1) Identify 3-4 ethical issues that are raised by the use of smartphones in the workplace. 2) Discuss if your employer (or previous employer) had rules regarding the usage of smartphones in meetings or in the workplace. What if any restrictions/limitations did you have? If your company does not have a policy, what type of policy would you suggest for an organization regarding the use of smartphones in the workplace?

Opening Decision Point Revisited Being Smart about Smartphones The Opening Decision Point asked you to consider the implications of using smartphones in business contexts. It might not have occurred to you previously that smartphones could be a source of ethical problems in the workplace because most people see a BlackBerry or iPhone simply as a source of productivity, allowing them to carry a powerful computer combined with a communications device in their pocket or handbag. The convenience of being able to access Information, as well as to stay in touch with key clients and co-workers just about anywhere, typically is seen as a benefit rather than a problem. But, as the earlier box illustrated, smartphones-like many new technologies-also raise ethical questions. Clearly, the Opening Decision Point Involved miscommunication from the start. Using the ethical decision-making process, we are confronted with a scenario in which the stakeholders involved perceived the situation from entirely different perspectives. While you were entirely engaged in the meeting and working strenuously to produce the most effective result, your behavior left many involved with the perception that you were instead "checked out and fiddling with your phonel Certainly. If you have known that was the impression you were likely to create, you would never have made the same decision. Instead, you would have... well? What would you have done? That is the benefit of considering these scenarios at the outset. Not everyone will perceive your behavior from the same vantage point, nor with the same experiential background. You might be the type of person to take notes on your smartphone, while that option might never enter into someone else's mind. By understanding that perspective, you might have started the meeting by letting everyone know that you plan to record some bullet points directly into your phone so that you can upload them electronically the moment you return to your office. In that way. you will be best able to share them with the team in the most efficient manner immediately following the meeting. Everyone would have nodded and appreciated your thoughtfulness. To the contrary, you are left needing to explain the flasco to your boss. We should realize, of course, that sometimes it is not at all a matter of misunderstanding; some people actually may be playing games on their phones during meetings, texting with friends, or checking in on Facebook. To the extent that this activity means that they are paying less attention to what others in the meeting are saying, such activities are-at the very least-disrespectful. However, consider far worse implications for the workplace. A one-time offense arguably could be dismissed as simply rude; but ongoing behavior could demonstrate a pattern of rudeness, which implies a lack of overall respect for stakeholders. Respect for the personal dignity of others is a key element of ethical decision making. Though there would be significant exceptions, of course, some disagreements over the use of smartphones in the workplace might also be generational. Some younger workers who have grown up with mobile phones and who are used to text messaging to keep in near constant contact with friends might see texting during a meeting as normal, and as implying no disrespect at all. Moreover, some of these workers might not even wear a watch anymore and often use their phone as their only method by which to check the time, so checking their phone is no more (continued) 339 340 Chapter 7 Ehical Decision Making: Technology and Pracy in the Workplace (concluded intrusive to them as someone else glancing at their wrist. To the contrary, some (be wary of generalizations here, again) older workers, even many of those who are comfortable using a smartphone, may see such devices more strictly in terms of their usefulness for a narrow range of essential business operations. To these workers, use of a smartphone during a meeting-even to check business-related e-mail-may cross a boundary of propriety. How might you respond if you observed a colleague texting in the middle of a meeting? Would it be different if the meeting involved just the two of you or other people? If the others were work colleagues or colleagues external to your firm? What would you do if you received a text from a colleague in the middle of a meeting (and the colleague is in the same meeting)? Are there new technologies other than smartphones that raise questions such as the ones discussed in this scenario? Does the use of a laptop during a busi- ness meeting raise the same or similar issues? Did it occur to you at the end of the Opening Decision Point that perhaps your boss might have given you the benefit of the doubt and asked whether you had been using your phone for note-taking? Does that perspective affect your response at all? When people differ with regard to the proper use of new technologies in the workplace, how should such differences be resolved? Should fans of new tech- nologies be extra cautious? Or should those who resist new technologies be expected to "get with the times"? prior to disclosure unless they are prohibited from doing so by statute or court order." This statement does not necessarily protect users under the PRISM pro- gram, but it does protect them from other types of searches. Many organizations previously turned over information requested by law enforcement without telling users. Now, however, most companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google (plus many more) all notify users of requests for informa- tion prior to disclosure unless prohibited by statute or court order. Of course, the ultimate question is, if it were disclosed that your use could be monitored by the government, and you clicked "agree to the terms of use when you began using the service, would you care enough to adjust your use? .86 Questions, Projects, and Exercises 1. Marriott Resorts had a formal company party for more than 200 employees. At one point during the party, the company aired a videotape that compiled employees' and their spouses' comments about a household chore they hated. However, as a spoof, the video was edited to make it seem as if they were describing what it was like to have sex with their partner. One employee's wife was very upset by the video and sued Marriott for invasion of privacy. Evaluate her argument, focusing on the ethical arguments for a violation of her rights. Chapter 7 Ethical Decision Making: Technology and Privacy in the Workplace 341 2. Richard Fraser, an at-will independent insurance agent for Nationwide Mutual Insur- ance Company, was terminated by Nationwide and the parties disagree on the reason for Fraser's termination. Fraser argues that Nationwide terminated him because he filed complaints regarding Nationwide's allegedly illegal conduct, for criticizing Nationwide to the Nationwide Insurance Independent Contractors Association, and for attempting to obtain the passage of legislation in Pennsylvania to ensure that independent insur- ance agents could be terminated only for "just cause." Nationwide argues, however, that it terminated Fraser because he was disloyal. Nationwide points out that Fraser drafted a letter to two competitors saying that policyholders were not happy with Nationwide and asking whether the competitors would be interested in acquiring them. (Fraser claims that the letters were drafted only to get Nationwide's attention and were not sent.) When Nationwide learned about these letters, it claims that it became concerned that Fraser might also be revealing company secrets to its competitors. It therefore searched its main file server-on which all of Fraser's e-mail was lodged-for any e-mail to or from Fraser that showed similar improper behavior. Nationwide's general counsel testified that the e-mail search confirmed Fraser's disloyalty. Therefore, on the basis of the two letter and the e-mail search, Nationwide terminated Fraser's employment agreement. The search of his e-mail gives rise to Fraser's claim for damages under the Electronic Communica- tions Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986. Do you believe the employer was justified in moni- toring the employee's e-mail and then terminating him? What ethical arguments do you believe either side could use in this case? 3. A customer service representative at an electronics store is surfing the Internet using one of the display computers. She accesses a website that shows graphic images of a crime scene. A customer in the store who notices the images is offended. Another customer service representative is behind the counter using the store's computer to access a pornographic site, and starts to laugh. A customer asks him why he is laugh- ing. He turns the computer screen around to show her the images that are causing him amusement. Is there anything wrong with these activities? 4. The term cybersquatting refers to the practice of registering a large number of website domain names hoping to sell them at huge prices to others who may want the URL or who are prepared to pay to get rid of a potentially confusing domain name. For instance, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which operates www.peta.org, was able to shut down www.peta.com, a pro-hunting website that dubbed itself "Peo- ple Eating Tasty Animals." Cybersquatters often determine possible misspellings or slightly incorrect websites with the hopes that the intended website will pay them for their new domain. Others might simply hold onto a potentially extremely popular site name based on the expectation that someone will want it. For example, someone paid over $7 million for the address www.business.com. In one case, one day after a partnership was announced that would result in an online bookstore for the Toronto Globe & Mail newspaper, with the domain name www.chaptersglobe.com, Richard Morochove, a technology writer, registered the domain chapters-globe.com. When the partnership demanded that he stop using the name, he promptly agreed, as long as he received a percentage of the sales from the Chapters/Globe website. The case went to trial. In situations such as these, do you believe the cybersquatter is doing anything wrong? What options might the "intended website owner have? 5. Spam, or spamming, refers to the use of mailing lists to blanket usenets or private e-mail boxes with indiscriminate advertising messages. Some people believe that spamming should be protected as the simple exercise of one's First Amendment right 342 Chapter 7 Erical Decision Making: Technology and Privacy in the Workplace to free speech while others view it as an invasion of privacy or even theft of resources or trespass to property, as Intel argued when a disgruntled ex-employee spammed more than 35,000 Intel employees with his complaints. In that case, the court agreed, considering his e-mail spamming equivalent to trespassing on Intel's property and recognizing that Intel was forced to spend considerable time and resources to delete the e-mail messages from its system. It is amusing to note that the source of the term spam is generally accepted to be the Monty Python song "Spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam, lovely spam. wonderful spam...." Like the song, spam is an endless repetition of worthless text. Oth- ers believe that the term came from the computer group lab at the University of Southern California, which gave it the name because it has many of the same characteristics as the lunchmeat Spam: Nobody wants it or ever asks for it. No one ever cats it; it is the first item to be pushed to the side when eating the entree, Sometimes it is actually tasty, like 1 percent of junk mail that is really useful to some people. 87 Using stakeholder analysis, make an argument that spamming is either ethical or unethical 6. Term papers on practically every subject imaginable are available on the Internet. Many of those who post the papers defend their practice in two ways: (1) These papers are posted to assist in research in the same way any other resource is posted on the web and should simply be cited if used; and (2) these papers are posted in order to encourage faculty to modify paper topics and/or exams and not to simply bring back assignments that have been used countless times in the past. Are you persuaded? Is there anything unethical about this service in general? If so, who should be held accountable, the poster, the ultimate user, or someone else? 7. A college provided its security officers with a locker area in which to store personal items. The security officers occasionally used the area as a dressing room. After inci- dents of theft from the lockers and reports that the employees were bringing weapons to campus, the college installed a video surveillance camera in the locker area. Did the employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy that was violated by the video surveillance? Explain. 8. While some companies block employee access to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, others have a more permissive attitude. Explain several reasons a company might choose to permit-or be indifferent to-employee access to social networks. 9. You work as an accountant at large accounting firm where your job leaves you with a lot of down time at the office in between assignments. You spend this time on your office computer developing a program that can make your job even more efficient and it might even be a breakthrough in the industry. This new product could be a huge success and you could make a lot of money. You think of quitting your job and devoting all your time and resources to selling this new product. However, you have developed this product using company equipment and technology, and also used the time you were at work. Do these facts raise any red flags in terms of ethical issues? What should you do? 10. As you learned in this chapter, drug testing in the workplace is a somewhat contro- versial issue in terms of employer responsibilities and employee rights. Using sources from the web, discuss the pros and cons of these programs