Ch 9, Instructor’s Manual, Business & Society, Carroll 10e
Chapter 9
Business Ethics and Technology
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Identify and describe what the new world of Big Data is all about and the implications it
holds for business.
3. Discuss how surveillance is a new dimension to being a consumer and an employee and
what its implications are for stakeholders.
5. Identify the characteristics of technology to include their benefits, side effects, and
challenges in business.
7. Define information technology and discuss the issues relating to e-commerce in business.
8. Define biotechnology. Identify the ethical issues involved in genetic engineering and
genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
INTRODUCTION – Chapter 9 explores the subject of technology and business ethics.
Technology is such an integral aspect of our work lives and consumer lives that special treatment
of these topics is warranted. The authors first consider what technology means and some of its
benefits and challenges. Then, they discuss the subject of ethics and technology, and finish the
chapter by exploring ethical issues connected with two major components of technology—
information technology and biotechnology.
KEY TALKING POINTS – Students are likely to be aware of the latest in technology, and so
have an inherent interest in this chapter. However, like many of their fellow citizens, they will
have given little thought to the ethical issues raised by the use of technology. As the authors of
the textbook correctly point out, the use of technology has increased our standard of living
tremendously. However, it has also raised many questions that directly affect people’s lives.
The authors list four categories of undesirable side effects of technology: (1) environmental
pollution, (2) depletion of natural resources, (3) technological unemployment, and (4) creation of
unsatisfying jobs. Items 3 and 4, technological unemployment and creation of unsatisfying jobs,
are perhaps the factors that will affect students most directly. Technology is no longer replacing
Ch 9, Instructor’s Manual, Business & Society, Carroll 10e
jeopardized, but their entire social structure was torn apart as well. Fortunately, as Rifkin points
out, factory jobs in Northern manufacturing centers provided employment for large numbers of
the dislocated farm laborers. However, as manufacturing and managerial jobs are now being lost
to technological innovations, there is no sector that will clearly take up the slack.
Another side effect in which technology plays a role is the amount of time spent working. In
fact, technology is often cited as one of the major factors that contributes to dissatisfaction with
work-life balance. At one point in time, technological improvements were predicted to provide
Students also will be keen to examine the issues raised by the use of social media in our personal
and professional lives. As social media use continues to increase at astronomical rates,
businesses constantly must adapt to harness the benefits of this technology while recognizing the
potential legal and ethical issues inherent with its use (e.g., intellectual property protection, libel /
defamation claims, employment problems, and privacy complaints, among others).
PEDAGOGICAL DEVICES – In this chapter, instructors may utilize a combination of:
Cases: 14-Something’s Rotten in Hondo
15-Nike, Inc. and Sweatshops
16-Coke & Pepsi in India
17-Chiquita – An Excruciating Dilemma
18-Dole’s DBCP Legacy
21-Big Pharma’s Marketing Tactics
30-Targeting Consumers (& Using Their Secrets)
34-Hidden Price of Fast Fashion
40-Tragedy in Bangladesh
41-Software Sojourn
Ch 9, Instructor’s Manual, Business & Society, Carroll 10e
Ethics in Practice Cases:
Twitter Ethics in Business
Copyright Infringement?
Using Personal Technology in the Workplace
Whole Foods: GMO Transparency or Clever Marketing?
Spotlight on Sustainability:
The Field of Technoethics
Is Biotech Agriculture Sustainable?
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. THE NEW WORLD OF BIG DATA
A. Social Media
B. Surveillance
II. TECHNOLOGY AND THE TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
III. CHARACTERISTICS OF TECHNOLOGY
A. Benefits, Costs, and Challenges
IV. TECHNOLOGY AND ETHICS
1. Two Key Issues
V. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
A. E-Commerce as a Pervasive Technology
1. Online Scams
B. Ongoing Issues in E-Commerce Ethics
C. Invasion of Consumer Privacy via E-Commerce
2. Business Initiatives with Consumer Privacy Protection
a. Ethical Leadership
3. Questionable Businesses and Practices
a. Illegal Downloading
b. Monitoring Technology
D. The Workplace and Computer Technology
1. Biometrics
Ch 9, Instructor’s Manual, Business & Society, Carroll 10e
3. Artificial Intelligence
5. Unethical Activities by Employees
6. Company Actions
VI. BIOTECHNOLOGY
A. Bioethics
B. Genetic Engineering
2. Cloning
4. Genetic Testing and Profiling
C. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
1. Labeling of GMOs
VII. SUMMARY
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Students should recognize that their answers to these discussion questions should be well
reasoned and supported with evidence. Although some answers will be more correct than others,
students should be aware that simplistic answers to complex questions, problems, or issues such
as these will never be “good” answers.
1. Question: Are there any benefits or negative side effects of technology in business that
have not been mentioned in this chapter? Discuss.
Answer: One interesting issue related to technology is the fact that the number of hours
that Americans work is increasing, not decreasing. As Jeremy Rifkin notes in The End of
Work, the primary view of technology’s effects on work would be to provide increasing
2. Question: Is society intoxicated with technology? Does this pose special problems for
business with respect to the ethics of technology? Will such intoxication blind people to
ethical considerations in business?
3. Question: Do you think business is abusing its power with respect to invasion of privacy of
consumers? Is surveillance of consumers in the marketplace a fair and justified practice?
Which particular practice do you think is the most questionable?
Answer: Although it would be foolish to expect that business would not use all of the
technology available to it to enhance its operations, I do think that business invades the
4. Question: Is it an exaggeration to question the ethical implications for business of cell
phone and text-messaging use? Discuss both sides of this issue.
Answer: There are ethical implications to the use of cell phones and text messaging for
business, whether managers want to acknowledge them or not. Any time that one person’s
5. Question: Do you think genetically modified organisms (GMOs) raise a legitimate safety
hazard? Should government agencies such as the FDA take more action to require safety
testing? Do you think labeling unfairly stigmatizes GMOs and make consumers question
their safety?
Answer: When weighing the needs and rights of companies versus consumers, I think it is
plain that individuals should be given clear preference over corporations. Our history is
rife with examples of harms done to people by companies selling products whose effects
GROUP ACTIVITIES
Group Activity 1 – Technology Matters
Have students create a Facebook group where they can discuss concerns regarding employee and
consumer privacy. Encourage students to invite other students from outside the class. Remind
students about defamation laws and that they will have little to no privacy with regards to the
information that they post on Facebook. In fact, it has been noted that many employers will
access Facebook to review a student’s profile prior to a job interview (many jobs have been lost
due to the Facebook review). Students should discuss how the Facebook project has impacted
their perceptions regarding employee and consumer privacy.
Group Activity 2 – Bioethics Debate
Ch 9, Instructor’s Manual, Business & Society, Carroll 10e
Students should be divided into groups to debate issues related to bioethics. Each group should
be assigned to argue for or against one of the following topics: cloning, cloning animals for
Group Activity 3 – Bioethics Movie Night
Invite groups of students to watch the movie Gattaca, starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.
This movie is about a world where most babies are genetically designed to excel in various areas.
Individuals who do not elect to genetically engineer their children ensure that their offspring will
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Have students read Stem Cell Now by Christopher Thomas Scott. While the main focus of the
book is on the science of stem cell research, Scott also explores the ethical and moral issues
involved with the use of embryonic stem cells for research purposes (a practice that remains
controversial in political, religious and medical circles).