58 seconds · press → or click to play
The video didn't load here. Play Cold_Open_Accidental_Disclosure_VO.mp4 from your laptop, then press → to continue.
Exhibit 01 Pressure test

Easy answer. Now raise the stakes.

We'd all report it. Would you still, if…

What if 1

Your quarterly bonus depends on beating Orion's next launch.

Still report it?
What if 2

Daniel is your friend, and reporting could cost him his job.

Still report it?
What if 3

Your boss says, "Just take a look. No one will know."

Still report it?
What if 4

Orion once took your biggest client from you.

Still report it?
Exhibit 02 The case

One wrong attachment

The owner
Orion Devices
Competitor of Electronics Co.
client of
The sender
Components Co.
Daniel Cruz, vendor
emails
The recipient
Electronics Co.
Elena Ramos
Orion · Pricing
Orion · Roadmap
Orion · Design

The temptation

A competitive edge for her company

The obligation

Confidentiality, fairness, integrity

Exhibit 03 Who is affected

Six parties. One decision.

AT THE CENTER
Elena's
choice
Stakeholder: anyone who can affect or is affected by the organization's objectives (Freeman, 1984)
Test 1 of 3 Duty · Kant

Could it become a universal rule?

ELENA'S RULE, IF SHE USES THE FILE"When confidential information arrives by mistake, the recipient may use it."

It defeats itself. If everyone did this, no company would share data with partners, and the advantage would disappear.

It uses Orion merely as a means, without its consent.

Companies sharing technical data with vendors and partners
Kant (1785/1993); Kranak (2019)
Test 2 of 3 Outcomes · Mill

Weigh what using the file does

Benefit
Harm
1 benefit.
4 harms.
Greatest Happiness Principle (Mill, 1863); Abumere (2019)
Test 3 of 3 Character · Aristotle

Where should Elena land?

Opportunism

Use the data for advantage

Practical wisdom

Stop access, document it, report it

Avoidance

Delete it and stay silent

E
Virtue lives in the middle.Nicomachean Ethics, Book II
Exhibit 05 Elena's options

Pick a door

Moral imagination: the creative effort to find ethical options (Hartman, DesJardins & MacDonald, 2023)
Verdict What I would do

Loyalty means protecting your company, not exploiting someone's mistake.

Close.

Shut the file. No copying, no forwarding.

Document.

Record what happened, with time stamps.

Report.

Legal or compliance contacts Components Co.

The cost: a strained relationship. The return: integrity, Orion's rights, and a protected company.
Exhibit 06 Back to the pressure test

Does it survive the pressure?

The bonus
Outcomes
One bonus can't outweigh four harms, including a lawsuit against your own company.
Daniel, your friend
Character
Covering for him is avoidance. He stays accountable for his own mistake.
Your boss
Duty
The rule fails no matter who gives the order, and looking is the legal risk.
The old grudge
Character
Payback is still opportunism. Orion's rights don't depend on how it treated you.
Under pressure, the answer holds. Report it.
Accidental Disclosure of Confidential Information

Questions?

Jonathan O. Bontile, CPA
MMBA201 Business Ethics and CSR · Ateneo de Naga University Graduate School
The Wrong File · J. O. Bontile
Presenter keys
→ Space PgDn next build or slide
← PgUp previous slide
F full screen · ? this panel
Doors, stakeholder cards and Elena's marker are clickable.