Plagiarism and the boss: Ask the Expert

17 February 2006

2 minute read

I work in investment management. A large portion of our annual review has been taken verbatim from another publication, without accreditation. The report has limited circulation so the original author is unlikely to see it. Is this illegal? I can't approach my boss as he is the "author" and I am worried about going over his head. What should I do?

"Don't shop the boss," says Philip Beddows, director at HR consultancy Rialto. "Ask if you can write the review next year and wow the readership with a brilliant and original piece of work. Your boss probably has so little time to think of his own words that he'd welcome a ghost writer.

"I suggest you leave him to live with the knowledge that he plagiarised someone else's work, whilst you get on with exceeding your targets. In the meantime, you can enjoy the wait to see if those within the 'limited circulation' are as well read as you to notice what happened."

Reader Comment

The easy option is to ignore the issue, but the ethical thing to do is to let your boss know that you know. Be straight with him. Say something like "I couldn't help noticing the similarity between our annual review and xxx document." Then offer to write the review next year, if he's too busy to give it proper time. Hopefully you will have warned him off future plagiarism without being too confrontational.

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AUTHORHashi Syedain

Insider Comment

Gu
Gump
19 July 2017
I partially disagree with the proposed solution. There needs to be more context, but for example if there is a series of problems with dishonesty (however minute), it may be more appropriate to report the plagiarism to a superior. For example, in an academic environment, this could be entirely considered professional misconduct and grounds for disciplinary action. Just be sure that you are clear about it, and be prepared, as you can't predict the outcome.
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