Week 8 Assignment – Workplace Ethics Overview This assignment requires you to choose an article and then write about the ethical implications and the impact of the events that are described in the article. Preparation Read and reflect on one of the following articles. Can Ad Copy Be False but Not Misleading? If so, Is That OK? Menu Science: The Subtle Ways Restaurants Get You to Spend
Week 8 Assignment – Workplace Ethics
Introduction:
Work ethics are the moral principles and values of the employee as well as the company. Workplace ethics have to be maintained by the employees of the organization. The employee has to maintain their attitude, appearance, attendance, and character in the workplace. All companies have their specific rules and the employees of the companies have to maintain the rules of their company. The work ethics of the employee or the company can be violated in various ways.
One of the ethically improper activities is releasing secret information about the company to others. The article is about Google’s ethical concern on its contract with the Pentagon. The Defence Department of the USA proposed to host classified and sensitive information by technological companies. Currently, the four main contenders for the contract are Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Oracle (Foxbusiness.com, 1). However many Google employees, as well as Pentagon employees, have shown their concern about the ethical issues.
Issues with the consequences, effects, and ideals:
The concept that has been derived from the case is that Google will provide a technological hold on the dynamics of the Pentagon. This contract has provided some issues based on the ethical concerns of the employees and other members of the Pentagon. It is required to consider that the Pentagon is the military foothold of the USA. It has the power of gross executions and commands the defense programs of the USA (1). It can be understood during the phase that the collaborating works of Google and the Pentagon can provide leakage of data and information which has made some employees of the Pentagon dissatisfied. This can be considered as a matter of focus, and it is required to be mitigated with a proper solution. Google tech employees more than 3000 signed a letter addressing the ethical issues about the involvement of Google with a warfare technology program named Project Maven. This project is an Artificial intelligence program where the data of government drones like identifying and tracking objects can be seen on surveillance footage. The main concern of the Google workers is the program application can be weaponized once it gets into the U.S. military (1).
Violation of moral rights:
In these criteria, the violation of the moral rights of human beings can be ensured. It is because the employees of the Pentagon are complaining about their privacy issues. It has also been considered that Google cannot conduct a business of war. The technological mechanisms of Google can violate the ethical rights of the employees of the Pentagon. It is also required to consider that Google is the technology company that provides storage and circulation of data. It means it can be immoral if Google is involved in the formulation of weapons of warfare (1). It would be better for Google must be active and lenient in its conduct with its ethical objectives. It can provide better collaboration with Google and the Pentagon.
Utilitarian recommendations:
The main essence of the utilitarian theory is that morality is the main theme of human actions and is based on the circulation of happiness. It has been considered that human beings conduct their actions for the purpose of happiness as the core fundamental essence. In this case,
Google has to ensure happiness for every member of the Pentagon. It can be ensured through the use of the ethical needs of the members of the Pentagon. It is required to satisfy the needs and demands of the members of the Pentagon based on the privacy restoration.
Kantian recommendations:
The Kantian theory provides the expression that it is impossible to consider anything in the world, or indeed even beyond it, that can be needed for good without restriction except goodwill. This theory provides the understanding that the rightness or wrongness of human actions does not rely on the results but on the fulfillment of duty. It can be considered as the supreme principle of morality (1). This needs to collaborate with the philosophy of freedom. It can be understood that human beings without freedom, moral responsibility, and appraisals would be impossible.
Conclusion:
People always have to keep in their mind that technologies are discovered for the betterment of mankind. All companies have to maintain ethics whenever they are collaborating with such high-profile organizations. In this case, Google has to provide their collaborative works with the Pentagon with the enhancement of freedom of every member of the Pentagon. For this purpose, Google has set up a code of ethics to guide the use of products and technologies of the company (1). It would be better if moral values were maintained where both the departments are in a parallel way. Google has to be parallel with its principles, and it must not collide with the principles of the Pentagon.
References
Foxbusiness.com (2018) Google code of ethics on military contracts could hinder Pentagon work, Retrieved from: https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/google-code-of-ethics-onmilitary-contracts-could-hinder-pentagon-work [Retrieved on: 26 November, 2021]
