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 The introduction of computers in the
DTT105 COMPUTER ETHICS
LECTURER: SUHAILA SARDI
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
FACULTY OF CREATIVE MEDIA & INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Job creation and destruction
 A successful technology eliminates or reduces
some jobs but creates others
 Reduced the need for telephone operators,
meter readers, mid-level managers
 New industries arise
 Internet
 Cellular communications
 Lower prices increase demand and create jobs
 Music industry changed from serving the
wealthy to serving the masses, employing
more than just musicians
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workplace generated many fears
 Mass unemployment due to increased
efficiency
 The need for increased skill and training
widens the earning gap
 New trends still generating fears
 Offshoring of jobs will lead to mass
unemployment
 Employers use of technology to monitor
their employees
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Losses
• As the use of ATMs grew, the number of
bank tellers dropped
• The number of telephone switchboard
operators
• The number of long-distance calls increased
• Travel agencies closed as consumers made
airplane reservations online.
• Digital cameras put film processors out of
work;
• As use of cellphones increased, the number
of employees in the wired
telecommunications industry dropped
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Changing Skills and Skill Levels Telecommuting

 New products and services based on computer  Working at home using a computer
technology create jobs in design, marketing,
manufacture, sales, customer service, repair, electronically linked to one's place of
and maintenance. employment
 The new jobs created from computers are  Mobile office using a laptop, working out of
different from the jobs eliminated. your car or at customer locations
 New jobs such as computer engineer and
system analyst jobs require a college degree,  Fulltime and part-time telecommuting
where jobs such as bank tellers, customer
service representatives and clerks do not.
 Companies are more willing to hire people
without specific skills when they can train new
people quickly and use automated support
systems.
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Telecommuting
 Benefits
 Reduces overhead for employers
 Reduces need for large offices
 Employees are more productive, satisfied,
and loyal
 Reduces traffic congestion, pollution,
gasoline use, and stress
 Reduces expenses for commuting and money
spent on work clothes
 Allows work to continue after natural
disasters etc.
Telecommuting
 Problems
 Employers see dislike from those who have
to work at the office
 For some telecommuting employees,
corporation loyalty weakens
 Odd work hours
 Cost for office space has shifted to the
employee
 Security risks when work and personal
activities reside on the same computer

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A Global Workforce
Discussion Questions  Outsourcing - phenomenon where a company
pays another company for services instead of
 Would you want to performing those tasks itself
Offshoring - the practice of moving business
telecommute? Why or why not? 
processes or services to another country,
especially overseas, to reduce costs
 Inshoring - when another company employs
thousands of people

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A Global Workforce Risks and Rules for Work and Personal

Communications
 Problems and side effects of offshoring
 Employee monitoring is not new
 Consumers complain about customer service  Employers have always monitored their
representatives, because accents are difficult employees.
to understand  Degree of detail and frequency of monitoring has
 Employees in local companies need new job varied depending upon kind of work, economic
skills (e.g., managing, working with foreign factors, and available technology. (Time-clocks
and logs.)
colleagues)  Early monitoring was mostly ‘blue-collar’ (factory)
 Increased demand for high-skill workers in and ‘pink-collar’ (telephone and clerical) jobs
other countries forces salaries up  Bosses patrolled the walkway watching workers
 Output counts at the end of the day
 Now, monitoring can be constant, more detailed,
and unseen by the worker.

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Risks and Rules for Work and Personal
Communications
 Separating – or merging – work and
personal communications
 Employers often prohibit employees from
using their work email, computers, and other
devices for personal use.
 What about employees using personal email
accounts, social media, laptops,
smartphones, and other devices for work?
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Risks and Rules for Work and Personal
Communications
 Monitoring employer systems
 Many major companies use software tools
that provide reports on employee Web use.
 Employees spend time on nonwork activities
on the Web
 Some companies block specific sites (e.g.
adult content, sports sites, job search sites,
social-network sites)
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Risks and Rules for Work and Personal
Communications
 Monitoring employer systems
 Roughly half of major companies sometimes
monitor the email or voice mail of their
employees on company systems.
 Most companies monitor infrequently, some
routinely capture all email.
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 Is nonwork Web use at work a serious
problem for employers, or is it the
modern equivalent of reading a
newspaper, listening to the radio, or
making a quick personal call at one’s
desk? One large company in US found that
on a typical day, employees viewed
50,000 YouTube videos and listened to
4000 hours of music. These activities
caused a significant slowdown of the
company’s Internet service.
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 Another obvious concern is that Monitoring location and equipment usage

employees are not working the hours they
are paid to work.
 Some psychologists argue that allowing
some personal online activity improves
employee morale and efficiency.
 Electronic identification badges that serve as
door keys
 Provide increased security
 Allow monitoring of employee movement

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Monitoring location and equipment usage Discussion Questions

 GPS tracks an employee's location  How much privacy is reasonable for an
 Used in some hospitals to track nurse
locations for emergency purposes, also employee to expect in the workplace?
shows where they are at lunch or when they  Under what circumstances is it appropriate
use the bathroom for an employer to read an employee's
 Used to track long-haul trucks to reduce
theft and optimize delivery schedules, also email?
detects driving speeds and duration of rest
breaks
 Employees often complain of loss of privacy

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