The main goal of a business is to generate profits, which is achieved through hiring high-performing employees. Companies that adhere to high ethical standards are more successful financially when compared to those that do not do this. According to Nazerian (2018), the “tech industry is “grappling” with recognizing its social responsibility, she says, and the impact of what it builds” (para. 4). Ethics, however, are not generally considered when thinking about tech companies and IT businesses. For example, Meta is a corporation that owns some of the biggest social media networks known today – Instagram and Facebook. Meta had a profit of almost 30 billion dollars in 2019, yet Nazerian (2018) notes that this business is known for prioritizing profits over its customers and ethical values. Thus, Meta is not a company that upholds high ethical standards and has been accused of using the user’s data unauthorized for commercial purposes. Still, this is a very successful business that is performing well financially.
Another example is Google, the financial performance of which is also exceptional. According to Stolzoff (2018), this company has brought Standford a revenue of $300 for a patent that the owners of Google created while studying at this University. Hence, Google is also an example of an organization that performs well financially. Unlike Meta, it has not been involved in major ethical scandals. Stolzoff (2018) notes that ethics is usually promoted on campuses where activism is celebrated, but in workplaces of corporations, the situation is different. Some companies, such as Google, try to uphold these ethical values while others do not. In both cases, the tech industry is a field where both can make substantial profits. However, the situation is changing, and Meta has faced lawsuits and controversies that damaged the public image of this brand. These implications suggest that in the future, tech businesses will value ethics more, and companies that uphold high moral standards will be successful, unlike those that do not.
References
Nazerian, T. (2018). New competition wants to bring ethics to undergraduate computer science classrooms. EdSurge. Web.
Stolzoff, S. (2018). Are Universities training socially minded programmers? The Atlantic. Web.