Eells, Richard Sedric Fox and Peter Nehemkis. "The Value of Private Intelligence." Corporate intelligence and espionage : a blueprint for executive decision making / Richard Eells and Peter Nehemkis. [002909240X] New York : Macmillan ; London : Collier Macmillan, c1984. 185-196
Call#: Lippincott Library HD38.7 .E34 1984

 

Private intelligence is how non-governmental firms gather information in order to increase or maintain power or profits. This issue creates a major dilemma in business ethics, the companies can legally conduct surveillance, but it may not be in the scope of fair play. Many companies can stretch the validity of information gathering by arguing that growth in profits is ultimately good for society because it leads to more progress. Ultimately, Corporations can conduct a variety of activities that would seem immoral in everyday life, but considering that their primary incentives are to please the shareholders, garnering profits often becomes the most important goal. Corporate power, as well as government power, was a growing concern in the 1970s. In The Conversation, a corporation hires Harry Caul to spy on a young couple from San Francisco. Initially, the viewer does not know why, as Harry seems to care less about the subject of the conversation, but soon his role as a middle man in these private exchanges creates an increasing paranoia. We see many examples of legal surveillance contracted by corporations throughout the movie; when Stanley is reading an article about an upcoming convention in a trade paper he lauds “William P. Moran of Detroit, Michigan…He’s the guy that told Chrysler that Cadillac was getting rid of its fins”.  The movie’s portrayal of corporations as anonymous, dull, and faceless fits with the atmosphere of the time and the public’s fear of centralized power. Harry realizes, in the midst of his second dangerous encounter with his job, that his work may be immoral, and he struggles with his duty to prevent something bad from happening.