David Samarin, network administrator for OrangeWerks, laced his shoes as he prepared to head out for his exercise break in Ottawa. It was February 7, 2011, and Samarin needed to decide what to do with the information he had uncovered while performing a routine file-clean of his company’s servers. Located in Ottawa’s trendy Glebe neighbourhood, software developer OrangeWerks was preparing to present to venture capital firms for its first major round of funding. It was also fielding media interview requests the following week from the Ottawa Citizen and The National Post, both interested in writing news stories about OrangeWerks’ phenomenal increase in software licenses for its OrangeWerks App Creator, a mobile application software development platform.

OrangeWerks was founded in March 2010 by two successful entrepreneurs to create software applications for the Apple platform. The founders had noticed the growing popularity of Apple devices and wanted to capitalize on the recent launch of the Apple iPad. Furthermore, independent research by firms such as Forrester Research and Gartner suggested that the consumer market would continue to demand these and other products designed to access content on the Internet.

Fuelling the popularity of Apple OS-based devices was Apple’s unique combination of appealing design, intuitive user interfaces, and the proliferation of downloadable—and inexpensive—applications (or “apps”) for entertainment, business, and other uses. OrangeWerks had developed an application development platform—OrangeWerks App Creator (OAC)—that allowed novice users to create their own Apple app without any software training. They began to popularize their product by allowing consumers to download a limited version of their software free of charge.

To attract media attention, OrangeWerks had been targeting business customers for OAC, reporting on December 15, 2010, that the number of business software licences awarded for both its rough and beta versions had jumped from 1500 to 20 000 in the last two months. The founders had assembled their team largely from personal connections, and Samarin was employee number two and their first engineer hired. Although hired as chief product developer, Samarin was initially tasked with everything from setting up desktop computers for the public relations consultants and marketing personnel to fixing broken light bulbs. His projects also included configuring OrangeWerks’ hardware and software to run its Web site and internal operations.

QUESTIONS 

1. Discuss the power dynamics at OrangeWerks. What bases of power do the founders hold over David Samarin? What bases of power does he hold over them?

2. What are some likely causes of unethical behaviour in contemporary high-tech start-ups such as OrangeWerks?

3. There are clearly ethical issues at play in the case. Who are the various stakeholders in this ethical drama?

4. Which action is most and least unethicalemploying pirated software, creating 15000 fake download accounts, or failing to register with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board?

5. Did David act ethically in reading the email fragments?

6. Describe the role conflict faced by David.

7. Discuss how David might employ influence tactics and political skill to help resolve his ethical dilemma.

8. What should David do now?