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> ::: It is unethical to examine a document as if it were the
> ::: work product without
> ::: notifying the employee that drafts are going to be so viewed.
> :::
> ::: It really *is* a question of ethics, to me.
>
> Not in my opinion. I think it's more a question of tact and reason.
I agree.
> Let's face it, it's not "the writer's" desk, and it's not "the writer's"
> document. It is up for analysis at ANY point in time by ANY person
> employed by the company, period. And, just as a manager can order a
> cube/office packed and cleared at any point in time, that same manager
> has the right to enter that cube/office and inspect company property.
>
Theoretically, you're right, but common decency requires that a manager
inform a writer that his draft will be reviewed. That should be a condition
of the job and the writer should know about it before it happens. Sure, a
manager can be a jerk, but again, common decency calls for communicating
what the environment is like long before that first draft gets written.
> Personally, I think the manager could have used more tack in his/her
> approach to the draft, and really should have asked for it. Then again,
> we only know the writer's side of the story, so who knows what really
> happened (not that I'm calling the writer a liar or a fraud, but let's
> face it, we really don't know either way).
>
That's true. There could well be other issues we don't know about.
> So, was it in the manager's right to do what he/she did? Yes. Was it
> done with proper tact and in sound reasoning? Probably not.
>
Right. But I'll tell you, I would not stay long at a place that surprised me
like that and gave me no opportunity to make sure my draft would meet the
manager's requirements.
Of course, at the rate I'm going, I won't have to ever worry about that sort
of thing again.
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