Reference no: EM133991339
Assignment:
Ethical Dilemma
Tell-All Websites
"Arrogant, condescending, mean-spirited, hateful . . . and those traits describe the nicest people at Netflix," writes one anonymous employee.130 "Management is awful . . . good old boys club," writes a Coca-Cola market development manager. And the reviews keep rolling in; Coca-Cola has 1600 employee reviews and some companies, like Google, have double that number on Glassdoor, one of the websites that allows employees to rate their employers.
Websites like Glassdoor are thriving; employees increasingly join the forums and seem to relish the chance to speak freely. Ryan Janssen, former CEO of Memo (an app that allowed users to talk honestly about work), said that apps such as Whisper give bosses access to candid feedback they can't get otherwise. "The employee's natural reaction [when managers ask for feedback directly] is to tell you what you want to hear," he said. There is certainly truth to this-studies indicate that employees "put on a happy face" for their bosses. When people know their posts are not anonymous, "people put on this weird, fake professional face," Janssen added.
Organizations are aware that employees watch what they say when they can be identified, and many have used anonymous job attitude surveys for this reason. Still, evaluations from these surveys are often more glowing, and less detailed, than anonymous website feedback. Some organizations have therefore altered the frequency and scope of surveys to obtain more depth. Others have their own intranet platforms to solicit concerns and complaints.
Beyond the personally unethical aspect of posting scathing denouncements about people or organizations online-sharing details with the world that you would not share in person-issues of organizational ethics come into play. While some companies try to discourage employees from anonymously venting on websites and apps, such mandates may violate the employees' right to free speech. And how anonymous are anonymous posts? Posts on Glassdoor and other forums eliminate a person's name, but can't bosses sometimes determine which subordinate posted the comments? Managers everywhere need to decide how much management sleuthing is ethical, and what consequences, if any, can be forced on subordinates for anonymous posts.
Questions
- Do you think employees have a right to say what they want to about their organizations online, as opposed to in private?
- How would you react if you learned one of your employees posted unflattering comments about you as a manager? Would your reaction be any different if the employee posted unflattering comments about you as a person?
- Do you feel it is acceptable to post comments anonymously, or do you think people should include their names? Why or why not?