Self-study
Principle: Support If someone makes an error, it is unethical for a coworker to use that error to his or her own advantage.
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Summary
Principle:
If someone makes an error → unethical for coworker to use that error to his/her own advantage
Premise:
Mark used the e-mail addresses of the clients of his coworker Rashmi. Mark used the addresses to advance his own career.
Conclusion: Mark’s action was unethical.
Find or Complete the Application
We don’t know that Mark obtained the e-mail addresses of Rashmi’s clients through an error by Rashmi. Let’s look for an answer that establishes that Mark obtained the e-mail addresses of Rashmi’s clients through an error by Rashmi (or through another of Mark’s coworkers).
6.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ █████ ██ ███████ ███ █████ ███████████ ██ ███ ██████████
a
Mark had the ██████ █████████ ██ ████████ ███████ ████ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ████ ████ ████████ █████████ █████ ███ ███ ██ ██████
Tempting because Mark's behavior here sounds shady. But this question isn't asking whether Mark behaved badly in some general sense; it's asking whether the principle applies, and the principle requires an error by someone other than Mark. Going to lunch is not an error. The answer doesn't say Rashmi forgot to lock her computer or did anything she shouldn't have done; it just says she was away. All the wrongdoing in (A) is on Mark's side, which doesn't trigger the principle.
b
A coworker of ██████ ███ ████ ███ ██████ ██ ████████ ████████ ██████ █████████ ███ ██████ ████ ████ █████
(B) doesn't establish that anyone made an error. Rashmi's other coworker had access to her clients' addresses and shared them with Mark, but for all we know, that access was legitimate and the sharing was deliberate.
c
Rashmi offered to ████ ████ ███████ █ ██████ ████ ██ ███████ ███ ███ ████████ ██████ █████████ ████ ████
Rashmi deliberately offered to share her clients' addresses with Mark. Deliberate sharing is not an error; it is a choice. If anything, (C) makes Mark's action more defensible, because he received voluntary help rather than taking advantage of a mistake.
d
Mark had access ██ ████████ ████████ ██████ █████████ ████ ███████ ███ ███████████████ ████ ████ ███████ ██ ██ ██████ ████ ███ ████ ██ ████ ████ ███ ███ ████████
Unintentionally left them visible establishes Rashmi's error. Only because establishes that Mark's access to the addresses traces directly to that error; he had no other way of getting them. The remaining piece, that Mark used the addresses to his own advantage, is already established as a premise in the application. Thus, the principle justifies calling Mark's action unethical.
e
Mark happened upon █ ████ ██ ████ ██ ███ ██████ █████████ ██ ████████ ███████ █████ ██████████ ██████ █████████
Mark happening upon a list during market research doesn't establish that anyone made an error. The list could have come from a vendor, public records, a search result, or any number of legitimate sources. Without an error to use, the principle never gets triggered.