Competitive Information Policy at Pratt & Whitney Case Solution

2. Strategic Alternative 1

One of the strategic alternatives to be adopted at Pratt and Whitney was to have a clear guidance by the person responsible for the whole idea for development of Code of Ethics with respect to Competitors Information. Egan was the person in focus for clearing out any confusion among employees. The employees needed to be trained and taught about the Code of Ethics developed at Pratt & Whitney and help them put things in Black and White rather than what was lying in all grey. A part of this training can be focused on answering questions of the employees which were very much logical yet unanswerable in the Code of Ethics and Q & A booklet. Egan made an effort to provide management training to employees with regard to the code of ethics but that was only for the first line supervisors and middle managers. The need lies in other areas of the management, which are directly related to the customers and also the ones who come in direct contact with the use of Code of Ethics. As mentioned in the case, employees expected and wanted to have a one-on-one conversation and learning experience with Egan over the matter. The matter was not only about the reputation of the company but also about law and employees at stake. Employees were more on stake because the understanding of the Ethics was left upon the employees discretionary and that the company would not also support the employee in case any thing went wrong on the employee’s part.

3. Strategic Alternative 2

Another possible strategic alternative for Pratt & Whitney is to have all the stakeholders from the company on board and helping them define clear lines between the black, white and grey. Employees prefer to get educated about the new concept in the same old practice of accessing and utilizing information of the competitors for their own good rather than being prohibited in the areas labeled as “proprietary”. The need is to answer as many questions of the employees as possible and then getting it documented in the Code of Ethics for future reference so that any confusion be at bay forever for the coming employees; it will result in making a history in the workforce of Pratt & Whitney. The term “proprietary” needed to be explained, stated and restated for the purpose of clarity among all level of employees. This would not only assist employees in understanding the concept but also help create a sense of confidence among them, which was shaken due to the introduction of Code of Ethics and change in the way of work. The need was to, clearly, define no go areas for employees with respect to competitors’ information and at the same time the areas that can be tapped by the employees for the benefit of Pratt & Whitney as also mentioned in the case that employees had confusion over what information to be considered as proprietary with respect to competitors ranging from their price offers, proposals, new products, problems in products that could be a threat to customers and so on and so forth.

4. Strategic Alternative 3

Another possible solution to terminate the much created and hyped apprehension among the employees of Pratt & Whitney was to have a contingency plan for the employees. A contingency plan would be designed for employees who violate the Code of Ethics and enter in an unlawful premise by mistake. The confusion and unwelcomed reactions for the Code of Ethics were due to the fact that employees did not know if their actions were lawful or legal and the employees were potentially exposed to trouble with no support from the company. Due to the foresaid reason, there was a need to design a plan where such employees could be helped by the company which was in need to be defined with clear distinction and borders. This action can help the employees calm down and relax because of the reason that the company support would be there for them in case they make any mistake or violate a rule or law. Formulating a contingency plan for the employees would also boost up the confidence among the employees to go ahead and work under the new code of ethics. This would also act as an intrinsic motivator to help adopting the Code of Ethics as a policy among the employees. Another advantage of this action is that it would foster a lax situation for the employees; each helping their colleague and doing their part for the betterment of Pratt & Whitney. However, poorly constructed contingency plan can have the opposite effect and increase confusion among employees.

 5. Recommended Action Plan

The recommended action plan for Pratt & Whitney is to have an amalgam of strategic alternative one and strategic alternative two, by having companywide workshops and conferences with respect to the Code of Ethics developed for the Competitive Information Policy and designing a contingency plan for the support of the employees in case of any violation.