Additional Suggestions for Management to Respond to Ethical Issues Raised by Technological Change

摘要

Technological advances often create a variety of ethical issues for organiza-tions and their managers. Many of these are old issues surfacing under newguises or described with new jargon or terminology. Technological advancesdo not change the issues, but new technology may make their analysis andapplication more complex. This paper updates an earlier work published in1997 and its analysis of several ethical issues raised by technological change:computer crime, an over-reliance on computer controlled systems, bio-tech-nical developments, gradation of workplace quality-of-life and work-relatedinjuries. In addition, the paper examines emerging issues related to personalprivacy including the use of public surveillance cameras, camera phones,and imbedded microchips. After introducing and analyzing the problems, thepaper focuses on managers: Specifically, how should managers respond totechnological change and what are the implications for their organizations?The paper reiterates a five-step process for the effective management of theseethical issues: 1) Be aware of the issues, 2) Develop an ethical framework, 3)Be consistent, 4) Communicate clearly, and 5) Stay alert for future develop-ments. The paper concludes by offering suggested avenues for furtherresearch.