Ethics and Technology Ethics and Technology

Chapter 8
Ethics and
Technology
Copyright © 2021 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Learning Outcomes
• Evaluate the ethical ramifications of recent technological
advances.
• Explain the opposing employer and employee views of privacy
at work.
• Distinguish between thin and thick consent.
• Evaluate the concept of vicarious liability.
• Analyze an organization’s employee-surveillance capabilities.
Ethics and Technology
Companies provide information to employees and customers
through:
• Internet.
• Intranet: Company’s internal website, containing information for
employee access only.
• Extranet: private piece of a company’s Internet network that is made
available to customers and/or vendor partners on the basis of secured
access by unique password.
Loss of Privacy
Access to customers’
Employee monitoring
personal data
Ethical Obligations in Call Centers
Decided based on whether the customers should be notified of
the following:
• Location in which the call center is based.

• Real name of person answering the call.
• Their personal information being transferred to other countries.
Employer Position
Monitoring of work-related activity will not be infringement of
privacy.
Organization has an obligation to its stakeholders to operate

efficiently, and it should ensure that:
• Company resources are not being misused or stolen.

• Company data and proprietary information are closely guarded.
Employee Position
Technological advancements have made it difficult to determine
where work ends and personal life begins.
• Employees should be notified of any electronic surveillance and the
purpose of that surveillance.
• Actions of a small number in breaking company rules should not be used
as a justification to take away everyone’s civil rights.
Employer/Employee Position
Arriving at a resolution of arguments is difficult.
• Willingness to negotiate or compromise has risen and fallen in direct
relation to the prevailing job market.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting: Ability to work outside office and log in to the
company network.
• Technological advancement has made this concept a reality.
Availability is now defined as accessibility.

• Employees expect flexibility in taking care of personal needs during
working hours in return for their flexible availability at work.
Employee Consent
• Consent in which employee has little

Thin consent choice.
• Consent in which employee has an

Thick consent alternative to unacceptable monitoring.
Leaving a Paper Trail
Documents written on machines do the most harm.
• Offensive e-mail postings.
• Sharing confidential information.
• Damage from electronic trail of e-mails.
Vicarious Liability
• Legal concept that means a party may be held responsible for
injury or damage even when he or she was not actively
involved in an incident.
• Cyberliability: Employers can be held liable for the actions of
their employees’ Internet communications and activities.
Cyberliability
Extent of cyberliability in the top categories of litigation.
• Discrimination.
• Harassment.
• Obscenity and pornography.
• Defamation and libel.
• Information leaks.
• Spam.
The Right to Privacy
Employers have the technology to monitor every keystroke on a
computer, track every website visited, and record every call
made.
• Driving forces: Liability argument and the recent availability of capable
technology.
Creating a “locked-down” place to work may protect employers’

liability, but it may also drive away those employees who really
are not comfortable being monitored.
• Employee turnover costs organizations thousands of dollars in recruitment
costs, training, and lost productivity.
10 Commandments of Computer Ethics 1
• Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

• Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work.
• Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s computer files.
• Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
• Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
• Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you
have not paid.
10 Commandments of Computer Ethics 2
• Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources

without authorization or proper compensation.
• Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s intellectual output.
• Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the
program you are writing or the system you are designing.
• Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure
consideration and respect for your fellow humans.
Source: Computer Ethics Institute, “Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics,” Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, http://cpsr.org/issues/ethics/cei.

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Chapter 8

• Location in which the call center is based.

Organization has an obligation to its stakeholders to operate

• Company resources are not being misused or stolen.

Availability is now defined as accessibility.

• Consent in which employee has little

• Consent in which employee has an

Creating a “locked-down” place to work may protect employers’

• Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

• Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources

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