT-PACKARD AND PRETEXTING INTRODUCTION Pretexting can be defined as “using or causing others to use false pretenses, fraudulent statements, fraudulent or stolen documents, or other misrepresentations, including posing as an account holder or employee of a telecommunications carrier, to obtain telephone records of another” (Kubasek et al 23). The term pretexting entered the national lexicon in 2006, with the white-collar crime committed by Hewlett-Packard’s erstwhile chairman Patricia Dunn. She hired private investigators to locate the source of several leaks of important company secrets to the media. With the help of national security numbers, phone numbers and zip codes they hacked their way into private information relating to the company’s board members and a number of journalists. Pretexting is illegal in several states; the federal Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 ensures imprisonment for up to ten years, of those convicted of using fraudulent means of persuading phone companies to part with confidential data about customers’ phone calls. The government’s concern encompasses pretexting in all forms including telephone and online communications, state Delta & Matsuura (p.6-69). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to determine on the basis of theories of business ethics, whether it was right that Patricia Dunn was forced to resign. DISCUSSION Hewlett-Packard’s (H-P) chairman Ms Patricia Dunn hired private investigators to identify the board member responsible for the leaks to the media of sensitive company issues. The investigators used fraudulent tactics in the garb of H-P directors, journalists and others, to find the required information. Absolutism According to the theory of business ethics termed as Absolutism or ethical fundamentalism, Dunn’s action of hiring private investigators to get to the root of the problem, would be considered immoral. According to Absolutism, individuals need to comply with a set of rules that are guidelines for ensuring ethical decision making. As opposed to ethical relativism and situational ethics, absolutism supports an action as moral if it conforms to the given set of ethical rules. According to Kubasek et al (p.39), there is however, a possibility of disagreement on which set of rules to follow. Acceptance and action on any one set of absolutist rules is questioned for validity. Further, the unbending rules in most absolutist frameworks appear to be too inflexible to be applied to different situations. For example, the absolute rule stating “thou shalt not kill” does not provide for killing in self-defense which is considered as an accepted exception to this rule (Kubasek et al 39). In this context, taking into account Patricia Dunn’s good intentions of eliminating the spy in the company, her using covert methods to access private information related to the patterns of telephone calls of H-P’s board members can be considered as an exception to the rule of Absolutism. Contrasting with Absolutism is Consequentialism which includes Utilitarianism. Consequentialism and Utilitarianism Consequentialism does not provide a rigid set of rules to comply with irrespective of the situation. This ethical theory is a general approach to resolving ethical dilemmas, and is based on the consequences to relevant people, caused by a particular decision. Utilitarianism is one of the consequentialist theories of ethics (Kubasek 39-40). John Stuart Mill’s (1806-1873) theory of moral philosophy is called Utilitarianism. “Its fundamental principle is that we should always perform those acts which will bring the most happiness or pleasure, or failing that, the least unhappiness to the most people” (Nabor 19). Utilitarianism seeks out the greatest happiness after having subtracted the pain or harm associated with the action in question. Uilitarianism in business ethics as commonly applied by firms and government is the cost-benefit analysis. Ethical decision-making in business based on such analysis compares the happiness and pain of the available alternatives; where happiness and pain denote monetary outcomes. Thus, in the the pretexting case study of Hewlett-Packard, the benefit to business by Dunn’s use of subterfuge may be considered to make the hacking and obtaining of information by the investigators, to be worthwhile. This is particularly valid in view of the fact that the company had been “through much recent turmoil including the ouster of high-profile CEO Carly Fiorina” (Kaplan 1). Consequentialism including utilitarianism is not a wholly useful ethical theory, because of the difficulty in calculating the consequences, and the absence of the social value of justice in the reasoning. Several business decisions may have beneficial outcomes for the majority of people, but if a few will be harmed, it would cause injustice towards that minority. Although consequentialism does not resolve these dilemmas, an alternative ethical theory termed Deontology, provides definite answers (Kubasek 40). Deontology “Deontology emphasizes the notion of acting on principles rather than consequences” (Nabor 19). According to this approach, ethics is centred around duties and rights. The term deontology is derived from the Greek word for “duty”. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) supported this ethical theory, emphasizing the concept of the good or moral will being morally right, not because of its beneficial outcomes or the good motives that produce those actions, but on the basis of its maxims being adopted for the sake of morality, and not only in accord with duty or morality. Beneficial results or happiness produced from moral action are not related to the moral worth of the action. Thus Kantian ethics focus on principles or maxims which form the basis of action. Ethical action is that in which the maxim is rational; of categorical and universal nature. According to the categorical imperative, an ethical action would be applicable for everyone in society to act in a similar way, for example, the wrong action of cheating. The deontological approach emphasizes on the duties and obligations such as trust that we owe each other as humans, which are considered to be more significant that the measurements of the results of business decisions. “The prescriptive proposition, ethical principle, law or rule governing action, one that specifies what it is a person’s duty to do in a given situation” (Nabor 22) is known as Imperative, according to Kant. Therefore, from the deontological perspective, Hewlett-Packard’s chairman Dunn’s directions to private investigators to identify the individual in the board of directors responsible for the leaks, using any means, was an incorrect approach. It not only violates the trust of all employees, but no set of positive consequences such as security for company’s secrets and subsequent high level of performance and profits can overcome the wrong of the undercover strategy used to gain private caller information. CONCLUSION This paper has highlighted the ethical dilemma faced by Patricia Dunn, chairman of Hewlett Packard, who was forced to resign on the basis of her covert actions to gain information on the identity of the spy in the company’s board of directors. Using the contrasting theories of business ethics such as Absolutism, Consequentialism, Utilitarianism, and Deontology, the chairman’s actions of subterfuge have been studied. It is clear that the Kantian deontological principle of moral imperative should be applied in judging Dunn’s actions, which are wrong categorically and universally. This correlates also with Absolutism, which lays down unbending rules of ethical action. The Utilitarian principle of taking action towards creating maximumn happiness for the most number of people cannot be adopted since the white-collar crime involved spying on the phone calls of the directors in the company’s board, thus secretly intruding on their privacy. Further, the director George Keyworth found to be responsible for the news leaks, would likely have admitted his guilt if questioned privately, as he reportedly remarked to Dunn, had investigations been conducted in a closed manner (Rasch, 2006). Thus, the company’s fall in the eyes of the public could have been avoided; thereby benefiting Hewlett-Packard’s reputation as well as the company’s profits. Therefore, it is concluded that it was right that Patricia Dunn was forced to resign. WORKS CITED Delta, George B. & Matsuura, Jeffrey H. Law of the internet. Edition 2. New York: Aspen Publishers Online. (2002). Kaplan, David A. Suspicions and spies in silicon valley. H-P Scandal: The boss who spied on her board. Newsweek Business. MSNBC.com. (18th September, 2006). Retrieved on 3rd September, 2010 from: http://msl1.mit.edu/furdlog/docs/2006-09-18_newsweek_hp_scandal.pdf Kubasek, Nancy, Browne, M. Neil, Herron, Dan, Giampetro-Meyer, Andrea & Barkacs, Linda. Dynamic business law: The essentials. The United States: McGraw-Hill. (2009). Nabor, Maria I.P. Ethics. Philippines: Goodwill Trading Company, Inc. (2003). Rasch, Mark. Liar, liar, and pretexting. Retrieved on 3rd September, 2010 from: http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/417 Read More