Information Technologies

Web 2.0 is a loose collection of information technologies and applications, and of the web sites that use them (Rainer & Turban, 2009, ch.5, pg.146). Information technologies and application of Web 2.0 are AJAX, tagging, blogs, podcasting, wikis, videocasting and Really Simple Syndication. Examples of Web 2.0 are social networks, multimedia sharing sites, and Wikipedia. Examples of social networks are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Examples of multimedia sharing sites are YouTube and FlickrThe moral issues faced by Huffman Organization are equipment and labor issues. Huffman Trucking has encountered a situation where fuel costs are rising, and the company are trying to find ways to improve fuel efficiency. The company has found two tools that could help fuel efficiency and that is installing electronic on-board recorders and global protection systems. These tools will help with monitoring truck performance, idle time, fuel mileage and other performance data such as exceeding the speed limit. The equipment issue is a moral issue because these tools could cause controversy within the company from the drivers. This issue could affect the drivers in how they perform. They feel if they were to exceed the speed limit then the data and technology could be used in the disciplinary process of drivers.

Another moral issue is the use of prior driving records. The company has to maintain and use driving records when dealing with employees who have violated safety rules and suspended or discharged because of an accident in order to comply with the new Federal regulations. This issue is a moral issue because managers and supervisors feel that they should be allowed to use past driving records to make disciplinary decisions. However, employees are allowed to file grievances with the company because the company's contract does not allow the company to use past driving records for disciplinary reasons.

The last moral issue is suspension and discharge in the grievance process. This issue has been a problem for the managers and supervisors because an employee can still work while he is in the grievance process whether it is due to suspension or discharge. The managers and supervisors feel that by the employee being at the job affects the morale with other employees. However, the employee feels they have the right to be there because they are in the grievance process and deserves to be paid until discharge or suspension is finalized.