Good Governance & Social Responsibility CASE 02 SHARED IT SECRETS When employee Eric Pantaleon quit his job, IT Systems, his company, paid little attention. Pantaleon was one of the several customer-service representatives of the Laguna, Philippine-based computer company, and the turnover of responsibilities in the department was not smooth. Following an uneventful exit interview with human resources officials, Pantaleon left the company to start a job with IT rival, Sampo Computer, also based in Laguna. It might have ended there. But when Pantaleon's new employer began taking away IT's market share, its top management started to be alarmed. After some checking, IT learned that Pantaleon was using inside knowledge of IT's customer lists to make sales. Company officials also suspected he might be relying on IT's customer specifications and repair manuals. QUESTIONS: 1. Is keeping "trade secrets" still an ethical issue in the age of globalization and advanced communications technology? 2. Is Pantaleon's action unethical, using the customers' list of his previous company for his new company? Why? 3. If you were Pantaleon, would you also do the same thing as he did? Why or why not? Reference: Roa, F. (2007). Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Rex Bookstore, Inc. Manila