Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You recommend another company.
You tell yourself, "My CEO relies on me to give her the best recommendation.
Even if my friend never, ever sells our customers' information, people know
about his reputation. If our customers find out that our partner has sold
private information in the past, they will not trust us, either."
You recommend another company to your CEO. The arrangement goes well and
your CEO is pleased with you. Your friend is very disappointed that he did
not get the contract. He tells you that you are a bad friend. You tell your
friend that your responsibility to your company's customers comes first. You
offer to help him draw up a good privacy policy for his own business.
Your friend refuses your offer. Nevertheless, you know that you have made
the right decision.
This is the decision Merri Beth Lavagnino would make. She's the chief privacy
officer at Indiana University.
"That is actually a large part of the job," says Lavagnino.
"Not only is it reviewing and making recommendations... or sometimes directives
that we're not going to do business with a certain company, it's also, 'We're
not going to do that project.' A business unit inside your company might want
to do something [which violates employee or customer privacy]."