Business week op-ed

by David Holtzman

I have an op-ed running in Business Week today in which I lambaste HP and specifically their chairperson, Patricia Dunn for unethical behavior. I notice the comments are piling up, some of which seem to be taking the position that it's unethical to leak information to the press the way Keyworth did and therefore Dunn's actions were justified.

This is an old argument in which the rightness of the means of a given action is subordinated to accomplishing a justifiable end. This is the same stupid reasoning that got us into Iraq and Vietnam before it. I do think that there are cases in which spying on a reporter or a Director is justified; I just don't think this was one.

There's an old military principle which says that sometime you have to do something that's illegal, unethical or just wrong. You do it for reasons which to you are sufficient. The principle is that in this case, you do what you must, but take responsiblity later and if necessary, punishment. People who perform the dubious action, deny responsiblity later when caught and blame subordinates are acting cowardly and I address that accusation at a broader audience than Hewlett-Packard.


Posted on October 11, 2006

1 Comment
Business

There is no credible evidence to support the charges by Ms. Dunn that Dr. Jay Keyworth "leaked" confidential or damaging information about HP to the press. HP has acknowledged asking Dr. Keyworth to speak to the press on its behalf on numerous occasions. The Kona Report authorized by HP's Patricia Dunn specifically indicates that HP's CEO asked Dr. Keyworth to develop a "relationship" with the CNET reporter who was later a subject of the illegal spying campaign. Nothing Dr. Keyworth said to that reporter on January 23, 2006 was confidential or damaging to HP. Don't take my word for it, read Businessweek's analysis of the CNET article, which clearly concludes that everything it says was already widely known.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060927_720600.htm?chan=search
There is a genuine disinformation campaign underway -- led by those who persist in the big lie that this investigation was anything other than an illegal witch hunt targeted at a disfavored Board member.

Posted by Reg Brown on October 12, 2006

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