Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should:

there is often only a small difference between what is legal and what is ethical when working with competitive intelligence..

the answer would be in this answer. someone already asked the question.  

manifest functions are the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern, while latent functions are those unrecognized and unintended consequences. to analyze the manifest functions of any social institution, we have to study its contribution to the continuation of a group, community, or society.