Question
Galaxy Software, Inc., specializes in arcade video and PC-based games. Their technology is unique in that each time a game is played, the outcome is
Galaxy Software, Inc., specializes in arcade video and
PC-based games. Their technology is unique in that
each time a game is played, the outcome is different.
Icons are three-dimensional, play is interactive, and
various publications view their offerings as no less
than magical. New game announcements are
anticipated with excitement, and the imaginative
games enjoy high popularity with children of all ages.
Earnings estimates have been exceeded. The
company's management thinks that its unique
competitive position in the marketplace would sustain
a public offering much sooner than originally
expected.
Because of the unique qualities of the company's
technology, product development is highly protected
internally. Very few people have access to
information about what games are being developed.
Any leak of this information would severely
undermine the company's competitive position as
other companies could "steal Galaxy's thunder" and
probably undercut Galaxy's prices. Although imitative
games would likely be inferior to Galaxy's version,
the magic would be lost.
Potential employees are usually required to undergo
an extensive background check prior to being offered
employment at Galaxy. The check is conducted by an
outside agency and includes reviews of candidates'
credit records, criminal records and previous
employment. The results of this check are included in
each individual's personnel file. Once hired,
employees must sign a detailed confidentiality
agreement. Historically, employees have liked the
company and are very loyal to it. Galaxy is a highly
regarded company in terms of its organizational
practices and its compensation. The employees and
officers are close-knit and frequently socialize outside
of work as a group. In fact, some of the best game
ideas have surfaced in these informal gatherings.
Galaxy's management is proud to have
retained some of the best and brightest in the
industry.
There is much excitement in the air over the product
development team's latest creation, a game called
"Alvin in Wonderland," an extra-terrestrial's jaunt
through the Milky Way galaxy that is full of fun and
surprises. The program is also educational, relative to
introducing children to astronomy and other physical
sciences. It took thirteen months to develop the
program. The final prototype is in the last phase of
testing. It is scheduled for release within the next
sixty days. The timing of the release, coincidentally,
couldn't be better relative to two upcoming movie
releases. Extensive marketing research by Galaxy
indicated a true liking for the Alvin character. As a
result, toy rights are in the process of being
negotiated to take advantage of the upcoming holiday
shopping season. There is also talk of a lucrative
series of videos. If sales proceed as well as expected,
Galaxy's initial public offering will occur in January,
well ahead of schedule.
Very early this morning, the network administrator
discovered a sequential backup tape of some of the
information contained on the Alvin server. This
server contains all relevant technical material,
including design, documentation, code, and marketing
material for the Alvin project. Finding this tape was
highly unusual, as it was a Wednesday morning and
full backups (i.e., from the network servers) are not
normally made until Friday. Only incremental
backups are done on a daily basis.
Although any software engineer is capable of making
a backup from the servers, it would be highly
suspicious for one to do so. The network
administrator is the only individual at Galaxy who is
authorized to make full backups of entire databases.
Since there was no sign of a break-in, it seemed clear
to the network administrator that an employee had made the backup. There is no technical or justifiable
reason why a full backup would have been made on a
Tuesday night.
The network administrator takes his job extremely
seriously and is meticulous and conscientious
regarding his responsibilities. He knew that three
tapes would be required to make a full backup of the
Alvin server, and wondered why he found only one
tape. He had no choice but to assume that an
employee had attempted to steal proprietary company
information and that there were two other tapes that
must be found. The network administrator
immediately contacted Blair, the vice president of
R&D. Blair contacted Galaxy's president, who
immediately called for an investigation.
Needless to say, any leak relative to the Alvin
program could have a significant effect on sales and
related ventures. Additionally, a leak might force a
premature release of the program, which, if not
bug-free, would tarnish Galaxy's image and
reputation for excellence. Galaxy's management will
take whatever action deemed necessary to protect its
future.
In a situation like this, a company could issue an
all-points bulletin to industry competitors warning
them that a theft has occurred and that any use of the
copyrighted material would result in prosecution to
the full extent of the law. Galaxy will not do this until
more facts are known, and would prefer not to issue a
bulletin at all. There is no need for adverse publicity
that might harm the negotiations relating to the Alvin
release. However, Galaxy also faces a threat of
external investigation, independent of Galaxy's
management, if word of this problem leaks. If the
internal investigation indicates that a theft definitely
or probably occurred, Galaxy will issue the all-points
bulletin.
Dallas, the company's vice president of Finance, is
leading the investigation and intends to get to the
bottom of this. Blair is an integral part of the
investigation and is conducting interviews with all
employees. Blair must make a final report to Dallas
as to what happened and recommend what action, if
any, Galaxy should take.
You are an up-and-coming executive in this company,
one of the youngest, and you have the potential to go
far. You love your job, and the company is a terrific
place to work. Under your direction Galaxy's
development team has created some of the most
innovative and well-loved games on the market.
Within the games industry and within Galaxy, you are
known for your vision, your management capabilities
and, above all, your unfailing integrity.
You got a call at seven this morning from your
network administrator, who had discovered a backup
tape of the Alvin server. Company policy dictated
that you contact the company president, who
immediately called for an investigation. Personally,
you feel there is no need for an investigation, as you
immediately suspect Pat, the newest member of the
team. Your worst fears have just been realized.
Six months ago, you were at a party where you
bumped into Charley Moss, one of Pat's previous
co-workers. Charley expressed surprise that Pat had
been hired at Galaxy. When you probed further,
Charley reluctantly informed you that Pat had been
fired from a previous job and brought up on criminal
charges for stealing company secrets.
You were shocked and angry. When you approached
Pat with this information, Pat swore that it had been a
one-time thing and that it would never happen again.
You reluctantly accepted this, mostly because it
would reflect poorly on your judgment to hire Pat, but
also because Pat was a brilliant software engineer.
The worst part of this is that you put yourself on the
line by using your influence within the company to
authorize your Human Resources Department to
circumvent the usual pre-hire background checks. In
graduate school, where you both met, Pat's reputation
was stellar and you had no reason to suspect that Pat's
background was anything less than exemplary.
In hindsight, it is obvious that this was poor judgment
on your part, as the background check on Pat would
have revealed the criminal history. Unfortunately, by
not facing this situation when it originally presented
itself, you have compounded it. You cannot simply
plead ignorance of the facts, since you were well
aware of Pat's history. You believe that in any
investigation, these facts would come to light. You
are hesitant to admit it, since this theft could
potentially ruin your career at Galaxy. You are sure
you would be held responsible for any problems, as
your management would take the position that the
theft never would have occurred if you had only faced
your responsibility in dealing with Pat's history as
soon as you had become aware of it. Besides Pat, you
are the only individual at Galaxy who currently
knows about Pat's criminal history.
You face quite a dilemma. Your options are limited
and are as follows:
You can cover for Pat. You would also have to lie to
Dallas about personally having conducted a
background check on Pat that revealed nothing
unusual, and you simply neglected to fill out the
paperwork. Dallas would not question this. However,
there would be repercussions. If this ever came out
you would most likely be finished not only at Galaxy,
but in the interactive game industry, since your name
would be MUD. You feel somewhat at odds, since it
was Pat's involvement that was critical to the success
of the last three games that Galaxy put on the market.
In some ways it would be nice to keep Pat, but will
your conscience allow it?
You can also tell Dallas what you know about Pat's
history and the background check. You can either
hope that good fortune is smiling upon you, or you
can resign. Pat would be fired (for falsifying the
Galaxy application relative to leaving the previous
employer in good standing). In this case, Galaxy
would have no recourse but to issue an all-points
bulletin to its competitors. If the two missing tapes
could be retrieved, Pat could be allowed to resign and
your career at Galaxy may not be completely ruined.
Of course, your discussion with Pat might raise other
options.
You have interviewed everyone except Pat, and no
new information has surfaced. Your priority is to try
to recover the tapes (as you are sure Pat has them).
However, if this is not possible, you will have no
choice but to recommend that an all-points bulletin be
issued to competitors. Your recommendation must
also include what to do about Pat and an explanation
of why the background check was not performed,
since Dallas has already mentioned this.
Regardless of what anyone else does, you are the one
whose decisions will determine the outcome of this
ethical dilemma. The
decisions you make today will be with you for the rest
of your career.
Question 1 - What are the issues in the upcoming negotiation?
Question 2 - Based on a review of all the issues, what is the bargaining mix? (Which issues do we have to cover? Which issues are connected to other issues?)
Question 3 - What are my interest?
Question 4 - What are my limits - what is my "walkaway"? What is my alternative?
Question 5 - Defining targets and openings - where will I start? What is my goal?
Question 6 - Who are my constituents and what do they want me to do?
Question 7 - Who are the opposing negotiators and what do they want?
Question 8 - What overall strategy do I want to select?
Question 9 - What protocols needs to be followed in conducting this negotiation?
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