Technology is certainly making a great impact on overall business world. The more integrated technology gets into the way we carry out business, the more the possible ethical mysteries posed by that technology get apparent. It is the demand of time that the business practices grow and change in step with the technology.
While fresh devices and advances might make the daily operations of running a business quite easier, they also produce challenges which the ethical executive must deal with. Of course, companies are making great use of amazing advancements like project time management tools but they do affect the work ethics.
The factor of Software
One of the hugest influence technology had on business ethics has been felt mainly when individual to individual file sharing came in the picture. Fellows suddenly got a way to get software for free, and in the beginning the law struggled a lot to sustain. Though the anti-piracy laws are now strongly in place, businesses looking for cutting costs might still struggle with ethics when talking about use of software.
Most of the software possess a terms of service agreement which the users have to agree to, and ethical businesses have to adhere to these. In simple words, online services might demand that only one employee at a business have access to a particular online service, otherwise extra licenses or memberships require to be purchased.
Monitoring Aspects
Technology allows firms to possess a greater oversight over ethical movements of their employees. Some firms possess the clauses in employment agreement which grant them the right to monitor the electronic activity of their employees. By performing such a deed, some ethical violations get readily clear. However, such a thing again highlights the issue of privacy and how much of this the employees should be allowed to. Such a thing really poses a crucial area to be considered.
Fresh Standards
There have been many tools used to get an insight into the achievements, let-downs, research, or tactical plans of competitors. In earlier times, this frequently involved face-to-face communication, bribery, spying and similar methods. Technology has greatly broadened the potential for corporate intelligence, and ethical firms need to take extensive measures to make sure that the employees are not getting involved in such kinds of activities.
Business espionage is just one example of how fresh standards for ethical business practices require being in a continuous state of development. Activities which are not classified as business espionage but which end up in the same profits to a company is also increasingly possible as technology grows. For example, who knows a firm chooses anemployee to surf all public social media profiles of an opponent in case they have done any mistakes and exposed any information which must have been kept secret. Though it may be legal, it may look like to be unethical.
So, whether you are using the time management software online, a communication tool or any type of advanced instrument, you must pay an attention on its influence on the ethical aspect of a business.