Chapter 8 - ethics and technology

Which of the following statements is true of the advances in workplace technology over the last two decades?

Companies are now able to make vast amounts of information available to employees and customers.

Information can be digitized and transmitted over fiber-optic cables because of the recent advances in technology. What implications does this have?

Companies can reduce their expenses by shipping work to countries with low labor costs.

Which of the following actions does the Computer Ethics Institute consider ethical?

Considering the social consequences of one's work

Which of the following actions does the Computer Ethics Institute consider unethical?

Copying proprietary software without paying for it

Which of the following statements is true of telecommuting?

It allows employees a certain degree of flexibility in terms of their work hours.

Which of the following is true of cyberliability?

It extends to any form of harassment that reaches an employee via e-mail.

Which of the following is true of the changes that telecommuting has introduced into the work environment?

The availability of employees is being defined by their accessibility.

Which of the following statements is true of the effects of telecommuting?

The concept of being at work has become more flexible.

What is the reason for the increased monitoring of employees at work by organizations?

The evidence gathered from the electronic trail of e-mails from employees can cause potential damage to an organization.

Which of the following explains why employers are in favor of monitoring and restricting the actions of their employees?

The implications of vicarious liability for employers

Jordan, a software engineer, is responsible for maintaining the private piece of his company's internet network that is accessible to clients by means of a unique password. This piece of the company's network is known as the _____.

extranet

The term _____ refers to a private piece of a company's Internet network that is made available to customers and/or vendor partners on the basis of secured access by unique password.

extranet

Emily, a website designer, is hired by an organization to create an internal website that contains information meant to be accessed solely by employees. This website is the company's _____.

intranet

The term _____ refers to a company's internal website that contains information for employee access only.

intranet

Which of the following is a disadvantage of technological advances in a workplace?

loss of privacy

_____ has made it difficult for organizations to precisely measure the amount of time that employees are on-site.

telecommuting

_____ refers to a new capability that allows employees to work from home and log into to their company's network remotely.

telecommuting

The argument over privacy at work has traditionally centered on:

the amount of time that employees were on-site.

Under federal law, video surveillance is legal only if:

the camera focuses on publicly accessible areas.

The advances in technology have affected customers in a way that:

they have round-the-clock access to customer services.

Andrew is informed by his company that he should be open to monitoring as a part of the company's plans to improve productivity. Because of his qualifications and work experience, he knows that he would have no difficulty finding a similar position in another company. Andrew agrees to the policy, knowing that he can switch jobs if the new policy affects his job satisfaction. He has given his company _____ consent.

thick

Michelle receives a formal notification from her company stating that it will be monitoring all her e-mail and web activity. The notification also indicates that her continued employment with the company will depend on her agreement to abide by its monitoring policy. Because jobs are hard to come by, Michelle accepts. The consent given by Michelle can be classified as _____ consent.

thin

Which of the following statements is true of thin consent according to Adam Moore?

It is given when an employee has no other choice.

Which of the following statements is true of thick consent?

It is given when employees have realistic job alternatives.

Which of the following is true of the technology used to monitor employees at the workplace?

Packet-sniffing software can intercept and archive all communications on a network.

Information can be digitized and transmitted over fiber-optic cables because of the recent advances in technology. Which ethical obligation of this new capability is now being realized?

Should customers be informed that their personal information is being sent to other countries?

_____ will create a distinction between thin consent and thick consent according to Adam Moore.

The state of the job market

Which of the following statements is true of parties charged with vicarious liability?

They are held responsible for the actions of their subordinates.

Which of the following statements is true of keystroke loggers?

They can record typed-in information even if it is deleted.

_____ is a legal concept that means a party may be held responsible for injury or damage even when he or she was not actively involved in an incident.

Vicarious liability

The concept of cyberliability:

applies the legal concept of liability to the world of computers.

The legal concept of _____ holds employers liable for the actions of their employees through Internet communications to the same degree as if they had written those communications on company letterhead.

cyberliability

Telecommuting has changed the work environment in a way that:

employees have begun to expect a level of flexibility in taking care of their personal needs during work hours.

Companies can make vast amounts of information available to customers through their _____ sites.

extranet

Resolving the different perspectives on the issue of monitoring employee activity is difficult because:

it is difficult to determine where work ends and personal life begins.