Ethics for the Information Age Chapter 10 PDF

Ethics for the Information Age Eighth Edition Chapter 10 Work and Wealth Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Learning Objectives 10.1 Int...

Ethics for the Information Age Eighth Edition Chapter 10 Work and Wealth Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Learning Objectives 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Automation and employment 10.3 Workplace changes 10.4 Globalization 10.5 The digital divide 10.6 The “winner-take-all society” Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10.1 Introduction Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10.1 Introduction Information technology and automation affecting workplace – Increases in productivity – Job creation and destruction – Globalization of job market – Organization of companies – Telework – Workplace monitoring Impacts of information technology on society – Digital divide – Winner-take-all effects Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10.2 Automation and Employment Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Automation and Job Destruction Between 1979 and 2011… – U.S. population increased 39% – Manufacturing employment dropped 40%, from 19.4 million jobs to 11.7 million jobs Lost white-collar jobs – Secretarial and clerical positions – Accountants and bookkeepers – Middle managers Juliet Schor: Work week got longer between 1979 and 1990 Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Lost Manufacturing Jobs General Motors exited bankruptcy in 2009 with 30 percent fewer employees. (Danny Lehman/Encyclopedia Corbis) Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Impact of Layoffs on Workers When jobs are lost to automation or the introduction of information technology, the remaining workers may work harder in order to avoid being part of the next layoff. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Automation and Job Creation Automation lowers prices That increases demand for the product It also increases real incomes, increasing demand for other products, which means more jobs for people making those products Number of manufacturing jobs worldwide is increasing Martin Carnoy: Workers today work less than workers did 100 years ago Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Effects of Automation Superficially, automation eliminates jobs; but automation can also stimulate the creation of new jobs. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved  Effects of Increase in Productivity We have used higher productivity to achieve a higher material standard of living This is in contrast to medieval or ancient times (before modern capitalism) In medieval or ancient times – Low caloric intake meant pace of work was slow – Work was seasonal and intermittent – Laborers resisted working if they had enough money (i.e., they weren’t consumers) – When wages rose, laborers worked less Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Case Study: The Canceled Vacation (1 of 2) Stuart is a software developer for Seattle start-up Everybody works 60 hours/week Company’s vacation policy is 3 weeks/year – Nobody takes that much – Some of Stuart’s coworkers have had zero vacation in 2+ years Six months ago, Stuart learns his parents are moving from San Diego to Australia – He gets permission for one week’s vacation in San Diego – Doesn’t tell parents Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Case Study: The Canceled Vacation (2 of 2) One week before vacation, supervisor asks Stuart to delay vacation – Important product update – Offers Stuart ▪ Three weeks’ vacation next year ▪ Round-trip airfare Stuart agrees to request and cancels vacation to San Diego Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Kantian/Social Contract Theory Evaluation Stuart broke no promises and didn’t deceive anyone Stuart was not obligated to visit his parents before they moved from San Diego to Australia Stuart did nothing wrong Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Act Utilitarian Evaluation (1 of 3) Stuart had two alternatives: accept or reject supervisor’s request Consider duration, certainty, propinquity, and purity of two alternatives Duration – San Diego: 1 week – Australia: 3 weeks – Trip to Australia 3 times better Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Act Utilitarian Evaluation (2 of 3) Purity – San Diego: Will be worrying about upset boss – Australia: Realistically, will also be worrying about upset boss – Two options equivalent Propinquity – San Diego: Next week – Australia: Next year – Trip to San Diego much better (2 times better) Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Act Utilitarian Evaluation (3 of 3) Certainty – San Diego: 100% – Australia: Much less certain, given history of Stuart’s manager and fact no one has ever taken 3 weeks’ vacation, say 25% – San Diego the better choice Summary: – San Diego: 1 × 1 × 2 × 100% = 2 – Australia: 3 × 1 × 1 × 25% = 0.75 – San Diego the better option – Stuart made the wrong decision Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Virtue Ethics Evaluation Stuart demonstrated a lack of courage and a lack of consideration for himself, his coworkers, and his parents By caving in to his boss, Stuart – let his boss get away with bad behavior – made reasonable vacations less likely for himself and for his fellow employees – deprived his parents of the pleasure of his company for at least a year Stuart’s decision is not characteristic of a good co- worker or a good son Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Rise of the Robots? Some experts suggest most jobs will be taken over by machines Artificial intelligence: Field of computer science focusing on intelligent behavior by machines Rapid increases in microprocessor speeds have led to various successes in AI What will happen as computers continue to increase in speed? Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Notable Achievements in AI Since 1995 (1 of 2) Computer-controlled minivan “drove” on freeways across USA in 1995 IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeated chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1997 Honda’s ASIMO android climbed and descended stairs (2000) Electrolux introduced robotic vacuum cleaner in 2001 Five autonomous vehicles successfully completed 128- mile course in Nevada desert in 2005 Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Notable Achievements in AI Since 1995 (2 of 2) Watson trounced two most successful human Jeopardy! champions in 2011 Google’s self-driving cars logged more than one million miles between 2009 and 2015 without an accident (caused by the car) AlphaGo program created by Google trounced Ke Jie, world’s #1 Go player, in multiplayer match in 2017 Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Watson Wins Jeopardy! Challenge In 2011 an AI program named Watson running on an IBM supercomputer trounced the two greatest (human) Jeopardy! champions: Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. (AP photo/Seth Wenig) Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Google Self-Driving Car Between 2009 and 2015 Google self-driving cars drove more than a million miles in autonomous mode without causing a single accident. (John Green/T NS/Newscom) Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Moral Question Related to Robotics Is it wrong to create machines capable of making human labor obsolete? Would intelligent robots demoralize humanity? Is it wrong to work on an intelligent machine if it can’t be guaranteed the machine will be benevolent toward humans? What if a malevolent human puts intelligent machines to an evil use? How would creative computers change our ideas about intellectual property? How will our ideas about privacy change if superfast computers constantly analyze our electronic records? Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10.3 Workplace Changes Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Organizational Changes Information technology integration into firms – Automating back office functions (e.g., payroll) – Improving manufacturing – Improving communication among business units Results – Flattened organizational structures – Eliminating transactional middlemen (supply-chain automation) Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Inexpensive Interactions Lead to Flexible Information Flow (a) When interactions are more expensive and time consuming, most information flows between people and their managers. Organizations are rigid and hierarchical. (b) When interactions become inexpensive and fast, the flow of information is much more flexible. Organizations become flatter and more dynamic. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Winners, Losers in the Workplace of the Future (1 of 2) Higher Demand Lower Demand Software engineers-applications Butchers Computer support workers Secretaries and stenographers Software engineers-systems Payroll clerks Network administrators Bank tellers Network systems analysts File clerks Greater use of information technology in the workplace has increased demand for employees in certain job categories while reducing demand for employees in other categories. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Winners, Losers in the Workplace of the Future (2 of 2) Higher Demand Lower Demand Desktop publishers Cashiers Database administrators Typist Personal and home-care aides Pharmacists Computer systems analysts Bookkeepers Medical assistants Postal clerks Greater use of information technology in the workplace has increased demand for employees in certain job categories while reducing demand for employees in other categories. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Telework Employees work away from traditional place of work Examples – Home office – Commuting to a tele center – Salespersons with no office About 37% of Americans do some telework Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Advantages of Telework Increases productivity Reduces absenteeism Improves morale Helps recruitment and retention of top employees Saves overhead Improves company resilience Helps environment Saves employees money Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Disadvantages of Telework Threatens managers’ control and authority Makes face-to-face meetings with customers impossible Sensitive information less secure Team meetings more difficult Teleworkers less visible Teleworkers “out of the loop” Isolation of teleworkers Teleworkers work longer hours for same pay Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved The Gig Economy (1 of 3) Companies less committed to employees Lay-offs not taboo as they once were Companies hiring more subcontractors and temporary employees – Saves money on benefits – Makes it easier to downsize Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved The Gig Economy (2 of 3) Some start-ups make money by connecting people who want a service with people willing to provide that service Gig economy: Service workers making a living by completing short-term jobs for clients Examples – Uber, Lyft: Connect riders and drivers – Instacart: Grocery delivery service – Airbnb: Connect travelers and those with accommodations Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved The Gig Economy (3 of 3) Proponents say workers gain independence, flexibility Critics say these are last-resort jobs and competition among workers drives down wages Robert Reich: “The big money goes to the corporations that own the software. The scraps go to the on-demand workers.” Uber and Lyft drivers filed lawsuits to be classified as employees Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Gig Workers: Caught in the Middle? Employee Driver for a Ride-sharing App Independent Conctractor Does not set own working Sets own working hours Sets own working hours hours Work assigned by employer Only feasible way to find Advertises to find work customers is through app Employer sets wages Earnings set by app Sets own fees for services Entitled to minimum wage Not entitled to minimum wage Not entitled to minimum wage Pays only employee’s portion of Pays both employee’s and Pays both employee’s and Social Security taxes employer’s portions of Social employer’s portion of Social Security taxes Security taxes Can get fired Can be taken off list of Cannot be fired providers Eligible for unemployment Not eligible for unemployment Not eligible for unemployment insurance insurance insurance Can unionize Courts must determine if drivers Cannot unionize can unionize Comparing a driver for a ride-sharing app with a traditional employee and a traditional independent contractor. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Monitoring (1 of 2) Two-thirds of companies monitor Internet use of their employees Other examples of monitoring – Video surveillance – Monitoring keyboard activity – Monitoring time spent on phone – Monitoring emails Purpose: Identify inappropriate use of company resources – Can also detect illegal activities Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Monitoring (2 of 2) Other uses of monitoring – Gauge productivity – Improve productivity – Improve security; i.e., in schools Evidence shows that monitoring… – Makes employees more focused on work – Reduces job satisfaction Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Multinational Teams Software development teams in India since 1980s Advantages of multinational teams – Company has people on duty more hours per day – Cost savings Disadvantage of multinational teams – Poorer infrastructure in less developed countries Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10.4 Globalization Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Globalization Basics Globalization: Process of creating a worldwide network of businesses and markets Globalization causes a greater mobility of goods, services, and capital around the world Globalization made possible through rapidly decreasing cost of information technology Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved IT Improvements Led to Global Enterprises Dramatic declines in the cost of computing and communications made global enterprises feasible by the mid-1990s. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Arguments for Globalization Increases competition People in poorer countries deserve jobs, too It is a tried-and-true route for a poor country to become prosperous Global jobs reduce unrest and increase stability Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Arguments against Globalization Makes the United States subordinate to the World Trade Organization Forces American workers to compete with foreigners who do not get decent wages and benefits Accelerates exodus of manufacturing and white-collar jobs from United States Hurts workers in foreign countries, too – Example: Individual Mexican corn farmers cannot compete with large U S agribusinesses subsidized by American government Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Dot-Com Bust Increases IT Sector Unemployment Dot-com: Internet-related start-up company Early 2000: stock prices of dot-coms fell sharply Hundreds of dot-coms went out of business Half a million high-tech jobs lost Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Foreign Workers in the US IT Industry Visas allow foreigners to work inside United States H-1B visa – Right to work up in United States to six years – Company must show no qualified Americans available – Congress still authorizes 65,000 H-1B visas per year, plus 20,000 more for foreigners with advanced degrees L-1 visa – Allows a company to transfer a worker from an overseas facility to the United States – Workers do not need to be paid the prevailing wage – In 2017 about 78,000 foreigners employed in US under L-1 visa Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Foreign Competition China is world’s number one producer of computer hardware, making 90 percent of all PCs IT outsourcing to India is growing rapidly Number of college students in China increasing rapidly A C M Collegiate Programming Contest provides evidence of global competition – No American team has placed first since 1997 – From 2011-2015, only 1 of 20 teams earning gold medals was from the United States Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10.5 The Digital Divide Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Concept of the Digital Divide Digital divide: Some people have access to modern information technology while others do not Underlying assumption: people with access to telephones, computers, Internet have opportunities denied to those without access Concept of digital divide became popular with emergence of World Wide Web Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Evidence of the Digital Divide Global divide – Access higher in wealthy countries – Access higher where IT infrastructure good – Access higher where literacy higher – Access higher in English-speaking countries – Access higher where it is culturally valued Social divide – Access higher for young people – Access higher for well-educated people Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Evidence of Global Divide Percentage of people with Internet access, by world region. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Models of Technological Diffusion Technological diffusion: rate at which a new technology is assimilated – Group A: highest socioeconomic status – Group B: middle socioeconomic status – Group C: lowest socioeconomic status Normalization model – Group A adopts first, then Group B, finally Group C – Eventually A use = B use = C use Stratification model – Group A adopts first, then Group B, finally Group C – A use > B use > C use forever Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Two Models for Technological Diffusion In both models the most advantaged group A is the first to adopt a new technology, while the least advantaged group C is the last to adopt it. (a) In the normalization model, the technology is eventually embraced by nearly everyone in all groups. (b) In the stratification model, the eventual adoption of the technology is lower for less advantaged groups. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Technological Optimists v Pessimists ersus Technological optimists – Global adoption of information technology will follow normalization model – IT will reduce poverty in developing countries – Greater opportunities elsewhere will reduce immigration into US Technological pessimists – Adoption of IT will follow the stratification model, leading to a permanent condition of “haves” and “have nots” – IT will exacerbate existing inequalities between rich and poor countries and between rich and poor people within each nation – Evidence: Gap between rich and poor countries continues to grow Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved  Critiques of Digital Divide Mark Warschauer: 3 reasons why term “digital divide” not helpful – Promotes false idea that difference between “haves” and “have nots” is simply matter of access – In reality, people are somewhere on continuum, not simply in “haves” category or “have nots” category – Does lack of access lead to a less advantaged position in society, or is it actually the other way round? Warschauer also notes that the Internet is not the pinnacle of IT development Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Massive Open Online Courses Rate of tuition increases at US universities has exceeded inflation for several decades Financing college education increasingly difficult for poorer families Free massive open online courses (MOOCs) promoted as a way to make higher education more affordable Study by Community College Research Center – Students less likely to complete and do well in M O O Cs than traditional courses – M O O Cs widen achievement gap between white and black students and between those with higher G P As and those with lower G P As Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Net Neutrality (1 of 2) Tiered service: Charging more for high-priority routing of Internet packets Supporters of tiered service say it is needed to support Voice-over-IP and other services Opponents to tiered service (e.g., Google, Yahoo!) say it would hurt small start-up companies and lower innovation Other critics believe companies controlling Internet might favor some content over other content Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Net Neutrality (2 of 2) Net neutrality legislation would require all Internet packets be treated the same Opponents of proposed legislation say consumers should be able to pay more to get higher quality service; e.g., those doing video conferencing willing to pay more than those sending email February 2015: Under President Obama, FCC issued the Open Internet Order to preserve net neutrality December 2017: Under President Trump, FCC changed course and repealed net neutrality rules; some states introducing legislation to preserve rules Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved 10.6 The “Winner-Take-All” Society Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved The Winner-Take-All Phenomenon Winner-take-all: markets in which a few top performers have disproportionate share of wealth Causes – IT and efficient transportation systems – Network economies – Dominance of English language – Changing business norms Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved CEO Pay v Production Worker Pay ersus In 1980 the average pay for a CEO at a large American company was about 40 times the pay of a production worker. By 2003 the ratio had risen to about 400 to 1. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Winner-Take-All Effect in Professional Sports P G A Tour Statistics, 2016-17 Season Metric Dustin Johnson Justin Rose Miguel Angel Carballo Driving distance (yards) 315 301 288 Driving accuracy (%) 57.0 58.3 63.6 Greens in regulation (%) 69.5 68.1 64.9 Putts per green in 1.76 1.77 1.80 regulation Winnings per tournament entered $436,610 $235,850 $8,483 Comparison of personal statistics of P GA Tour professionals Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, and Miguel Angel Carballo for the 2016-17 season. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Reducing Winner-Take-All Effects Limit number of hours that stores remain open Businesses form cooperative agreements to reduce positional arms races – Example: salary caps on pro sports teams More progressive tax structures Campaign finance reform Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Summary Automation – Results in job gains as well as job losses – Widespread unemployment has not occurred in countries where it is used the most – Will developments in AI change pattern and result in massive job losses? Productivity has more than doubled since World War II – Standard work week roughly the same – Has led to an increase in standard of living Globalization has impacted the IT sphere, not just manufacturing Concept of “digital divide” dividing world into technological “haves” and “have nots” is too simplistic IT and other factors are causing “winner-take-all” effects Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Copyright This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work and materials from it should never be made available to students except by instructors using the accompanying text in their classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials. Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved