The Game Of Professional Managers: Disclosure Or Secrecy

When the "Gome war" ended with the departure of Chen Xiao, a newspaper in the media exposed Chen Xiao's financial insider and malpractice, and pushed Chen Xiaohe Gome to the cusp of the storm. For a while, the hidden rules of the appliance industry and Chen Xiao's professional ethics have become the focus of attention.

It has always attracted much public attention. Occupation For managers, this incident once again gives them reminders and Reflections: what to say, what to say, what to do, what not to do, and what to do. Manager Where is the bottom line of ethics and morality?

The system guarantee of loyalty

　　 business James E. Post, a senior expert in ethics research and professor of management at Boston University in the US, said in an interview: "professional managers have the obligation to hire companies that have E James. There is no doubt that they should be loyal to the company when dealing with the company's trade secrets, as promised when they first joined the company.

He once served as an expert in the US congressional and supervisory bodies. In his view, "professional managers have the word" occupation "before, which represents the highest standard of honor in the professional field. Management does not have formal ethical norms, but the history and tradition of "trust" and "respect" require professional managers to interpret them to the highest standards in practice, similar to lawyers and doctors.

As an important and special professional class, although professional managers are not entrepreneurs themselves, they are the makers and executors of business decisions. Their work is directly related to the success or failure of an enterprise. It is precisely because of this that their hands hold the resources of the lifeblood of the enterprise, and important business secrets. At this time, what should be said, what should not be said, what should be done and what should not be done is the consideration of professional managers in ethics and ethics.

Interview with Deputy Director Tan Guang Guang of Shanghai Sigma Cci Capital Ltd said: "as a professional manager's integrity and morality, integrity is the foundation. They have the responsibility and obligation of the agents that the enterprises should have. They should be particularly loyal to the enterprises, including the protection of secret and commercial secrets, unless they are allowed to disclose to the public by the information disclosed by the enterprise or by the enterprise in a written way.

In order to prevent and act as evidence of confidentiality measures, enterprises and professional managers usually increase their confidentiality clauses or sign separate confidentiality agreements when signing labor contracts.

According to the labor law, the parties to a labor contract may agree on matters relating to the protection of the employer's business secrets in the labor contract. The confidentiality system of enterprises can only be binding on professional managers during the duration of labor relations between the two parties. In order to prevent professional managers from infringing upon the business secrets of enterprises after breaking away from the original enterprises, it is necessary to add confidentiality clauses or sign confidential contracts in the labor contracts of both parties, so as to clarify the contents of confidentiality, time limit and liability for breach of contract.

Bottom line of business ethics

Since the confidentiality of enterprises and professional managers is only binding on the duration of labor relations between two parties, is it possible for professional managers to have unlimited restrictions on the contents of the talks after they have survived?

"In the past, the service companies have always made you satisfied and dissatisfied. What kind of attitude should be adopted at this time?" He Jun, a partner of Beijing Ampang consulting company, said that "occupation" of professional managers should include business ethics and some things that conform to business culture besides their ability and attitude. Even after leaving, there are some things that should not be said, such as the commercial secrets of past old business owners. They are better defined as those which should be kept secret in accordance with business rules in the past. Some other contents should not be well defined, involving moral but vague descriptions, such as describing old clubs in sentimental and non professional languages.

Many years ago, Wu Shihong, who was known as the "Empress of the working women", left Microsoft. In his book the upwind of the wind, there was no lack of flogging on all the malpractices of the Microsoft Corp.

For example, similar events are not rare. Some professional managers will intentionally or unintentionally disclose their trade secrets and technology patents, and use their former colleagues to dig up the walls and even attack the old clubs to belittle their interests.

He Jun pointed out: "professional managers should not get too much entangled in personal preferences and personal interests, otherwise the perceptual judgment, responsibility and demeaning derived from it will be unprofessional, which will also have an impact on your future career development. In the past, you used to be the manager of the old club, and many of your old business owners' decisions and decisions were not separated from you. At this point, you would accuse it more or you might expose some of its shady situations, which may not be judged by law, but it is unethical from the moral point of view. Professional ethics and ethics are an extended concept.

Tan Guangzhong analysis said, "some professional managers are very utilitarian nowadays. Besides, the law on professional managers' obligations in China has not yet been promulgated. There are quite a lot of contradictions between professional managers and founders in the whole society. China should introduce the legal provisions of professional managers, and there should be special laws and regulations that restrict senior managers.

Post believes that in addition to employment contracts, codes of conduct or public statements to strengthen the most basic principles of trust and secrecy, the best way of ensuring is to screen people wisely, train them well and let them take responsibility.

Public interest or corporate interests?

But in the eyes of some scholars and insiders, the above does not mean that professional managers' secrets, loyalty and business ethics are absolute, because professional managers are also social citizens, who also possess the moral consciousness of social citizens. At some specific time, when the interests of the company conflict with the public interest, how should the professional managers choose?

"We have a concept called Whistleblowing," he said. "This is a very difficult problem. Loyalty to an organization is not absolute. Sometimes when leaders lead the company in the direction of destruction, managers may feel responsible and responsible for social security, so they expose those deviant practices.

He pointed out: "for example, when building a school or apartment building, the company will use defective materials, which will undoubtedly bring harm to people. At this time, as a good citizen, disclosure is reasonable and even necessary. Under such circumstances, how should a professional manager choose to leave the company to tell the truth or to remain silent and try to fix the problem? "

Michel Gusetas, director of MBA and EMBA of Marseille School of business in France, told the newspaper that "we should consider the impact of the ethical gap, that is, whether it has an impact on the public"? (Michel Gutsats) If it is, the public interest should be the moral governing professional managers at this time. This is the thought of "expose". The whistleblower (Whistleblower) will expose companies that violate public ethics. For example, companies selling adulterated foods or peddling drugs that are known to be harmful to health.

"Some companies try to hide these ugly facts by signing confidentiality agreements with managers. However, when the facts prove to be very harmful to the public, judges will regard the confidentiality agreement as invalid when they are referees." Michel Gusetas said.

Tan Guangzhong also pointed out: "if the secrets of the enterprise are further conserved to do harm to the country and the public, then professional managers should weigh the facts and emphasize the interests of the state and the public."