Computers in the Workplace: Are They Used Ethically? Essay

nowadayss offices look very distinct from those in the late 1970s. Then typewriters, filing cabinets, and correction fluid were the norm. Today these items have been replaced by desktop and portable com gradeers, database management systems, and word affect softwargon. You ar al empathisey familiar with some of the benefits of using computers in the oeuvrefor example, computers exculpate it easier to manage the company database, accounting, and finance-related activities, and communications among different departments in a companybut what are some of the ethical issues that have arisen as a result of using computers in the guideplace?Information engine room is replacing energy as societys main resource. numerous tidy sum are concerned that in like manner to a greater extent emphasis has been put on what the computer can do to streamline business and too little on how it may be affecting the quality of our lives. For example, is it distorting the gist of thought? That is, is it absurd and dangerous to attribute the capabilities of thinking and creativity to a computer? People have experience, convictions, and cultural traditions. Are these qualities beingness debauched? If so, perhaps we are heading into an era in which machinelike qualities of renovate and problem solving will be note valued more asphyxiateing than what used to be called humane qualities. As a result, many another(prenominal) passel believe computers have the electromotive force to contribute to worker dissatisfaction.Consider the potential for computer-based systems in business to be used to monitor employees. What if computers were (and some are already) programmed to check your speed, the pauses you muddle, the breaks you take, the rate of keying errors? Would it be fair for the company to do this to make certain(p) it retains only the most efficient workers, and thus increase the value of goods and services it has to sell? Or would this detract from your dignity as a human beingyour right to do some things better than you do others? And would this type of company get high-quality decisions from its employeesor would the employees be too triskaidekaphobic to work creatively?In addition, a growing percentage of the work force is working at home. Workers can communicate with their offices via a personal computer and special communications software. In many cases, this arrangement enables workers in metropolitan areas to get work don instead of sitting in traffic. However, how does working at home affect employee morale, efficiency, and motivation? How does the employer maintain control oer the employee? With these issues in mind, is the employee who works at home really more cultivable? Or not?Another important issue relates to the disabled. For most of us, computers make our lives more convenient. But for some people with disabilities, computers play a much greater role. information processing systems have the potential of equalizing the wor kplace by enabling people with mobility, vision, and hearing impairments to do the same work as someone who isnt handicapped. Some disabled workers have difficulty holding down more than two keys at once or using a mouse. finesse workers need special translator hardware so they can read text and numbers.Fortunately, many add-on products are available to adapt bill microcomputers to the needs of the disabled, including voice translators for the blind and software that modifies the way the keyboard and the mouse are used. However, products such as these vary in sophistication and are unremarkably quite expensive. As a result, very few companies make these purchases. Arent these companies discriminating against the handicapped? Many legislators are actively working to pass a bill that will make this form of discrimination abominable.In addition, software piracy, or theft, has become a major concern of software writers and manufacturers. The act of piracy is not as dramatic as it so unds in most cases, it simply means illegally copying private-domain (copyrighted) software onto void disks. Because some of this softwarefrom games to heavy-duty business publishing programsis expensive, its invite to avoid purchasing an off-the-shelf package by accepting a friends offer to supply free copies. But, according to the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Computer Software Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendment of 1983, this practice is illegal. It is also unethical. Computer programmers and software companies frequently spend years developing, writing, testing, and marketing software programs only to lose many royalty dollars to software pirates. If you spent several years writing a book only to lose royalties through the distribution of illegal copied volumes, how would you whole step? The issue is the same.Some software manufacturers write copy-protected programs into their software to prevent illegal copying other software authors offer free (or inexpensive) copies of th eir programs (called shareware) through computer-user clubs and publications. effective remember Before you consider making a copy or accepting a copy of a software program, make sure its legalits theft can result in skanky penalties.These are only a few of the many computer-related issues that are being discussed today. Keep in mind, however, that although these problems certainly deserve everyones attention, they should not blear the opportunities that will be opened up if you know how to use computers in your chosen occupation.