Ethical Dilemma - Chapter 8

Questions:




What are your views on this situation?

• Basically, videoconferencing are very rampant. It helps to construct a good communication medium between the employers and the employee, particularly those who are involved with outsourcing. It enables flexibility in communications. Being applicants, it will be better for us to follow our employers instructions even before using videoconferencing during the interview.

Do you feel that this highlights (even in a small way) the opportunity to reduce environmental damage by using technologies to support communication and therefore avoid unnecessary travel?

• The employer may save money for Alice' fare for flying to UK from New Zealand. But since the flight schedule is fix, it is impossible for him to save money because the plane will still fly to UK with or without Alice. Instead of flying her to UK, videoconferencing is quite best alternative way for the employer to save money.

Do you believe that people should be willing to adapt to the use of such videoconferencing technologies - is this an ethical issue? Given a willingness to adapt, is it possible that the interview process can be carried out in such a way as to overcome the possible deficiencies of the technology-so that the candidate is not disadvantaged by not being physically present, and also provide the interview committee with the opportunity  to gain a clear impression on Alice?

• Considering the use of technology like videoconferencing which gives an almost real-time events, employers may not still be fully satisfied to recruit an employee over the line. It is because they follow standards for recruitment, like considering hand gestures of the interviewee during the interview. These standards give the employers a hint on choosing the right employee. Since videoconferencing is more likely to become only a pure conversation, it generates hesitations for many employers to recruit. On the other way around, this is beneficiary for employees since it can give confidence to communicate  to the employers because they were not really on actual or physical conversation.

Do you feel that if members of a workforce are expected to adapt to the deployment of such technologies, then members of a management team should be willing to do likewise (in the above discussion, we have demonstrated an example of the unwillingness of a management team to employ even videoconferencing facilities)? 

To what extent to you think senior management is generally willing to accept the introduction of computer-based technologies to monitor their own activities during working day?