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Chapter 9: Business Ethics and Technology: 9.2 Technology and the Technological Environment
Book Title: Business & Society: Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management
Printed By: AISA JANNAH ALAWIYA BANSAO (2017836791@feu.edu.ph)
© 2018 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

9.2 Technology and the Technological Environment

Technology means many things to many people. In this chapter, technology (The totality of
the means employed to provide objects necessary for human sustenance and comfort.) will
refer to the “totality of the means employed to provide objects necessary for human
sustenance and comfort.” It is also seen as a scientific method used in achieving a
practical purpose. Technology refers to all the ways people use or apply their inventions,
discoveries, data, and information to satisfy their needs and desires. Taken together, these
technological advances have made work easier and more productive. But, technology
has also introduced new challenges, many of them social or ethical in nature.

In Chapter 1, we discussed the macroenvironment of business and how this total

environment was composed of several significant and interrelated segments such as the
social, economic, political, and technological. The technological environment (The total
set of technology-based advancements or progress taking place in society.) , our current
topic of concern, represents the total set of technology-based advancements or progress
taking place in society. Pertinent aspects of this segment include new products, processes,
materials, states of knowledge, and scientific advancements in both theoretical and applied
senses. The rate of change and complexity of the technological environment have made it
of special interest to business today. In the exploding information technology realm and the
burgeoning field of biotechnology, the shape of how we are living, what products we are
using, and what processes we are being exposed to is changing at an accelerating pace.

Ethics In Practice Case

Twitter Ethics in Business

Twitter is one of the most frequently used social media. It may be because it is so
easy and fast to use. Maybe it’s because tweets are so brief. Knocking out a few
tweets does not take much time or thought.

Twitter has been used for a number of nefarious and malicious uses. Though most
people who tweet do it responsibly, there are thousands of misleading, deceptive,
criminal, or maligned tweets that go out daily. Though young people use social
media more than anyone, Twitter has caught on in business too. Many business
people, especially entertainment and sports personalities, use Twitter extensively.
Regular business people and employees use Twitter also—often to promote a
product or a cause their employer wants to rally support for. Public relations
business people use Twitter often and they are business people who ought to
subscribe to some form of ethical behavior.

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Angela Dwyer has suggested that there are at least four categories of tweeters and
they all face ethical challenges. First, there are Paid Tweeters. Sometimes these are
celebrities or sports stars that are paid by companies to tweet as a form of
advertising. They typically do not disclose that they are being paid to tweet. The
FTC has said that celebrities in this category should disclose their relationships with
advertisers when making endorsements but it is hard to enforce.

Second, there are Company Tweeters. These individuals write reviews or tweets
about promotional offers for their own companies. Some company tweeters are
enthusiastic about their own companies and products and want the world to know.
Others are tweeting because their boss has asked them to do so or they want to be
viewed favorably come raise and promotion time.

Third, there are Out-of-Context Tweeters. Sometimes while attending events, these
tweeters tweet hurried reactions or impressions that contain unverified or false
information. Or, they do not present the context in which something was said or
done. In other words, they do not provide the big picture. Tweets such as this have
the potential to misinform or distort. To make matters worse, they are often
retweeted before fuller or more accurate information is given.

Fourth, there are Ghost-Tweeters. When someone is paid to write tweets on behalf
of someone else, the ghostwriter, or Ghost-Tweeter may put out information without
any confidence about whether the information is factual or accurate. Politicians,
executives, sports stars, and other highly placed business people may use Ghost-
Tweeters who are simply following a script without knowing for sure of the accuracy
of its information.

In short, there are many opportunities and ways by which social media such as
Twitter may be abused, misused, or be implicated in questionable practices by
businesses and business people.

1. Are these forms of tweeting ethical? How do you draw the fine line between
ethical and unethical in each of these categories of tweeting? Which category
faces the most ethical challenges in business?

2. Are there other categories of tweeters you can think of? Do they face ethical
challenges?

3. Some people may say “hey, don’t sweat it, it’s only a tweet! You need to be on
guard yourself!" Is this a reasonable response to business use of Twitter or
other social media? Who cares?!

4. Are there other forms of social media that business uses that are more
ethically challenging than Twitter? Describe them.

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5. Should companies that use Twitter have a code of conduct for guidance in
what represents ethical tweets? What key ethical principles should guide the
use of Twitter?

Sources: “Twitter is Your Window to the World,” Twitter.com, https://about.twitter.com/; Charlie Warzel,
“Scientists May Have Figured Out Twitter Ethics,” BuzzFeed News,
http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/scientists-may-have-figured-out-twitter-ethics#.saA4r2dnN;
Angela Dwyer, “Twethics”: A Brief Analysis of Twitter Ethics in Public Relations, Commpro,
http://www.commpro.biz/pr-roi/twethics-a-brief-analysis-of-twitter-ethics-in-public-relations/. Accessed
April 24, 2016; The Establishment, “The Dubious Ethics of Twitter Mining,”
http://www.theestablishment.co/2015/11/04/the-dubious-ethics-of-twitter-mining/. Accessed April 24,
2016.

Chapter 9: Business Ethics and Technology: 9.2 Technology and the Technological Environment
Book Title: Business & Society: Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management
Printed By: AISA JANNAH ALAWIYA BANSAO (2017836791@feu.edu.ph)
© 2018 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

© 2019 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any means -
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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