Question

• Lee is a middle manager at a mid-sized corporate finance advisory, MM Advisory Pte. Ltd.
• The scope of work entails providing corporate finance advice to businesses which are looking for private equity investors or looking toward listings on the Singapore stock exchange. This includes doing brokering investment deals for a commission, conducting valuations and structuring M&A/IPO transactions.

Lee’s professional life is terrible. For some reason, he doesn't have enough time or energy to properly focus at work. His numbers have been poor. If he cannot secure a deal soon, his remuneration for the year could easily be halved.

Luckily, there is a deal on the horizon which Lee is going to be pitching for. The potential client is a private equity fund looking to diversify its investments. In particular, it is hoping to put $150 million into a company in the information technology business. This client is also speaking to Lee’s colleague at MM, Bernard. Bernard is highly competent and is Lee's biggest competitor to sign the client.

The problem is that Lee has no previous experience or leads in the information technology sector. One night, Lee, on the way to the firm’s pantry, discovers a file on the floor near Bernard’s desk. The file is entitled “IT Industry Report and Contacts” and labeled as “Confidential”. Lee conjectures that the file belongs to Bernard and may contain information and contact information that may benefit him. He considers taking the file and quickly making a copy at the firm’s copier room. The following additional factors are in play:

- Bernard's best friend is the son of the CEO of the potential client. That is one reason why Bernard is a front runner to win the deal.

- While the firm encourages competition, the firm also views that confidential information should enjoy the highest levels of protection. Hence, it is a disciplinary offence to reproduce confidential information without management’s approval. Failure to comply by this rule results in 1 formal warning.

What should Lee do?

Stance 2A: Walk on by. Lee can find his own leads and information.

Stance 2B: Take the file and copy it.

Which Ethical theory(s) would you use to justify stance 2B and how would your argument be for that specific ethical theory?

Answer 1

To take the file which is mentioned as confidential and to copy it is just for the sake of his job and money and not to spoil Bernard. Ethical theories like moral relativism and golden mean applies if he was to take a copy of it. Moral relativism is the one in which an act which is a moral to one group may be wrong for another one. In this context, Lee finds it is right to take it as it only help him to grow in his work but it doesn't harm or cause any loss to Bernard. Golden rule is the theory in which an a mean rule is followed between two extremes. Here, Lee can take all the information or he shouldn't take. In these two extremes, Lee choose a mean method, a mid way method as just taking a copy of what he required but not any robbery.