How technology enforces ethical standards and shapes workplace culture

Ethics

In recent years companies have found many uses for technology. Most recently firms have begun to use technology is the area of ethical standards. The establishing an ethical standards is vitally important for establishing the tone of an organization and making clear the types of behaviors that will and will not be tolerated. The purpose of this discussion is to explore how companies use technology to help set and manage ethical standards and guidelines. The research will focus on the ways in which such policies can shape the type of work environment or culture that a company promotes. In addition the investigation will focus on the ways in which using technology to perform human resources functions affects company culture.

Technology to establish and manage ethical standards and guidelines

In today's business environment technology serves a myriad of purposes. One such purpose is to establish ethical standards and guidelines. The ethical standards and guidelines are often traditional in nature but also include standards associated with the use of the internet on the job and as it pertains to social networking sites. Many companies use their official company sites to make clear the ethical standards of the company. In addition some companies also list the consequences associated with not following the established standards.

To ensure that employees are abiding by specific rules related to the guidelines associated with internet use, companies may install trackers, block certain sites or otherwise monitor the activity of their employees (Ragins & Kram, 2007). In addition according to an article entitled "Ethics and Technology" companies have the ability to "censors emails that arrive with inappropriate language or content and bounces the correspondence back to the original sender without the recipient ever being the wiser. Telephone conversations are monitored and should the caller or recipient use inappropriate language the call is disconnected and the employee could be reprimanded ("Ethics and Technology")."

Ethical standards and guidelines of a company even extend to the hiring process (Rosemblum, 2007). Many applicants have not received a job because of the information they have placed on Facebook or MySpace. In most cases applicants have been seen on their networking sites using questionable languages or drinking alcohol. Many fail to understand that placing information on the internet makes them visible to everyone, including potential employees who may view their actions and deem them inappropriate and not in congruence with the ethical guidelines and standards of the workplace.

How policies shape work environment and culture

These policies serve an important role in shaping work environments and culture. When employees know that they are being monitored and that certain behaviors are deemed as unacceptable they tend not to engage in those activities. In addition if they know that co workers are engaging in these activities they may be more likely to report the issue to human resources or their mangers. As such these policies encourage the presence of a work environment that is conducive to productivity and accomplishing the overall goals established by the firm.

Such policies establish a culture that is driven by integrity. Employees understand that the company they work for has high standards and expects employees to live up to these standards in a way that is proper and consistent. In addition when new employees are added to the firm, there is a great likelihood that they will observe the way that older employees function and understand the importance of ethical standards to the company.

On the other hand, companies can also be negatively affected when they are known to have ethical issues. For instance, companies such as BP have engaged in activities that have established them as a company that has a lose perception of what is ethical. This perception is both internal and external. For an internal angle people who work for BP at the current time are probably having a difficult time dealing with the situation at hand and knowing that a great deal of the problem is due to the low ethical standards of the company that they work for. This effects productivity which complicates matters even further as it pertains to cleaning up the spill. In addition the company is affected by the public's external perception of the company. Some people have chosen to boycott the company as a result of their actions and how those actions have affected the way of life for an entire region of the country. Ultimately this will greatly impact the company's bottom line and its ability to function.

Conclusion

The purpose of this discussion was to explore how companies use technology to help set and manage ethical standards and guidelines. The investigation found that companies currently use technology to monitor how employees use the internet and the types of interactions that they have with others on the internet. The research focused on the ways in which such policies can shape the type of work environment or culture that a company promotes. The investigation demonstrates that such policies assist in establishing the standards that are expected by the organization which sets a tone of integrity for the organization. In addition the investigation also focus on the ways in which using technology to perform human resources functions affects company culture. Company culture becomes more distinct because hires and employees have been or are in the process of being monitored to ensure that their behavior is consistent with what the company wants to reflect. Overall, the use of technology can be of great benefit to an organization as it seeks to function in the 21st century. Employees have to understand that they have certain responsibilities in the workplace and that ethical standards and guidelines must be adhered to if they want to remain employed.