Business Ethics

Chapter 10 CHANGING WORK ENVIRONMENTS AND FUTURE TRENDS

PowerPoint Image Slideshow
Chapter Outline

• 10.1 More Telecommuting or Less?

• 10.2 Workplace Campuses
• 10.3 Alternatives to Traditional Patterns of Work
• 10.4 Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and the Workplace of the Future
Figure 10.1

Ethical managers will understand new business models and the new economies being driven by technological advances and
the rise of robotics in the workplace. (credit: modification of “hand robot human divine spark” by “geralt”/Pixabay, CC0)
Learning Objectives

• 10.1 More Telecommuting or Less?

• Identify the benefits of permitting employees to work from home
• Explain the drawbacks of telecommuting for the business and for employees
• Discuss the ethical dilemmas related to telecommuting and some of the
solutions
Figure 10.2

As more employers provide the opportunity for telework, fewer people are commuting to a corporate office every day.
(attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)
Figure 10.3

Telecommuting is becoming more common around the world. The phenomenon stands to benefit remote workers and also
their employers. (credit photograph: Cory Zanker/Flickr, CC BY 4.0; figure attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax,
under CC BY 4.0 license)
Figure 10.4

Telecommuting is more likely to succeed when remote employees are provided with the right technology, are empowered by
inclusion in the corporate culture, and interact with colleagues in a manner that clearly expresses their expectations, values,
and trust. (credit: modification of “daily bw: hanging out with my coworkers” by Mike McCune/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Learning Objectives

• 10.2 Workplace Campuses

• Compare the workplaces of yesterday, today, and the future
• Describe the benefits and potential drawbacks of workplace campuses
• Identify ethical challenges in the development of workplace campuses
Figure 10.5

This herb garden at the Googleplex, Google’s headquarters, is an outdoor area where workers can sit and contemplate
nature. The garden is part of a farm-to-table program to teach Googlers about how their food is grown. (credit: “Googleplex”
by Pamela Carls/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Feature Box: Cases from the Real World

Critical Thinking
• What do you think about a company that would build a multimillion-
dollar workplace campus that also serves as a center for community
events?
• What does the investment communicate about the company’s core
values and stakeholder focus?
• Should company facilities be only for employees?
Figure 10.6

This likeness of the Apple Ring provides a sense of the scale of the building, which boasts a four-story cafeteria. (attribution:
Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)
Feature Box: Cases from the Real World

Critical Thinking
• Should a company build in the inner city to integrate its workforce
with the community and reduce the traffic consequences of adding its
workforce to the local population?
• Is it better for a company to support local restaurants or build its own
restaurant facilities?
• Is it ethical for a company to spend so much on building a corporate
facility instead of increasing shareholder dividends?
• Should there be zoning laws regarding corporate campuses?
Learning Objectives

• 10.3 Alternatives to Traditional Patterns of Work

• Explain the benefits, drawbacks, and ethical issues of job sharing and flextime
• Describe the business models that have emerged in the new millennium
• Discuss the ethical challenges businesses face in the gig economy
Feature Box: What Would You Do?

Critical Thinking
• What points support the job-sharing plan? How would it benefit the
company? The employees?
• What negative effects might it have on the company and the
employees?
• Is job sharing better for some positions in a department than for
others?
• Do you have any concerns about potential employment
discrimination if this plan is implemented? If so, what would they be?
• Is creating job-sharing positions the right thing for the
company/customers/employees to do in this situation?
Extension: Employees Who Might Prefer a Gig Environment

Employees can benefit from a gig economy for different reasons. Parents can benefit from the flexibility to take their kids to
school, work for a few hours, and then pick them up. Adults furthering their education can have the ability to work on
weekends or in the evenings. Retirees can choose to pick up a few hours of work irregularly during the week. (credit left:
"Woman Man Child" by "MabelAmber"/Pixabay, CC0; credit center: "People Man" by "StockSnap"/Pixabay, CC0; credit right:
"Granny Elder" by "brenkee"/Pixabay, CC0)
Figure 10.7

Online platforms have enabled a variety of access-economy models, including those driven by labor or capital and some by
both. Examples include Airbnb, Uber, and Task Rabbit, just to name a few. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax,
under CC BY 4.0 license)
Feature Box: Cases from the Real World

Critical Thinking
• Will big businesses allow access-economy businesses to exist and
compete on a level playing field, or will they gradually either buy
them up or use their market power to crush them? Defend your
answer.

Discussion Questions
• Is it the nature of capitalism for businesses to either acquire or be
acquired by their competitors?
• If it is, is this simply a defense—you either have to gobble up your
competitors or you will become their prey?
Figure 10.8

Different models of work include widely varying terms and conditions, but the two most basic divisions are listed. Of course,
someone might also be an employee who works part-time and may or may not receive benefits, or a contractor might have a
standing contract with a client that provides some benefits, although the contractor is not considered an employee.
(attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)
Feature Box: Case from the Real World

Critical Thinking
• Aside from the lack of benefits, what are the potentially negative
effects for society of the gig economy?
• What happens to the concept of loyalty between worker and
employer if we move to a mostly gig economy? Will that result be
negative or positive? For whom, and why?

Discussion Question
• What about the customers or clients of a corporation that features
many part-time employees? Are they better served by this
arrangement or not?
Learning Objectives

• 10.4 Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and the Workplace of the Future

• Discuss the application of robotics and the workplace changes it will bring
• Identify artificial intelligence applications in the workplace
• Explain the ethical challenges presented by the use of artificial intelligence
Feature Box: Ethics Across Time and Cultures

Critical Thinking
• Does using robots cause a loss of jobs, a shifting of jobs, or both? How
should society respond?
• How might the use of robots add to the increasing inequality in the
U.S. economy?
• Do companies have an ethical responsibility to their workers to
training or other support to workers displaced by automation?
Figure 10.9

Managers should balance multiple variables as the workplace moves toward increased use of artificial intelligence,
automtion, and robotics. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)
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