Ethical implications of RFIDs in the workplace

Discuss about the Ethical implications of RFIDs in the workplace.

Introduction:

In the current times the technology of RFID is much in vogue. This is a technology that is being used by the managements of different companies to keep a tab or a control over the activities of the employees when they are at their workstation in their offices. This is a technology that helps the company management to learn the kind of work the employee happens to be doing at the time of his duty hours. This technology helps the management to learn that whether the employee is actually working when he is at his station and is over his computer or is he doing some other types of work that are personal. This is a technology that is often used without any intimation to the employees and is often not preferred by the employees of the organization (Atlasrfidstore, 2013).

Body:

Identify 4 main stakeholders and briefly discuss how they are affected:

The four main stakeholders who are involved in this entire affair shall be the employees of the company, the operations manager who has proposed to implement this particular technology, the technology department who shall be assisting the implementation of the entire project and also the HR team of the company who shall be having a full idea of the process that is being put to use,. The employees shall be the people who are being kept in the darkness and might have certain reservations against the implementation of the entire project. The operations manager is the person who is advocating the use of the process. This could affect his relationship with the other employees. The technical team shall get a good opportunity to exercise their knowledge and expertise and the HR too shall breach the trust of the employees and hence their reputation too can get affected (Dietrich, 2006).

Analyse the case based on the four dimensions of the PAPA framework (Mason 1986), and discuss problems that could arise in each of the four dimensions:

Privacy:

The basic problem that can arise out here is that of breach of trust of the employees. The employees might consider the act of the management as an act of mistrust towards them. Employees often feel that imposition of the technology of RFID is simply a process of curbing the independence of the employees. This can often result into a decrease in the enthusiasm and the motivation level of the employees. The concern that whether the information shall be kept discreet or not or whether information shall remain none named or not is the issues that can take up a lot of attention and time of the employees. This can affect their productivity (Papa, 2014).

Accuracy:

Often the formation that is derived from the technology of RFID is in correct and not accurate. This can happen since technology always has flaws in their design. Often temporary change of work station happens that can lead to assimilation of incorrect data. This means that the policies that shall be made on the basis of this incorrect data shall also not be a pertinent one. It can be met with a lot of resistance from the employees who might feel that they have been wronged. In such a context of the productivity of the entire company can go down. This is a process that shall also later ask for accountabilityissues.

Property:

The use of the technology of RFID has often been considered to be not just incorrect but also unethical. Often it has been found that the information that is shared through the system of RFID turns out to be of no use for the company and its operations. In this context we see that often the information that is shared with the company happens to be a personal one of the employee. This can cause damage to the reputation and also the sentiments of the employee.

Accessibility:

RFID is a technology that can create havoc in case the information goes to somebody who is not supposed to have an access to such information. Hence the issue of accessibility can become a huge problem for the company, Hence who is using the information and getting an access to the information gamut can become one of the biggest problems for not just the employees but also the company as an entity (Rfidvirus, 2006).

Recommendation:

In this part of the discussion we shall make certain recommendations that if implemented can bring about a large number of benefits to the employees and also the employers in case a policy of RFID is implemented. These recommendations can help to make the work of the Operations manager JJ much easier and well founded

The employees of the company can be intimated about the entire process of RFID that is to be implemented in the company. This is a step that shall help the company management to retain the trusts and the faith of their workforce.

The nature and the accuracy of the information that is being collected from the system has to be double checked so that it is seen that the policies made on the basis of these information happens to be accurate and just.

The process of collection of the information and also the process of formation of the new policies based on the nature of the information collected and also the benefits of the same for the employees is to be clearly explained by the management of the company, a dedicated team can also be hired for the same task. This design can help the company to manage the employees better.

The management of the company must ensure that the employees are communicated regarding the policy of maintenance of discretion of the information as received through RFID. This can give respite to a large number of employees.

Conclusion:

The program of RFID is a very sensitive one and can hamper the employee and the employer relation. Hence the implementers need to be very careful about it. This is a process that can help the management to discern the dedicated and promising workers from the deadwood of the company. It is a process that if well handled and implemented can create a motivation amongst the employees to work harder as they shall be assured that their hard work would not evade the attention of the senior managers of the company.

References:

Atlasrfidstore, 2013. How is RFID Used in Real World Applications? [Online] Available at: http://atlasrfidstore.com/what-is-rfid-used-for-in-applications [Accessed 19 October 2016].

Dietrich, R., 2006. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in Clinical Material Supply Chain. [Online] Available at: https://pharmdev.info/fileadmin/medien/Download-Bereich/PharmDev_Dokumente/Publikationen_und_Vortraege/RFID_PharmInd_01-2006_16712.pdf [Accessed 19 October 2016].

Papa, R., 2014. Media Rich Instruction: Connecting Curriculum To All Learners. [Online] Available at: https://books.google.co.in/books?id=3X8iBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=four+dimensions+of+the+PAPA+framework&source=bl&ots=WNrVhn5mgu&sig=dM9UEq8rEoNLreVrpvFALYRdDfg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgrrj1uefPAhXEL48KHZ0UBoQQ6AEIITAB#v=onepage&q=four%20dimensions%20 [Accessed 19 October 2016].

Rfidvirus, 2006. RFID Viruses and Worms. [Online] Available at: http://www.rfidvirus.org/ [Accessed 19 October 2016].

 

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