Assume It is the year 2020, and drones are everywhere. Amazon’s octocopters fina
ID: 424788 • Letter: A
Question
Assume It is the year 2020, and drones are everywhere. Amazon’s octocopters finally deliver packages in most major cities within 30 minutes without knocking down pedestrians; and college students everywhere welcome late-night nachos from Taco Bell Tacocopters.
Indoor drones are still in the pioneering phase—backyard enthusiasts are building tiny versions, but no large-scale commercial efforts have been put toward indoor utility drones. That’s all about to change. You work for a multinational technology corporation on a sprawling, 25-acre headquarters campus, with offices in 2 million square feet of interior space in one large building and four additional smaller (but still large) buildings. The official Head of Interior Spaces is your boss; you’re the leader of the Consideration of New Things team.
In a meeting with your team, your boss says, “I’ve just heard from my friend at Right To Drones Too (R2D2) that his group has perfected their inside drone. It’s small and light but can carry up to 10 pounds. It includes a camera, a speaker, and a recorder.” Your team expresses surprise; no one even knew an inside utility drone was under development, and governments worldwide are still haggling over regulations for drones. Your boss goes on enthusiastically, “I’ve seen the little drones, and I think you’ll be impressed—not only can they scoot across the quad, but they can fetch things off tables, grab me a latté, attend meetings for me, check over your shoulders to see what you’re working on … anything! They’re really accurate, agile, and super quiet, so you’ll barely even know they’re around.
My friend wants us to have the first 100 drones here for free, and he’s willing to send them over tomorrow! I figure we can hand them out randomly, although of course we’ll each have one.” You glance at your team members and are relieved to see doubt and hesitation on their faces. “Sounds, uh, great,” you reply. “But how about the team takes the afternoon to set the ground rules?”
How might the drones influence employee behavior?
Is it more or less likely that the use of the drones will cause employees to act ethically? Why?
Based on motivations and organizational structure considerations, which positions should get the drones initially? How can you justify your decision ethically?
What restrictions for use should these people be given, and what is the likely reaction of employees, both those who get drones and those who don’t, will react to this change?
How should the organization deal with sabotage or misuse of the drones? The value of a drone is $2,500.
Many organizations already use electronic monitoring of employees, including sifting through website usage, social media posts and e-mail correspondence as a condition of employment. Is it more or less likely employees would respond favorably to the drone surveillance than electronic monitoring of web or e-mail activity and WHY.
Explanation / Answer
How might the drones influence employee behavior?
Drones influence employee behavior both positively and negatively. Drones help the employees to behave ethically if they are currently under influence of any negative behavior. On the other hand, the hard work of employees might go unnoticed due to the usage of the drones.
Is it more or less likely that the use of the drones will cause employees to act ethically? Why?
It is more likely that the use of the drones will cause employees to act ethically. When the employee feels that there is ‘someone’ monitoring, then there is more likelihood that the employees behave ethically. The employees are under the compulsion to act ethically due to the monitoring of the drones.
Based on motivations and organizational structure considerations, which positions should get the drones initially? How can you justify your decision ethically?
The organization is in a 5-acre headquarters campus, with offices in 2 million square feet of interior space in one large building and four additional smaller (but still large) buildings. The organizational structure have one boss for the interior space. Hence, the teams working in the interior space should be given the first set of drones as there is less monitoring for them currently. The decision is based on ethical issues because the team members should not misuse any company asset for their personal use and lose out on productivity.
What restrictions for use should these people be given, and what is the likely reaction of employees, both those who get drones and those who don’t, will react to this change?
Restrictions should be on the break timings and internet usage. This is because the team members might compromise on productivity and spend more time on their breaks. Then, the internet might be used for their personal use such as downloading movies, apps, etc. This would cost heavily for the company. The employee might resist to this change because they lose their freedom to do their personal things. People who don’t get the drones might think they are a better part of the business as they are not provided the drones.
How should the organization deal with sabotage or misuse of the drones? The value of a drone is $2,500.
The sabotage or misuse should be added to their salary. The net salary should be given to the employees after deducting the $2500 that costs a drone.
Many organizations already use electronic monitoring of employees, including sifting through website usage, social media posts and e-mail correspondence as a condition of employment. Is it more or less likely employees would respond favorably to the drone surveillance than electronic monitoring of web or e-mail activity and WHY.
Employees would more likely to respond favorably to the drone surveillance than electronic monitoring of web or e-mail activity because they feel that ‘someone’ is actually behind them watching what they are doing. This feeling would make them more likely to respond favorably to the drone surveillance.
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