Because of the current technological progress, there are many cyber practices that may not show due moral regard for stakeholders and lead to the problems of low respect and the inabilities to gain the required autonomy. The cases of plagiarism, expensive writing services, and even the intentions to provide high-quality work may be identified as anti-moral practices that have to be banned online. Among a variety of morally doubtful situations, I think that the idea of monitoring the Internet usage and employee email remains to be a well-known cyber practice that cannot show due moral regard for a stakeholder and does influence employees’ attitudes to work and the quality of performance.
To comprehend why the chosen practice does not show due to moral regard, it is necessary to comprehend what it actually means. In the source, it is mentioned that a cyber practice is
morally acceptable only if all reasonable, conscientious stakeholders can agree, on the basis of perspective-sensitive good reasons, that CP and its foreseeable consequences are consistent with due moral regard for each stakeholder’s autonomous pursuit of legitimate values, and dependent satisfaction of needs. (Chapter Seven, p. 6).
Besides, such issues as respect and autonomy have to be considered as well.
As soon as the possibility to monitor employee email takes place, many organizations accept this idea as a chance to improve the quality of work, remove all possible distractive sources, and gain a kind of new power over workers. For some period of time, the information about such possibilities was not available to people. Employees did not know that their corporate mail and Internet usage could be monitored. Such situations show how the idea of respect for human beings can be neglected.
There is no respect for privacy and personal communication. There is no moral autonomy for employees. Such cyber practice cannot be even called as the practice that predetermines the level of dependence. Employees lose their rights to privacy. Still, at the same time, employees are not deprived of their rights to use the Internet or corporate mail for private purposes. They just have to understand that this kind of information can be available to other representatives of the company.
There is also a serious dilemma concerning this cyber practice. Employees may be informed about the possibility of monitoring their online activities and agree with this practice. All they have to do is to understand that their work is not the place to solve personal problems and develop personal communications. Such monitoring can be used as a means to increase productivity and improve the quality of work.
Unfortunately, the cases of secret monitoring of employee online activities still take place. In such situations, the concept of due moral regard does not work because such factors as respect, autonomy, and opportunities are neglected. People have to understand and use their rights at home and in the workplace. If there is no respect and autonomy while taking a cyber practice, a number of questions take place about the importance of such practices, their worth, and the possibilities to improve situations in other ways. The technological progress is an impressive achievement that should not lead to the diminishment of human rights and personal freedoms. Even those people, who support and use the idea of monitoring someone’s emails, should realize that one day, his/her personal email can be monitored, and all private information may disappear.
Work Cited
Chapter Seven: Dialogically Responsible Cyberethics. n.d. 1-6. Web.