SellltNow is an online company that sells hardware products for new houses to both industrial clients and individual consumers. As a result of its very competitive price schemes, SellltNow has developed an extensive customer base, which is reflected in its burgeoning database of customer details, purchasing history and internet usage data. Recognising that these data are potentially valuable to third parties, SellltNow’s directors discuss the prospect of selling its customer database to a large insurance company, thus allowing the insurance company to target advertising and mailouts about home and contents insurance packages to new home buyers. The directors are split on the issue — some view this as an exciting way to add value to their customers, through complementary product offerings, while others see it as a gross misuse of information that is not in keeping with the original purpose for which the data were gathered.

You have been engaged by SellltNow as an ethics consultant and requested to advise it on the possibilities that exist to resolve the boardroom debate.

Required Work through the steps of the ethical decision-making model and evaluate what SellltNow should decide and what it should do.