Business Ethics Driving on the Internet Express In an interesting video embedded

Question

Business Ethics

Driving on the Internet Express In an interesting video embedded here, the presenter, A.C. Markkula, Jr., a co-founder of Apple, takes the position that access to the internet is a privilege and not a right. To curb some of the abuses and harmful effects Markkula suggests (perhaps tongue in cheek or perhaps seriously?) a drivers’ license approach to the internet. In essence to obtain and maintain your ability to use the internet you would have to go through a process similar to obtaining and retaining your drivers’ license. What do you think of Markkula’s idea and why in your opinion would this work or not work? What are some of the ethical implications of such an approach?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-waD_EeJBo

Explanation / Answer

Personally speaking, I believe that the approach is a good attempt to curb any unethical practice of using the internet. I would like to cite my experience from my previous workplace. The organization installed software to monitor the usage of the internet by the employees. This software was used to identify if any employee sees Facebook or other internet entertainments during the work hours and also identifies if any movie has been downloaded. These activities lost the productive hours and incurred heavy cost. Initially, the company gave independence to the employees to use the internet to the best interest of the organization. However, there were misuse of the internet and this forced the management to install software to monitor the employees’ usage of the internet. Since the trust of the employees was lost, the management had to take this decision. This strategy worked well because the employees limited the usage of the internet for organizational purposes only. Similarly Markkula’s idea would work well to curb any abusive usage of the internet. The ethical implication is that the organization in order to protect the interest of the company might intrude upon the privacy of the employees. Since the act of monitoring the employees’ usage of the internet is a breach of the employees’ privacy, a written policy should be developed in the employee handbook. The policy should clearly state that the company has the right to monitor the internet usage and any violation might lead to severe disciplinary action. This strategy will help the company to protect both the management and the employees' interest.

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