Introduction
One effect of ethical theories is to go beyond emotions and intuitions. As a result, they can have a substantial position in the business world. It is critical that a person in the business community has professional ethics because entry into the workforce leads a person to a place where an individual is in some relations, which involve rights and duties. The professional relationships include associations with the clients, employer, co-professionals, society, and the environment itself including the technology at the employee’s disposal. Comprehending the rules and ethics applying to these relationships is critical. One relationship, in particular, is the connection with technology in the modern world. Modern day technology overall has a positive influence on a person’s moral development within the business.
Case study
David Barker is an IT consultant working at Quins Private, a private investigating firm. He is 33 years old, and has previously worked for a terrorist countering organization, but was fired, and remained unemployed for a long time before his employer Jack O’Brien employed him. The reason for his removal from the force was a suspicion that he was collaborating with terrorists and using his profound knowledge of information technology and communication systems to sell secrets to terrorists. David had a hard time finding employment until Jack gave him a position with the promise of being honest. He pledged to avoid an instance where his loyalty was in question in the private investigation firm. His work involved collaboration with many secrets and information that others would pay huge amounts for, but David would have to fight the temptation to commit a federal crime in any of his actions. In his line of work, he is in situations where he faces ethical decisions that could destroy his career, and the lives of many if he chooses poorly. He faces the dilemma that many find, as they exist in a computerized society since he has to act morally concerning technology. Technology is in the business world creates a high level of accountability because it is possible to trace the chain of responsibility for actions and decisions in the workplace (Gini and Marcoux 67). Ethics is important in his line of work and his life because of the power that he, as a professional affects the physical and social environment.
David has to be mindful of five areas as he works with technology. He must be conscious, integrity, responsibility at work, competence, and advancing human welfare. These areas are imperative to the ethical theories. If David upholds all these areas in the everyday instructions, he may confidently work and say he acts in a morally responsible way. Ideas and concepts are an essential basis for the daily actions, and they should assist David if he chooses right in tackling the difficult ethical decisions with zeal and confidence. He invites Jack to play close attention to this work in his time at Quins Private until he earns trust, or exclusively if he pleases, an act of good faith from David.
Hypothetical Dilemmas
Surveillance technology and virtues ethics; a sense of accountability
The surveillance cameras in all areas of the workplace, including private sanitation areas and balcony’s, influence David to retain a stable virtual character in response to virtue ethics, when he receives a threat against his life, of he does not assist criminals to access the personnel files at a particular bank. David receives an anonymous email that indicates the sender was currently watching him in the office and is aware of his movements. The email directs him to perform some actions that are not in line with the character he has embraced since beginning to work for Jack. The anonymous senders threaten to kill him if he does not access the bank records for a bank and send them to them through an undisclosed channel. The bank is not within his locality and is in fact in another state. This fact alone potentially makes the action relatively easy since he knows the route to take, and he can use some of his prior experience and knowledge of banking information technology infrastructure to gain the information and send it, protecting his life. He faces the dilemma, and David has a time limit to take action.
On the one hand, technology makes it easy for him to breach ethics, and avail this information, protecting his life. After all, he has the technique, the experience, and the motive. However, there are surveillance cameras and devices to monitor the work of every server in the workplace. Even though he knows he can perform the action, he knows that the intensity of the situation could cause him to leave a mark. Additionally, he does not want to tarnish the virtues character he has developed in his time there. He chooses to alert his colleagues on the matter, and on notifying Jack, the resources of the firm redirect to finding the anonymous senders and protecting his life while performing a virtuous act. In this case, technology, and the knowledge of the same has a positive influence on David’s moral development. Firms should have a policy that allows surveillance of the work of employees to ensure no person is carrying out illegal activity.
According to virtue ethics, the character of an individual is the key element in ethical decision making, as opposed to the rules about the acts (Harris, Wijesinghe, and McKenzie 76). If it was about the rules, David has broken them before, and it would be easy to make the same decision again. However, the knowledge that he requested for surveillance through different forms of technology, he is aware that his actions will come out to the light. He does not desire to tarnish the character he is struggling to build and earn the trust of his colleagues. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms and consumers protection are one of the acts that provide guidance for the oversight and supervision of financial institutions, and it makes the action David would have taken an illegal one. However, within the organization, Jack had strictly prohibited unmanned hacking for personal gain, and breach of this security policy would have seen David lose his job.
Self-sacrifice scenario and utilitarian ethics; using technology for good
David used the utilitarian ethics to evaluate the action with aggregate welfare benefits and acted accordingly after finding information using technology, which could have harmed the organization if it went unrevealed. Jack had made it illegal to hack for personal gain, as indicated previously. The company enrolled a new employee on contract to work on a case. David had to work with the new employee, but noticed a few behaviors that were awkward. For instance, he liked to work in private, and when questioned about this behavior, he shrugged it off and said he enjoys working privately. James, having worked in the law enforcement, David had training on behaviorism. He was able to identify suspicious behavior and decided to do something about it. David hacked the personnel files, found a few clues, and decided to look deeper into the employee’s past using technology from his past at the government counter-terrorist organization. He revealed that the contract employee had some ties with an international criminal organization, and wondered if Jack was aware. He knew if he kept the information to himself, there is a chance that the reputation of the firm would stand a high-security risk.
Utilitarian ethics consider the action that would have the highest benefit (Mizzoni 91). A utilitarian perspective reveals the different benefits that would come with any option he would choose. He contemplated keeping the information to himself to protect his position of employment since hacking is illegal according to the policies of the organization. However, that would only benefit himself. If he revealed the information, it would help all the members of the firm. He decided to take the action that would benefit the highest number of people and forward the information to Jack. He decided to talk to Jack and explain that his training and the software allowed him to come to this truth. Jack understood and responded appropriately. In this scenario, technology motivated the right decision and provided information that was critical. The organization and the government have a counter-terrorism policy, and the use of technology helped mold David’s decision to choose the action that has the most benefit. Businesses should run their employees through a security screening procedure, and use technology to their advantage, ensuring they do not hire criminals and endanger stakeholders.
Care ethics and using technology for organizational and national protection
When faced with the same situation that cost him his job previously, the difficult decision, and the interaction with the technology in the firm, David used care ethics to come to a decision. The technology that in the company monitored the work of all his employees, including David Barker and made it easier for him to make this decision. The people whom he sold information to the first time contacted him again and asked him to find some more information about them. The pay this time was four times the first pay, and the temptation was present. However, aware of the terms of his employment and the role of technology in monitoring his work molded his decision at this time.
In care ethics, the individual has to have positive partial relationships along with appropriate domestic virtues (Hamington and Sander-Staudt 90). He acted in a manner that was sensitive to the relationship he had created by Jack upon employment. Additionally, he took responsibility for his actions and decided to act in a responsible manner. His choice guided by care ethics was in line with the policies of the organization and the government since he chose the legal action, and did not sell the information, which would be unethical. The government should implant a surveillance body that protects the nation’s secrets from criminals who trade huge sums of money for delicate information
Conclusion
Technology has a positive effect on an individual’s moral development and the responsiveness of a person to an ethical decision in business. When faced with different ethical dilemmas, David focused on the teachings of ethics, chose the right one, responded accordingly, all of which were guided by technology. The role of technology in making these decisions is clear from the evidence above. An explicit collaboration between technology, integrity, and ethics is clear from his actions.