David Tuff reported the company's policy statement to news reporters, which is grounds for dismissal, but for me, as the manager, to determine how to handle this situation I used the complicity theory. This theory states, "You are morally required to reveal what you know to the public under certain conditions" (Beachamp & Bowie, 2004, p. 302).
David Tuff did take the right action because, as a security guard of the Blue Mountain Company, he had sworn to uphold regulations from the Securities Officer's Manual, which states,
"Should a serious accident or crime, including all felonies, occur on the
premises of the licensee, it shall be the responsibility of the licensee to
notify the appropriate police department immediately. Failure to do so
is a violation of the provisions of the manual" (p. 318).
Although the company issued new rules fourteen months later requiring security guards to escort intoxicated people off the parking lot onto the public roads, he still had taken an oath that required him to report it to the proper authorities (p.
You can see the security - Guard Towers, Guards, W...
Before We Were Security Guards
Coco-park-security-guard318).
By using the complicity theory, I will know how to handle this situation and what type of disciplinary action to take, if any. The first point in this theory is, what he revealed must derive from his work for the company (p. 302). David Tuff has this information because he works for the company and therefore it is first-hand not second-hand information.
The second part to examine is, was he a voluntary member of the company? Yes he was. David Tuff was a volunteer of the company. He was hired by the company and took the training that the company required him to take to be able to work there. He was not forced to go to work there, but volunteered to be a security...