Key Terms

brand

a type of product or service marketed by a particular company under a particular name

branding

the process of creating, differentiating, and maintaining a particular image and/or reputation for a company, product, or service

bribe

a payment in some form (cash or noncash) for an act that runs counter to the legal and ethical culture of the work environment

duty of confidentiality

a common-law rule giving an employee responsibility to protect the secrecy of the employer’s proprietary information, such as trade secrets, material covered by patents and copyrights, employee records and salary information, and customer data

duty of loyalty

a common-law rule that requires an employee to refrain from acting in a manner contrary to the employer’s interest

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

an amendment to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934; its main purpose is to make it illegal for companies and their managers to influence or bribe foreign officials with monetary payments or rewards of any kind in an attempt to get or keep business opportunities outside the United States

insider trading

the buying or selling of stocks, bonds, or other investments based on nonpublic information that is likely to favorably affect the price of the security being traded

intellectual property

the manifestation of original ideas, protected by legal means such as patent, copyright, or trademark

internal marketing

the process of getting employees to believe in the company’s product and even to buy it

non-compete agreement

a contract clause ensuring that employees will not compete with the company during or after employment there

nondisclosure agreement

an agreement to prevent the theft of trade secrets, most of which are protected only by a duty of secrecy and not by federal intellectual property law

nonsolicitation clause

an agreement that protects a business from an employee who leaves for another job and then attempts to lure customers or former colleagues away

pay secrecy

a policy of some companies to prevent employees from discussing their salary with other workers

qui tam provision

the section of the False Claims Act of 1863 that allows private persons to file lawsuits for violations of the act on behalf of the government as well as for themselves and so receive part of any penalty imposed

trade secret

a company’s technical or design information, advertising and marketing plans, and research and development data that would be useful to competitors

whistleblowing

the act of reporting an employer to a governmental entity for violating the law

work style

the way and order in which we are most comfortable accomplishing our tasks at work

workplace personality

the manner in which we think and act on the job