Chapter 9Decision Making, Creativity, and Ethics 327OBAT WORKCASE INCIDENT
Syncrude Wants to Be a Good Neighbour
Fort McMurray, Alberta-based Syncrude is “the largest non-
governmental employer of Aboriginal people in Canada.”
The company, the largest producer of light sweet crude oil
from oil sand, is strongly committed to working with the
Aboriginal community. According to Syncrude’s website,
“Commitment to the Aboriginal people of our region is not
only motivated by our responsibility as a good corporate cit-
izen, but by our desire to be a good neighbour.”
In order to make sure that members of the Aboriginal
community are employable, Syncrude provides them with
skill training before they are even considered for hiring. This
makes it possible for Aboriginal people to compete for jobs
in the oil sands industry on an equal footing with
nonAboriginal people. Nora Flett, Syncrude’s Aboriginal
development program coordinator, explains that companies
cannot just hire Aboriginal people directly without training,
“because you don’t just take someone from a small com-
munity, put them in a big corporation environment and
expect that people will survive there, because that’s quite a
bit of a culture shock.”
In addition to being sensitive to the employment needs of
the Aboriginal community, Syncrude is committed to being
a good neighbour in the community. The company gives
preference to local suppliers to help the local population
benefit economically from Syncrude’s presence. Syncrude
supports literacy programs for schools. As well, employment
counsellors offer advice about the company, helping
Aboriginal families learn about the company and what is
expected of its employees.Questions
1. What benefits do you think Syncrude might derive
from being a good neighbour in Fort McMurray?- Should the company engage in practices that help
the Aboriginal community, even if it means that the
return to shareholders is not as large? - How does social responsibility explain what Syncrude
does?
Sources:A. Kellogg, “Punch the Query ‘Canada’s Best Major
Corporate Citizen’ into Google on Your Computer and It’s Likely the
Image of Eric Newell Will Pop Up,” Calgary Herald,November 30,
2003, p. C2; C. Petten, “Syncrude, Cameco Strike Gold With PAR,”
Windspeaker,March 2002, pp. B7–B8; http://www.syncrude.com/
community/aboriginal.html; and http://www.syncrude.com/business/
business_04.html#4b.CBC VIDEO CASEINCIDENT
Corporate Espionage in the Canadian Airline Industry
Sneaky moves, claims of corporate espionage, and shred-
ded documents. This is not a fictitious spy thriller, but a true
story of rivalry in the Canadian airline business. The com-
panies involved are Air Canada, its arch enemy WestJet
Airlines, and rival Jetsgo. All were locked in a ruthless bat-
tle for passengers.
The story began when one of the founders of WestJet,
Mark Hill, gained access to Air Canada’s protected website
through a password from a former Air Canada employee. In
the website, Hill found information on Air Canada’s routes
and the number of passengers on planes.
This kind of corporate snooping happens a lot more than
people think, especially in high-tech firms, very competitive
industries, and industries that are at the cutting edge of
development. “Information is power,” Hill says. “One of
the reasons we were so successful is that we knew more
about this business than the other discount airlines that
were trying to get going around this time,” he adds.
Air Canada might never have known that Hill had accessed
its protected website, except a whistle-blower from WestJet
tipped Air Canada off. By the time he was revealed, Hill had
accessed the website 243 000 times in less than a year.
In another twist in this tale, Air Canada sent private inves-
tigators to Hill’s home in Victoria, BC, to do a little digging
of their own. The investigators dumped all the shredded
paper in Hill’s garbage into their pickup truck, which caught
a neighbour’s attention. The neighbour informed the police
and Hill. A few weeks later, the private investigators were