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The Workplace on the Verge of the 21st Century

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Abstract

Almost exactly ten years ago, the now extinct U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) released a major report -- The Electronic Supervisor: New Technology, New Tensions. This report describes a number of new technologies available to management in its ongoing search to ensure that labour performs its required job to management's rigid specifications. Social issues raised with respect to electronic monitoring included privacy, fairness, quality of working life, and stress-related illnesses. The study was also concerned with drug testing, genetic screening, polygraph testing, as well as a variety of technologies for eavesdropping and monitoring. It seems to be appropriate to evaluate the analyses and recommendations made in the report and to extend the evaluation to current technologies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4, E-mail

    Richard S. Rosenberg

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  1. Richard S. Rosenberg
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Rosenberg, R.S. The Workplace on the Verge of the 21st Century. Journal of Business Ethics 22, 3–14 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006133732667

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