Week 6/7

Question 1

What are the possible ethical issues today?

Answer 1

• Accidental/purposeful misuse of AI
• Gig economy - freelancers, temporarily outsourcing
  ○ Companies not providing the same benefits (healthcare, dental, etc…)
• Lack of social welfare
• Modern day slavery

Question 1

Employee rights

Answer 1

• A lot has improved but ethical issues are still present.
• Employees are the backbone of the company.

Question 2

Employee rights & duties compared to the past

Answer 2

An employer’s obligations- not only payment anymore, but a range of other rights.

Question 3

Employee rights (7)

Answer 3

• Freedom of speech
  
  • Fair wages
  • Due process (fair treatment)
  • Participation and association
  • Health and safe working conditions
  • Privacy
    
    • Freedom from discrimination

Question 4

Employee duties (3)

Answer 4

• Comply with labor contract
  
  • Respect employer’s property
    
    • Comply with the law

Question 5

Issues involved with employee rights and duties (7)

Answer 5

• Whistleblowing
  
  • Pay, Different forms of work
  • Promotion, Firing
  • Organization of trade unions
  • Working conditions, work/life balance
  • Drug testing, data protection
    
    • Equal opportunities, racism

Question 6

Civil Liberties in the past

Answer 6

Employment at will (no longer the case)

Question 7

Enlightened egoism

Answer 7

• Some companies go beyond what is necessary in order to respect employee’s rights
• In doing so, they outperform others
• Some well-known companies implemented it first.

Question 8

What are Labor Unions

Answer 8

• Unions fight to protect workers from abuses of power at the hands of employers

Question 9

Collective bargaining

Answer 9

• Negotiations between the representatives of organized workers and their employers.

Question 10

Union tactics (3)

Answer 10

• Strikes
• Boycotts
• Corporate campaigns

Question 11

Personnel Policies

Answer 11

How the organization handles the hiring, firing, paying, and promoting of the people who work for it.

Question 12

Hiring process:

Answer 12

• Stage 1: Screening
• Stage 2: Testing
• Stage 3: Interviews

Question 13

Stage 1 of the hiring process

Answer 13

Screening: Employers strive to hire people who will enable the organization to produce the products or services it seeks to provide or to promote its other goals.
Involves pooling and ranking candidates based on their qualifications.

Question 14

Possible ethical problems of screening:

Answer 14

• Wrongful discrimination (race, gender, age, religion, nationality)
• AI systems
• Stereotypes (Heavy work for men)

Question 15

Stage 2 of the hiring process:

Answer 15

Testing: Tests are generally designed to measure the applicant’s verbal, quantitative, and logical skills

Question 16

Testing must be Valid and Reliable, define both:

Answer 16

• Validity- the test measures the skill or ability it is intended to measure
  -Reliability- refers to whether test results are replicable.

Question 17

Stage 3 of the hiring process:

Answer 17

Interviews: Interviewers should strive to free themselves as much as possible from unconscious biases, stereotypes, and preconceptions.

Question 18

What commonly occurs as a ‘moral issue’ in an interview?

Answer 18

When moral issues arise in interviewing, they almost always relate to the way the interview was conducted.

Question 19

2 ways of assisting the moral issues in interviews

Answer 19

• Objectivity (without bias)
• Situational interview

Question 20

Promotion policy

Answer 20

• As with hiring, the key moral ideal here is fairness

Question 21

• What factors should be assessed for promotion?

Answer 21

○ Seniority (Loyalty)?
○ Performance?
○ Nepotism?
§ This is known as favoritism–> Creates a bias which is unfair for others.
○ Inbreeding?
§ Sometimes corporations choose to select employees in the same company opposed to hiring new candidates.

Question 22

What are the basic principles in handling disputes (2):

Answer 22

• (a) Just cause- requires that the reasons for discipline and discharge relate to job performance.
  Due process- refers to the fairness of procedures and that everyone is treated the same when handling these situations.

Question 23

Employees who perform poorly can be fired, but what must they provide (2)

Answer 23

• Severance pay
• Sufficient warning

Question 24

How are wages determined?

Answer 24

• Employee’s job performance
• Fairness of the wage agreement terms
• Does not fall below the poverty line

Question 25

Employee Privacy

Answer 25

This is the employees ability to control how their information is handled.
Companies need to receive informed consent and protect their employees’ data

Question 26

Working conditions

Answer 26

Employers clearly have a moral obligation not to expose workers to needless risks or endanger their lives.
But they aren’t responsible for all accidents.
Employees do have the right to refuse dangerous work.

Question 27

Informed consent:

Answer 27

If workers are fully informed of the dangers, it is the workers responsibility

Question 28

Sources of Job (dis)satisfaction:

Answer 28

• Strict rules and regulations
• An over-obsession with quantity over quality
• Monotonous, repetitive tasks
  Employers should make an attempt to rehumanize the workplace through other tasks, responsibilities, or employee participation.

Question 29

Race to the bottom

Answer 29

Countries with the lowest wages, unregulated working conditions and social provisions become attractive to companies as this would be considered the most profitable, hence, race to the bottom.

Question 30

Corporate citizenship

Answer 30

The concept of corporations actively fulfilling their social, environmental, and ethical responsibilities beyond their legal obligations.

Question 31

Corporate accountability

Answer 31

The responsibility of corporations to act ethically, transparently, and in accordance with legal and societal expectations.

Question 32

Affirmative action

Answer 32

A policy aimed at increasing workplace and educational opportunities for people who are underrepresented in various areas of our society.