4.3 – Discussion: Ethics in Practice Directions: For the situation below, determine the facts and… 1 answer below »
4.3 – Discussion: Ethics in Practice
Directions: For the situation below, determine the facts and assumptions, the major overriding issues or problems, sub-issues and related issues that may need consideration, the stakeholders, do a CSR analysis, an evaluation and a recommendation. Then answer the questions to this situation based on this analysis. Interact with other students by responding to their postings.Ethics in Practice Discussion. – Bosses Watching Employees: Are You Safe on Social Networking Sites? p. 283
Bosses Watching Employees: Are You Safe on Social Networking Sites? Employees today should understand they are being watched—very carefully, in many instances. With the growth in the use of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, some employees may begin to wonder what freedoms they actually have while using these sites on their own time. A case that has been developing in a federal court in New Jersey chronicles what can possibly happen. In this case, managers are pitted against two employees who were caught complaining about their work while signed on to their MySpace accounts, a social networking site. The case in point tests the question of whether a manager, who managed to log on to the discussion forum, and later fired the employees who were badmouthing managers and customers, had the right to do so. The general question is whether employees have a right to privacy in their nonwork lives and in their communications with one another while they are off work. The law is somewhat foggy. In most states, employers do not need a reason to fire nonunion workers. However, some states, such as California, New York, and Connecticut, have laws that protect employees from discharge or dismissal while they are engaging in lawful, off-duty activities. One lawyer observed that private conversations might be covered under these statutes, but none of them specifically address social networking or blogging.
1. Do employees have a right to free speech while not at work? Do they have a right to not be monitored by their employers when they are“off the job”? Is this an ethical issue as well as a legal issue?
2. Should employees have the right to criticize their employer and managers on a social networking site? Are they violating any ethical duties they owe their employers?
3. Assuming the managers came across an incident such as that described, what actions, if any, should they take? What ethical principles should guide their actions?
