Lecture Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy (14/e): Chapter 12 - Anne Lawrence, James Weber

Chapter 12 - Technology, organizations, and society. The goals of this chapter are: Defining technology and its characteristics, recognizing the evolving phases of technology throughout history and what fuels technological innovation today, examining how technological innovations have changed the way organizations operate and interact with their stakeholders around the world,...

Chapter 12 Technology, Organizations, and Society McGraw­Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Ch 12: Key Learning Objectives       Defining technology and its characteristics Recognizing the evolving phases of technology throughout history and what fuels technological innovation today Examining how technological innovations have changed the way organizations operate and interact with their stakeholders around the world Analyzing the emerging social networking phenomenon— texting, instant messaging, tweets, blogs, vlogs, spam, and phishing—and the challenges they create for businesses and government policymakers Recognizing socially beneficial uses of technology in education and medicine Evaluating recent efforts to address and narrow the digital divide 12­2 Technology Defined  Technology – A broad term referring to the practical applications of science and knowledge to commercial and organizational activities  Change is the dominant feature of technology • Sometimes the pace of change is so fast and furious that it approaches the limits of human tolerance and people lose their ability to cope with it successfully  Technology’s effects are widespread • Ripples through society until every community is affected  Technology is self-reinforcing • Acts as a multiplier to encourage its own faster development 12­3 Figure 12.1 Phases in the Development of Technology 12­4 Fueling Technological Growth  Government:  Government investment has helped launch many new technologies, including the Internet, and these trends continue  In 2012, President Obama unveiled his Big Data R&D Initiative and committed more than $200 million in new funding to “improve our ability to extract knowledge and insights from large and complex collections of digital data”  Private investment:  Venture capitalists are investors who provide capital to start-up companies that not have access to public funding  They have long targeted technological innovation, with the aim of making outsized returns 12­5 Fueling Technological Growth  Business investment:  Business firms have invested directly in technology through their research and development (R & D) operations  These investments have often benefited the business, as well as produced innovations that have moved their industries forward  The combination of government, private investor, and business investment in technology has continued to drive innovation forward But, ultimately, technology continues to evolve because of people’s insatiable desire for it 12­6 Technology as a Powerful Force in Business  The Internet  One of the most visible and widely used technological innovations over the past decade has been the Internet  Springing to life in 1994, the Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels linking individuals and organizations  In 2008, China surpassed the United States with the most Internet users by country  While opportunities to use the Internet are growing quickly, some limitations have appeared, such as in China when the government attempted to convert all identification records to their digital database systems 12­7 Top 20 Internet Users by Figure 12.2 Country (2008)   12­8 Technology as a Powerful Force in Business  E-business  Consists of buying and selling goods and services between businesses, organizations, and individuals electronically via Internet-based systems  During the past few years, e-business revenue has increased at a faster pace than that of traditional, or non-electronic, business  One controversial area where e-business has made a significant impact is online gambling 12­9 Technology as a Powerful Force in Business  M-Commerce  Commerce conducted via mobile or cell phones, provides consumers with an electronic wallet when using their mobile phones  Given the significant increase in smartphone users, businesses have looked for ways to reach out to these potential customers • QR an abbreviation for “quick response,” consists of a square made up of black and white spaces that when read by a cell phone transmits information to the use 12­10 Social Networking – Tools and Threats  A system using technology to enable people to connect, explore interests, and share activities around the world  In 2011, 1.2 billion people worldwide used social networking sites at least once per month  Examples of the more popular social networking sites on the Internet include Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter  Each of these popular social networking Internet sites have their ethical challenges 12­11 Blogs and Vlogs  Blogs – web based journals or logs maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions, or accounts of events  156 million blogs counted by BlogPlus  Ethical questions about blogs emerged – For example, according to a Los Angeles Times report, thousands of bloggers were being paid by marketing firms to promote or attack various products on the market  New generation of blogs, called vlogs, or video Web logs appeared in mid-2000’s  All that was needed was access to a digital camera that could capture moving images and high-speed Internet access 12­12 Threats from Technology – Spam and Unsolicited Commercial E-mail  Spam refers to unsolicited commercial e-mails (UCE or junk e-mails) sent in bulk to valid e-mail accounts  Has become big business and big headache for business  Organizations and individuals have adopted use of spam blockers, but sometimes difficult to sort out bad emails  Government has attempted to monitor, control and prosecute spammers using Internet for illegal activity  U.K and the U.S have anti-spam legislation 12­13 Threats from Technology – Phishing  Practice of duping computer users into revealing their passwords or other private data under false pretenses  The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a U.S industry association, reported in 2012 that 39 percent of the world’s personal computers were infected with some type of malware  In 2012, fifteen companies, including e-mail service providers (Google, Microsoft, and AOL) and financial service companies (Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, and PayPal), created DMARC.org (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) to promote a standard set of technologies intended to lead to more secure e-mail 12­14 Threats from Technology – Government Censorship of the Internet  Many people believe that information on the Internet should be universally accessible Some people believe that restrictions should be placed on some categories of information  Some countries have imposed censorship on broad categories of online information • The Chinese government operates one of the most sophisticated systems of Internet censorship in the world • It requires all China-based Web sites and blogs to register with the government and blocks access to many kinds of information, including material critical of the government 12­15 Socially Beneficial Uses of Technology  Technology and Education  Enables students in poor and remote communities to access the world’s best libraries, instructors, and courses available through the Internet  Medical Information via the Internet  The abundance of medical information available on the Internet was welcomed by medical practitioners and the public in general • Some warned that this easily available information might create a group of cyberchondriacs, a term referring to people who leap to the most dreadful conclusions while researching health matters online  Another emerging issue focused on digital medical records, or how a patient’s medical records should be stored and linked to other health care providers 12­16 Special Issue: The Digital Divide  Gap between those that have technology and those that not  Recently, some evidence has suggested that the digital divide in the United States is becoming smaller  Progress in narrowing the digital divide in developing countries has been slower, but still evident  Researchers found that the world was becoming more “hyperconnected,” fostering greater global trade and interpersonal communications online 12­17 ... systems 12 7 Top 20 Internet Users by Figure 12. 2 Country (2008)   12 8 Technology as a Powerful Force in Business  E -business  Consists of buying and selling goods and services between businesses,... moving images and high-speed Internet access 12 12 Threats from Technology – Spam and Unsolicited Commercial E-mail  Spam refers to unsolicited commercial e-mails (UCE or junk e-mails) sent in... organizations, and individuals electronically via Internet-based systems  During the past few years, e -business revenue has increased at a faster pace than that of traditional, or non-electronic, business