Professional Confidentiality
On February 14, 2019, Dr. Xiaorong You, aka Shannon You, 59, had a "date" with an FBI agent in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
She was under investigation and suspected of fleeing the country with valuable trade secrets.
As the Principal Engineer for Global Research at Coca-Cola, and Packaging Development Manager for Eastman Chemical Company, Dr. You was one of the few employees who was granted access to job related trade secrets by both companies.
During the investigation, FBI found, on her hard drive, the chemical formulation of the compound that is used to coat the inner lining of the metal beverage cans to protect them from getting eroded by its content, and a briefcase containing $4000 in her possession.
Following the trial, Dr. You was found guilty of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud and sentence to serve 168 months in prison in 2022.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, You stole valuable trade secrets related to formulations for bisphenol-A-free (BPA-free) coatings for the inside of beverage cans. You was granted access to the trade secrets while working at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tennessee. ?The stolen trade secrets belonged to major chemical and coating companies, including Akzo-Nobel, BASF, Dow Chemical, PPG, Toyochem, Sherwin Williams, and Eastman Chemical Company, and cost nearly $120,000,000 to develop.
You stole the trade secrets to set up a new BPA-free coating company in China. ?You and her Chinese corporate partner, Weihai Jinhong Group received millions of dollars in Chinese government grants to support the new company. ?Documents and other evidence presented at trial, showed You’s intent to benefit not only Weihai Jinhong Group, but also the governments of China, the Chinese province of Shandong, and the Chinese city of Weihai, as well as her intent to benefit the Chinese Communist Party. (Source: Press release, Monday May 9, 2022, United State Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Tennessee).
Industrial espionage are the modern spy stories, in which some corporates and governments are actively involved and put in huge amounts of money to obtain confidential information possessed by their rivals.
However, every organization, big or small, has some form of "insider information" that is either proprietary or owned by some other entity, it could be something significant or minor, but shared in confidence and for a purpose.
And, irrespective of the role or position everyone in an organization comes in possession of certain information that is considered confidential.
It could be plan or strategy, research data, trade secret, intellectual property, professional secret, financial status, privileged information, or even something less guarded information.
It is like possessing the power to influence the future of the organization.
One might flaunt it, sell it, or be a good custodian of the same.
But, divulging them may affect the organization adversely.
Many organizations draw up policies, agreements and contracts to safeguard themselves.
Despite the danger is real, there is no foolproof method to ensure absolute confidentiality.
Here, I am presenting a few ways to protect it for your perusal:
Cultivate a Culture of Confidentiality - Identify and Inform: It is impossible to stop shoptalk entirely. Our profession is a major part of our life and identity. It is natural to talk about the good days and bad days, triumphs and disappointments at work. That is why, it is a good practice for every organization to identify what needs to be kept confidential and inform the stakeholders about them. You may add a time clause - "Keep it under the wrap until.........." It reduces the risk of any premature disclosure or wrong judgement call on anyone's part.
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Moral-Legal-Ethical: Remember Enron scandal? It was a matter of time before a whistleblower would come around and blow the lid off. Therefore, following the Moral-Ethical-Legal route to run the affairs of the organization adds an extra layer of protection to enhance confidentiality. At least, it won't prick someone's conscience.
Cultivate Loyalty: Allegiance, devotion, fidelity are some of the synonyms of loyalty. But, Merriam-Webster Dictionary aptly describes it as: "loyalty implies a faithfulness that is steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray."
Loyalty cannot be one-sided in a professional setting, because the relationships are symbiotic. There must be fairness and mutual interest in all their dealings.
It begins with a promise, undergoes testing, followed by confirmation and assurance, and then consolidates over time.
Besides protecting confidential information, loyalty enhances commitment, productivity, and retention.
Build Trust: It is a delicate and fragile component of the relationship between the stakeholders (internal or external). Both parties begin by investing a certain amount of trust. It is built or destroyed based on observations, exposure, awareness, and the kind of experience one side encounters from the other party.
Worthy Cause: Although, the primary objective of every organization is to achieve survivability, they are built for a reason. That reason becomes the driving force behind every decision and activity, and provides the means to measure its success or failure.
However, more and more organizations across the world are realizing the tremendous power of a just, authentic and noble cause has a wider appeal than a self-serving one to pursue.
A well articulated worthy cause, or in other words, Vision-Mission-Values is more powerful than any monetary benefits, perks or incentives.
Caution: We as a company practice a few self-imposed rules that may help your organization:
Hope this helps. Do drop a comment.
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