- What are the ethical issues involved in this case?
I believe some of the issues involved with this case does not only fall on Rowlands part.
The executives at Allsafe are also at fault for discussing their strategy in such an open environment, especially after an industry conference. Rowland could have acted a little bit more of an adult when sending out a memo, rather than jumping the bullet and sending a memo to everyone, he should have talked to a higher up and asked their opinion on this.
- What are the possible actions Bloom could take?
There is nothing Bloom can really do since the memo since it was already sent out. If Bloom does not do anything at all then it may look like he is ok with the stealing of the information. If I was Bloom, I would tell him that I appreciate him being optimistic by listening on the conversation of a competitor, but things could have went a different way. If he was to make it seem ok to eavesdrop then more workers will do that. Another possible action Bloom can take is to ask Rowland to get rid of the memos and go about this in a different and fair way.
- What are the possible reactions from the field (i.e., customers) to Rowland’s information?
I believe that customers would not necessarily find out about this, however if they do, I believe they would start asking questions about the price cut. I also believe that they would consider Rowland as “cheating.” The customers of Shield might also expect them to have a different pricing strategy since the competition is thinking a new one. This might be in the best interest for Shield, but it also may not be in their best interest.
- What is an “ideal” course of action given all of the issues involved?
I believe an ideal course of action given all of these issues would honestly to make a strategy regarding Allsafes situation, if they are having price cuts then Shield should do something. If they can’t cut prices then possibly have incentives that could possibly be better. If the competition is updating their pricing strategy, and shield doesn’t do anything, then they might suffer a loss in current customers and potential customers.
