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Technology and the Manager's Job
The Ethics of Data Analytics
Every time you click on anything in Facebook or do a search in Google or purchase anything
on Amazon or post anything on Instagram, data is being collected about you. Technology has
evolved to the point where companies can capture data about consumer habits anytime they
access a Web site, post on social media, do a search, or purchase something online. But it’s not
just on external Web sites that data is being collected and analyzed. A recent article in the Wall
Street Journal discussed how certain companies have been analyzing a wide variety of data
points on employees to try to pinpoint who is likely to leave the organization. Since employee
turnover costs money and time, companies want to try to get an early handle on it so managers
can take action before an employee—and especially a good employee— decides to leave.
Statisticians and data scientists have expressed misgivings about the lack of ethical guidelines
for big data research and analytics, especially online. Just because we have big data—the
technology to collect these vast amounts of quantifiable information that can be analyzed by
highly sophisticated data processing—should we? And should organizations (managers) be
using it? When it was discovered that Facebook had manipulated news feeds either positively
or negatively of more than half a million randomly selected users to see how emotions spread
on social media, people were outraged. But Facebook isn’t the only one that manipulates and
analyzes user data. Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and others also manipulate and analyze this data,
all under the guise of “improving the user experience.” The technology of data analytics itself
is
ethics-free; it’s neither good nor bad. But it’s in how the technology is used that ethical
concerns can arise.
If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of mymanagementlab.com
to complete these discussion questions.
Teaching Tips:
Questions for students to consider:
What does it mean that the technology of data analytics is ethics-free?
How could managers ethically use big data?
I. WHAT IS TODAY’S WORKFORCE LIKE AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE WAY
ORGANIZATIONS ARE MANAGED?
1. Organizational diversity is becoming more common in organizations, both
domestically and globally.
A. What is Workplace Diversity?
1. Diversity has been a popular business topic over the last two decades.
2. Workforce diversity is defined as the ways in which people in an organization are
different from and similar to one another.
B. What Types of Diversity are Found in Workplaces?
1. Workplace diversity comes in several forms. All of these forms have potential
ramifications for management. See Exhibit 3-4.
a) Age
1) With many of the nearly 85 million baby boomers still employed and active in the
workforce, managers must ensure that those employees are not discriminated against
because of age.
2) Both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967 prohibit age discrimination. The Age Discrimination Act also
restricts mandatory retirement at specific ages.
b) Gender
1) While women now each make up almost half of the workforce (49.8%), gender diversity
issues are still quite prevalent in organizations.
2) Managers and organizations need to explore the strengths that both women and men
bring to an organization and the barriers they face in contributing fully to organizational
efforts.
c) Race and Ethnicity
1) The issue of race and diversity has been an emotionally charged topic in the United
States.
2) Race is defined as the biological heritage (including physical characteristics such as one’s
skin color and associated traits) that people use to identify themselves.
3) Ethnicity is related to race, but it refers to social traits—such as one’s cultural
background or allegiance—that are shared by a human population.
4) The racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. population is increasing at an exponential rate.
5) Managers and organizations need to make race and ethnicity issues a priority in
effectively managing workforce diversity.
d) Disabilities/Abilities
1) The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed in 1990 prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities.
2) Requires employers to make reasonable accommodations so their workplaces are
accessible to people with physical or mental disabilities and enable them to effectively
perform their jobs.
e) Religion
1) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion (as well
as race/ethnicity, country of origin, and sex).
2) Religious beliefs can prohibit or encourage some work behaviors. For example, religious
holidays may preclude an employee from work on a certain day, but can also be a strong
reinforcer for maintaining ethical behavior.
f) GLBT: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
1) Currently, U.S. federal law does not prohibit discrimination against employees on the
basis of sexual orientation, although many states and municipalities do.
2) While laws have been passed in Europe to prohibit discrimination based on gender
identity, in the United States, it has been called the “last acceptable bias.”
3) One study found that more than 40 percent of gay and lesbian employees indicated they
had been unfairly treated because of their sexual orientation.
g) Other Types of Diversity
1) Diversity is not limited to the topics above; it refers to any dissimilarities or differences
that might be present in a workplace.
2) Other types of workplace diversity that managers might confront and have to deal with
include socioeconomic background (social class and income-related factors), team
members from different functional areas or organizational units, physical attractiveness,
obesity/thinness, job seniority, or intellectual abilities.
A Question of Ethics
Smokers. Overweight individuals. Two groups about whom much has been written and much has
been discussed, especially when it comes to workplaces. A Gallup poll found that most
Americans said that if they were in a position to hire someone, it would make no difference to
them if that person were overweight (79 percent) or smoked (74 percent). However, the majority
of Americans (60 percent) said it is justified to set higher health insurance rates for smokers. A
majority (57 percent) said it is unjustified to set higher insurance rates because of excessive
weight.
Discuss This:
What ethical issues might arise in workplaces with employees who fit into these two
groups?
As a manager, how would you handle such issues?
C. How Are Organizations and Managers Adapting to a Changing Workforce?
1. Work/Life Balance Programs – Employees in the 1960s and 1970s showed up at the
workplace Monday through Friday and did their job in eight- or nine-hour chunks of
time.
2. Today’s employees are increasingly complaining that the line between work and
non-work time has become blurred, creating personal conflicts and stress.
a) The creation of global organizations means their world never sleeps.
b) Communication technology allows employees to do their work at home, in their
car, or on the beach in Tahiti.
c) Organizations are asking employees to put in longer hours.
d) Fewer families rely on a single breadwinner.
3. Employees are increasingly recognizing that work is squeezing out their personal
lives and they want jobs that give them flexibility in their work schedules so they can
better manage work/life conflicts.
4. Organizations are offering family friendly benefits, with a wide range of scheduling
options that allow employees more flexibility at work.
5. Contingent Jobs – part-time, temporary, and contract workers who are available for
hire on an as-needed basis.
a) Contingent workers may grow to 40% of the workforce by the end of the next
decade.
6. What issues do contingent workers create for managers?
a) Each contingent worker may need to be treated differently in terms of practices.
b) Today’s managers need to motivate their entire work force—full-time as well as
part-time employees—to build their commitment to doing good work!
7. Generational Differences – will present unique challenges.
a) Office attire will depend on the type of work being done and the size of the
organization. The key is flexibility.
b) Technology – Gen Y has grown up with ATMs, DVDs, cell phones, e-mail,
texting, laptops, and the Internet, and they’re content to meet virtually to solve
problems, while baby boomers expect important problems to be solved with
in-person meetings.
c) Management style – Gen Y employees want bosses who are open-minded, experts
in their field, and mentors; not authoritarian or paternalistic; respectful of their
generation; understanding of their need for work/life balance.
REVIEW AND APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER SUMMARY
3-1 Explain globalization and its impact on organizations. Organizations
are considered global if they exchange goods and services with consumers in
other countries, if they use managerial and technical employee talent from
other countries, or if they use financial sources and resources outside their
3-2 Discuss how society’s expectations are influencing managers and
organizations. Society expects organizations and managers to be responsible
and ethical. An organization’s social involvement can be from the perspective
3-3 Discuss the factors that lead to ethical and unethical behavior in
organizations. Ethics can be viewed from the utilitarian view, the rights view,
or the theory of justice view. Whether a manager acts ethically or unethically
depends on his or her morality, values, personality, and experiences; the
3-4 Describe how the workforce is changing and its impact on the way
organizations are managed. The workforce continues to reflect increasing
diversity. Types of workforce diversity include age, gender, race, ethnicity,
