Ethical Analysis of Digital Business Practices: A Moral Dilemma Report

This report delves into the ethical dilemma of professional workers being required to work beyond regular hours without compensation to meet organizational expectations in the digital business landscape. It examines the impact on various stakeholders, including companies, employees,...Read More

Running Head: MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
Analyzing the Impact of Digital Business: Moral Dilemma Analysis
Report
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1MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
Introduction
One of the main moral dilemmas faced by many professional workers is that they have to
work beyond their regular working hours without being paid for the extra hours in order to fulfil
the expectations of their organization as well as their work targets for each day. While sometimes
the employees work on their own, some of the employees are forced to work beyond shift hours
in order complete the targets set on them. In most of these cases, the company deliberately places
an enormous target on each of the employees on the hope of increased productivity and chance
of more revenue due to the same. Most of these organizations have the false notion that working
overtime actually increases the overall productivity of the employees. While this statement is
sometimes true, in almost all of these cases, the quality of work provided by the employees starts
to degrade fast that in turn negatively impacts the requirements of the clients. Furthermore, for
the extra efforts done by the employees, there are not sufficient remunerations or incentives even
though they consistently stay long hours to complete their duties.
In this report, the ethical dilemma regarding the working of professional workers beyond
working hours has been analyzed and discussed.
Ethical Decision Making Framework
An ethical decision making framework is often used when a choice or opinion is to be
determined during an ethical dilemma. For the chosen area of study, the following stakeholders
are associated with the ethical decision making framework as follows.
The Company / Organization – The company provides services to the clients that are
being prepared and delivered by the employees.

2MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
Professional Employees – The employees of the organization who are facing the ethical
dilemma discussed.
Table 1. Benefit-Harm Analysis
Framework IS Organization Professional
Employees
Clients of
company
Public/
Customers
IS profession
Benefits of this
action?
Increased
productivity and
profit
[Impact: Short-
term]
Increased
working hours
and
production,
decreased
quality of
work [Impact:
Medium-
term]
Instant service
[Impact: Short-
term]
More customer
oriented
service
[Impact: Short-
term]
Enhancement
of hardworking
skill [Impact:
Long-term]
Harm caused by
this action?
Poor quality
work, negative
feedback from
clients [Impact:
Long-term]
Health issues,
unwillingness
to work
[Impact:
Long-term]
Getting
cheated in
spite of timely
delivery of
service
[Impact: Long-
term]
Poor quality
service
received
[Impact: Short-
term]
Employee
depletion
[Impact: Long-
term]
Analysis report
IS Organization
Benefit: Due to overtime working by the employees, the overall productivity of the
organization increases significantly. According to Johnson (2017), this is a technique
that is now widely used by the most IS organizations in spite of growing discontent
among the employees. In order to increase the productivity, the companies have two
main options: either hire more human resources or make the existing employees work
overtime. However, hiring new employees will be very costly due to training costs and
wages. Hence, the organizations generally choose the second option.
Harm: Due to overtime duties, the quality of work presented by the employees
decreases significantly. As a result, in spite of providing prompt service to the clients,
generally negative feedbacks are received that highlight the poor quality of service
provided by the company.
Professional Employees

3MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
Benefit: With increased working hours, the persistence of the employees increases
significantly increases as well as their hardworking skills. If the employees can cope
with the pressure of overtime work, they will also be able to handle pressure situations
at office much more efficiently.
Harm: Kadushin and Harkness (2014) said that in spite of increased productivity, the
quality of work generally decreases significantly. Having to do overtime, the employees
generally try to finish the work as soon as possible without emphasizing on the quality
of work. Furthermore, if there are no extra payments for overtime work, the employees
get de-motivated and many of them provide poor quality work deliberately. The authors
have also mentioned that due to this particular issue, many of the employees face
severe health issues due to working overtime. Persistent health issues decrease the
overall work efficiency of the employees and have long term negative impacts.
Clients of company
Benefit: According to Kang, Matusik and Barclay (2017), if the employees are made to
work overtime, generally the clients receive instant and prompt service as promised by
the company itself.
Harm: The clients of the company book services for the best quality of work and for
that purpose, they pay high amounts of money. However, as mentioned previously, due
to overtime work, the employees’ performances fall significantly and as a result,
provide poor quality work. When the poor quality work is delivered to the clients, they
feel cheated to receive such quality even after paying so much money for the services.
Public/Customers
Benefit: Working of overtime by the employees means the service is much more
customer oriented i.e. the organization cares more about serving the requirements of
the customer rather than the needs and importance of the employees. Customer

4MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
oriented service is much essential for developing a proper business relationship
between the organization and the customers.
Harm: Too much orientation towards the customers harms the interests of the
employees. Furthermore, in spite of customer oriented service, the quality of work
delivered is very poor and hence, the customer satisfaction will decrease constantly
unless the desired quality of service is delivered. This is not possible if the employees
are constantly forced to work overtime.
IS profession
Benefit: Due to overtime work, the IS profession gains more efficient employees who
have much more hardworking skills and pressure management skills than other regular
employees. Furthermore, they are also able to develop new and shortcut methods to
provide a service that save a lot of time and resources.
Harm: However, according to Johnson (2017), not all employees are able to cope with
the extra work and often resign from their jobs. Also, the overtime work has some
negative impacts on the health of the employees and they are forced to leave their
work. As a result, employee depletion occurs in the organization and the IS profession
as whole.
Table 2. Analysis of Benefit, Harm and Contradiction when Universalized
Framework IS
Organization
Professiona
l Employees
Clients of
company
Public/
Customers
IS
profession
Benefits if
action is
universalized
Increase in
instant
revenue
[Impact: Short-
term]
Enhancemen
t of
professional
skills and
pressure
Increase
business
relationship
with
Fast delivery
of services
[Impact: Long-
term]
No actual
benefit

5MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
management
skills
[Impact:
Long-term]
company
[Impact:
Medium-
term]
Harm if action
is universalized
Loss of
employees in
large numbers
[Impact: Long-
term]
Severe
health
issues,
depression,
unwillingness
to work
[Impact:
Long-term]
Slow
degradation
of business
relationship
due to lack of
service
quality
[Impact:
Long-term
implied]
Poor quality
service
[Impact: Long-
term]
Loss of
employees
for the IS
organizations
[Impact:
Medium-
term]
Contradiction if
action is
universalized
Additional
payments for
overtime work,
additional
benefits like an
extra day off
Hard work
goes
unacknowled
ged
Seeking new
business
relationship
with other
companies
No
contradiction
No
contradiction
Analysis report
IS organization
Benefit: Due to extra hours working by the employees, the general profitability of the
organization increments altogether. As indicated by Kang, Matusik and Barclay (2017),
this is a system that is presently broadly utilized by the most IS organizations
regardless of developing discontent among the employees. Recruitment of extra
manpower instead of overtime work is an option but it is costly and none of the IS
organizations desire such expenses in order to maintain a sustainable profit.
Harm: Due to extra time obligations, the quality of work introduced by the employees
diminishes essentially. Accordingly, regardless of giving brief service to the customers,
for the most part negative inputs are gotten that feature the low quality of service

6MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
gave by the company. Since the quality of work delivered is very poor, the customer
satisfaction will decrease constantly unless the desired quality of service is delivered.
This is not possible if the employees are constantly forced to work overtime.
Contradiction: The organization may pay minimal benefits and incentives to the
employees for extra work.
Professional Employees
Benefit: With expanded working hours, the persistence of the employees increases
along with their pressure and work management skills. On the off chance that the
employees can adapt to the weight of extra hours work, they will likewise have the
capacity to deal with pressure circumstances at office significantly more productively.
Harm: Johnson (2017) said that notwithstanding expanded efficiency, the quality of
work by and large reductions fundamentally. Doing additional time, the employees by
and large endeavor to finish the work at the earliest opportunity without underscoring
on the quality of work. Moreover, if there are no additional payments or incentives for
extra hours work, the employees get tired and a large number of them give low quality
work purposely. The authors have accordingly specified that because of this particular
issue, a significant number of the employees confront serious medical problems
because of working extra time. Persistent medical problems diminish the general work
effectiveness of the employees and have long haul negative effects.
Contradiction: They will feel there work are going on unacknowledged and will also feel
demotivated.
Clients of company
Benefit: Employees are made to work overtime to satisfy the needs of the clients as
well as bring in more clients. Fast delivery of services is one of the main targets of any
IS organization that wants to develop customer oriented service.
Harm: The customers of the company book services for the best quality of work and for
that reason, they pay high amount of money. Notwithstanding, as said already,
because of additional time work, the employees' exhibitions fall fundamentally and
subsequently, give low quality work. At the point when the low quality work is
conveyed to the customers, they feel bamboozled to get such quality even subsequent
to paying such a great amount of cash for the services.

7MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
Contradiction: The clients of the company may seek new business relationships with
other organizations.
Public/Customer
Benefit: Working of additional time by the employees implies the service is
substantially more client situated i.e. the organization thinks more about serving the
prerequisites of the client as opposed to the requirements and significance of the
employees. Client oriented service is much basic for building up a legitimate business
connection between the organization and the clients.
Harm: Too much inclination towards the clients harms the interests of the employees.
Besides, disregarding client situated service, the quality of work conveyed is
exceptionally poor and henceforth, the consumer loyalty will diminish always unless
the coveted quality of service is conveyed. This is unrealistic if the employees are
always compelled to work extra hours.
Contradiction: No contradiction for this point.
IS profession
Benefit: Due to extra hours work, the IS calling acquires proficient employees who have
considerably more dedicated abilities and weight administration aptitudes than other
standard employees. Moreover, they are additionally ready to grow new and easy route
strategies to give a service that spare a considerable measure of time and resources.
Harm: However, as indicated by Riordan and Osterman (2016), not all employees can
adapt to the additional work and regularly leave from their occupations. Additionally,
the extra time work has some negative effects on the wellbeing of the employees and
they are compelled to leave their work. Accordingly, employee consumption happens in
the organization and the IS calling as entirety.
Contradiction: No contradiction for this point.
Table 3. Rights-based Analysis
Framework IS organization IS
profession
als
Clients of
company
Public/
Customers
IS profession

8MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
Used as means to
end, violating
their rights?
Violates right of
some employees
if the employees
disagree to work
overtime [Short-
term Implication]
Definitely
violates the
right of the
employees
[Long-term
Implication]
Violates the
trust of the
clients.[Short-
term
Implication]
Customers’
trusts are
violated. [Long-
term
Implication]
The value of a
profession is
violated [Long-
term
Implication]
Violating rights,
seen as unjust (to
powerless), action
taker has more
power?
Rights are
violated for the
benefit of the
organization
[Short-term
Implication]
Yes, more
power to the
action taker
results in
violation of
rights
without
counter
action
[Long-term
Implication]
Company
overpowers the
clients in terms
of delivery of
service
[Long-term
Implication]
Customers can
escalate the
issue if their
rights are
violated [Short-
term
Implication]
Company
violates the
rights
regardless, in
order to
increase profit
margin
[Long-term
Implication]
Analysis report
IS organization
The company will be able to address the ethical dilemma, yet will not approach to it since they are
unwilling to undertake additional expenses for more human resources (Johnson 2107). The IS
organizations, although are customer oriented, they should basically be called as profit oriented
(Riordan and Osterman 2016). The companies can take any measures for earning profit even if it
requires violation of the employees’ rights.
IS professionals
According to the examination of Johnson (2017), in spite of being enthusiastic about work, the IS
professionals may feel their rights are violated if they are made to perform extra work.
Furthermore, in most cases, additional payments are not even made and hence, the employees do
not feel interested to perform extra work.
Clients of company
In these cases, the trusts of the clients are strictly violated (Clarke and Boersma 2017).
The clients pay high amount of money expecting best quality services but instead
receive poor quality work.
Public/Customers
If the clients feel cheated by the company, they will form business relationship with some other
company (Johnson 2017). Thus the service and rights violating company will start losing customers.
IS profession
In this case, the value of profession is strictly disregarded (Riordan and Osterman
2016). Every work has a certain value and right that are not granted and moreover, the
extra work is not even acknowledged.

9MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
Conclusion
In this report, the ethical dilemma regarding the working of professional workers beyond
working hours has been analyzed and discussed. One of the main moral dilemmas faced by many
professional workers is that they have to work beyond their regular working hours without being
paid for the extra hours in order to fulfil the expectations of their organization as well as their
work targets for each day. In most of these cases, the company deliberately places an enormous
target on each of the employees on the hope of increased productivity and chance of more
revenue due to the same. If there are no extra payments for overtime work, the employees get de-
motivated and many of them provide poor quality work deliberately. The authors have also
mentioned that due to this particular issue, many of the employees face severe health issues due
to working overtime. Persistent health issues decrease the overall work efficiency of the
employees and have long term negative impacts.
Table 4. Summary of Analysis
Framework IS
organizatio
n
IS
professio
nals
Clients of
company
Public/
Customers
IS
professio
n
Ethical?
Benefits of
this action?
YES NO NO NO NO
Very
Unethical
Harm caused
by this
action?
YES YES YES YES NO
Benefits if
action is
universalized
YES NO MAYBE MAYBE YES
UnethicalHarm if
action is
universalized
MAYBE YES MAYBE MAYBE NO
Contradiction
if action is
universalized
MAYBE YES YES YES MAYBE
Used as YES YES YES YES YES Very

10MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
means to
end, violating
their rights?
Unethical
Violating
rights, seen
as unjust (to
powerless),
action taker
has more
power?
YES YES NO NO NO

11MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
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12MORAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
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