LECTURER: JOHN DOE

INTERCULTURAL AND ETHICAL

DECISION-MAKING
TOPIC OUTLINE

Basics of Intercultural and Ethical Competence 1

Cultural Concepts 2

Culture and Ethics 3

Current Topics in the Field of Interculturalism, Ethics, and Diversity 4

Intercultural Training and Work 5

Case Studies of Cultural and Ethical Conflicts 6

UNIT 4

CURRENT TOPICS IN THE FIELD OF INTER-

CULTURALISM, ETHICS, AND DIVERSITY
STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned…

- what is meant by the term “digital ethics”.

- about important questions that arise in the field of digital
ethics.
- what is meant be equal rights and equal status.
- the implications of social diversity in a company.
- the important aspects of social diversity that need to be
considered.
EXPLAIN SIMPLY

1. How can ethics and ethical behavior be applied to the digital

world?
Example: Autonomous vehicles…

2. What is the difference between active and passive diversity

management?

3. Explain the relationship between diversity in a company and

equal status/rights.
EXAMPLE: AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

You are a software engineer entrusted with programming the steering of

autonomous vehicles. It is also your responsibility to establish decision-
making rules on how to avoid impending accidents. For example, you have to
decide whether the vehicle, when faced with a collision, should either:

- turn left and run over an 8-year-old girl,

- turn right and kill an 80-year-old man, or
- continue straight, killing not only the driver of the vehicle but both
pedestrians and probably the other party involved in the accident as well.

Source of the text: Lin, 2016.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Digital ethics…
… is the competence to work critically,
reflectively, and ethically in the digital space
… is being discussed in different scientific
disciplines and has a multidisciplinary
nature
e.g., IT scholars are highly concerned with
topics such as data security, while
medical ethicist often deal with the
question of human dignity

Source of the text: Brown, 2014; Mahieu et al., 2019.

DIGITAL ETHICS

In order to categorize digital ethics further, Engin (2018) proposes

dividing digital ethics into three concepts:

Data ethics: justifiable Algorithm ethics: The design of Ethics of interactions:

and legally compliant algorithms must be ethically justifiable justifiable and legally
handling of personal and and legally compliant. This is compliant interactions
organizational data for important because algorithms are between people and
public or private use. increasingly taking over decision- algorithms.
making roles.

à One could conclude that digital ethics is primarily a problem of software development or a
technical problem. However, decision-making rules in programming are actually made by
humans.
Source of the image: PowerPoint Stock Images.
DIGITAL ETHICS

The ethical component cannot be separated from the individual. It is important to

understand that digital ethics relate to different, constantly changing areas of
technology. These are categorized into…

Predictive and
Artificial Intelligence Big Data Analytics
Behavioral Analytics

Blockchain
Internet of Things Technology Information Security
DIGITAL ETHICS

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

is the ability of computers to learn and make decisions without specific programming.
This can be done both by learning from existing data and by using existing knowledge
management systems.

Big Data Analytics

is the analysis of large amounts of data to identify patterns of behavior, correlations, and
user preferences. This raises fundamental questions about rights of data use.

Source of the text: Engin, 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Predictive and Behavioral Analytics

is closely related to big data analytics. Predictions of future behavior are made based on
previous behavior patterns. Predictive and behavioral analytics is fundamentally
oriented towards the behavior of the individual, but when combined with big data
analytics, it offers the potential for discriminatory acts against people with certain
characteristics, behavioral patterns, and group affiliations.

Source of the text: Engin, 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Internet of Things (IoT)

refers to the networking of devices tied to the internet, which can sometimes take place
without knowledge of owners and operators. This can lead to surveillance and the
development of movement profiles or even to virtual attacks.

Blockchain Technology
is basically the decentralized development of data sets. With the emergence of digital
currencies such as Bitcoin it gained popularity.

Source of the text: Engin, 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Information Security
deals with the accessibility of data for specific user groups and the conflict between
privacy protection and legitimate interest in the data. Here, it is important to balance
conflicting interests as effectively as possible, since the understandable protection of a
person’s privacy is frequently offset by the often-legitimate interests of certain
institutions.

Source of the text: Engin, 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

The mentioned technologies raise fundamental ethical questions that societies must
answer in order to come to terms with how we coexist in the digital age.
Six aspects fundamental to democratic societies are considered in the following:

Autonomy/ Power Human Law and

Privacy Security
Freedom Distribution Dignity Justice

Source of the text: Royakkers et al., 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Privacy
as well as its protection has numbers of elements to be considered
à Dilemma of the gain in comfort for internet-based network devices
(Amazon’s Alexa, etc.) or social media and the desire to protect private data,
behavioral patterns, personal preferences, and other sensitive information.

Source of the text: Royakkers et al., 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Autonomy/Freedom
refers to the free choice of individuals. This can be considerably restricted by
digitalization.
à When an algorithm makes the choice, then the person is no longer the one
who chooses the information (political influence and targeted marketing of
products and services)

Source of the text: Royakkers et al., 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Security
The issue of security also takes on different dimensions with regards to
digitalization. In addition to hacking into IT systems of companies and
individuals to steal data, these activities may also pose physical dangers.

Source of the text: Royakkers et al., 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Power Distribution
Digitalization has the potential to change the power balance between
consumers and producers / citizens and government. Internet based devices
raise dependency of the user on the devices’ software and on the manufacturer.
The manufacturer then has the opportunity to monitor the usage patterns of
customers.
- The cross-border exchange of income and tax data in the EU
- Possibilities for automatic registration of vehicle license plates
- Mobile phone data

Source of the text: Royakkers et al., 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Human Dignity
The increasing use of robotics has the potential to replace people in the labor
market, therefore leading to higher unemployment, and may dehumanize their
work. Ethical considerations on the part of individuals are limited by the fact
that digital systems determine the choice of alternatives.

Source of the text: Royakkers et al., 2018.

DIGITAL ETHICS

Law and Justice

The issues of law and justice must also be reconsidered in light of digitalization.
For example, biometric facial recognition methods have the potential to
categorize people according to certain characteristics. With the classification of
groups such as terrorists, protesters, religious fundamentalists, or
undocumented immigrants, the principle that a person is considered innocent
until proven guilty is reversed.

Source of the text: Royakkers et al., 2018.

EQUAL RIGHTS AND EQUAL STATUS

- Equal status = People must be able to develop freely without suffering

disadvantages due to their membership in certain groups
- The call for equal rights constitutes a societal demand to guarantee equality and
equal treatment for all members of society, regardless of adherence to specific
social groups
- The implementation of equal rights should therefore be achieved through equal
treatment and equal status. Equal treatment postulates that nobody can be
discriminated against on the basis of membership to a particular group
- Equal status goes beyond equal treatment. It regards equality as achieved when all
people can freely develop and pursue their goals and abilities regardless of
belonging to certain groups
- Equality includes positive discrimination, which refers to measures that aim to
promote minorities
Source of the text: Wichert & Winter, 2019; Reith et al., 2017.
EQUAL RIGHTS AND EQUAL STATUS

Equal Right and Equal Status in Germany

Germany has certainly come closer to the goal of equal rights. Yet, there is
considerable need for further action. Laws alone will probably not be able to fully
establish equal rights. Nevertheless, regulations on equality have an impact beyond
their legislative effect:

They help to raise awareness within society. In many companies and organizations today, employees are
trained to recognize and prevent discrimination. In addition, companies now frequently have contact
persons (e.g., equal opportunity officers) who advise the company on issues of equal opportunity and
who are available to help employees with their respective complaints.

The “Act on the Equal Participation

The “General Equal Treatment Act” of Women and Men in Management
To counteract pay discrimination, the
demands the prevention of Positions” obliges large
“Transparency in Wage Structures
discrimination as well as its corporations to maintain a gender
Act” was passed.
elimination. quota of 30 percent when filling
supervisory board positions.
Source of the text: Hucke, 2017.
SOCIAL DIVERSITY

The societal demand for equal rights calls for equal treatment and equal opportunity.
Organizations need to consider how to best take these claims into account. The
implementation of equal treatment and equal status in organizations is often
summarized under the term social diversity.

Diversity
Heterogeneity within a society or organization.

Value-based definition of diversity

indicates that an organization or a society recognizes diversity as positive and enriching.

Diversity should be viewed positively in economical terms:

à It is scientifically undisputed that international exchange, trade, and division of
labor generate prosperity
SOCIAL DIVERSITY

Diversity in Companies
From an economic point of view, diversity leads to greater company success and offers
further advantages, such as increased flexibility, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

There are two approaches to establish diversity in a company, which

should ideally be combined:
a more passive management of diversity, which aims to avoid discrimination
and ensure equal treatment for all groups

a more active management of diversity, which, in accordance with equal

opportunity initiatives, consciously strives for diversity and heterogeneity in
the company, thus providing for more effective and efficient operations

Source of the text: Becker, 2015.

SOCIAL DIVERSITY

Dimensions of Diversity
In order to make diversity manageable and measurable in companies, there are a
number of approaches to further differentiate dimensions of diversity.

The concept from the German Society for Diversity

Management distinguishes:
Tertiary dimensions
Primary dimensions Secondary
are characteristics
are directly linked to dimensions
that can describe and
the person and are also closely linked
differentiate the
typically cannot be to the person but are
person in the
changed variable
organization

Source of the text: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Diversity Management, 2019.

SOCIAL DIVERSITY

Dimensions of Diversity
Companies are faced with the question of how to design a diversity management
program. Therefore, the dimension of diversity must be differentiated into the
following six diversity dimensions:

Gender Age
National
origin Disability
Sexual
orientation Religion
REVIEW STUDY GOALS

You have learned…

- what is meant by the term “digital ethics”.

- about important questions that arise in the field of digital ethics.
- what is meant be equal rights and equal status.
- the implications of social diversity in a company.
- the important aspects of social diversity that need to be considered.
SESSION 4

TRANSFER TASK
TRANSFER TASK

1. Find out the Eight Principles software engineers shall adhere to

according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Computer Society (IEEE SC) and the Association of Computing
Machinery (ACM), and describe and present them in the plenary.
TRANSFER TASK
PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS

Please present your

results.
The results will be
discussed in
plenary.
LEARNING CONTROL QUESTIONS

1. The interpretation of ethically justifiable and legally

compliant algorithms is also known as ...?

a) Big Data ethics

b) Algorithm ethics
c) Interaction ethics
d) Ethics of digitalization
LEARNING CONTROL QUESTIONS

2. What is equal status?

a) the call for measures to promote strong social groups

b) the demand for social justice
c) the societal demand for gender equality
d) the demand that people be able to grow freely without
suffering disadvantages due to their membership in
certain groups
LEARNING CONTROL QUESTIONS

3. What is the essential element of the value-based definition

of diversity?
a) Diversity is seen as positive and enriching.
b) Diversity is seen as difficult and enriching.
c) Diversity is seen as positive and is recognized as an
implementation problem.
d) Diversity tends to be seen as a major problem and is therefore
not really pursued.
LIST OF SOURCES

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Anand, R. (2016). Sodexo study: Gender-balanced teams linked to better business per- formance. IFMA Knowledge Library. http://community.ifma.org/knowledge_library/m/ free_fm_content/1057705/
Becker, M. (2015). Systematisches Diversity Management: Konzepte und Instrumente für die Personal- und Führungspolitik [Systematic diversity management: Concepts and instruments for personnel and
management policy]. Schäffer-Poeschel.
Bersin, J. (2015). Why diversity and inclusion will be a top priority for 2016. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2015/12/06/why-diversity-and-inclusion- will-be-a-top-priority-for-2016/#42c351ff2ed5
Brown, S. A. (2014). Conceptualizing digital literacies and digital ethics for sustainability education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 15(3), 280—290.
Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jungend. (2019). Zweiter Gleichstellungbericht der Bundesregierung [Second equality report of the federal government].
https://www.bmfsfj.de/blob/jump/129802/zweiter-gleichstellungsbericht-der- bundesregierung-eine-zusammenfassung-leichte-sprache-data.pdf
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Diversity Management. (2019). Managing diversity. http:// www.diversity-gesellschaft.de/
Engin, Z. (2018). Digital ethics: Data, algorithms, interactions. Zenodo.
Hucke, V. (2017). Mit Vielfalt und Fairness zum Erfolg [With diversity and fairness to suc- cess]. Springer Gabler.
Laux, T. (2017). Erkämpfte Gleichstellung: Eine Qualitative Comparative Analysis von OECD Staaten. [Fought for gender equality: A qualitative comparative analysis of OECD countries.] Springer.
http://search.ebscohost.com.pxz.iubh.de:8080/login.aspx? direct=true&db=cat05114a&AN=ihb.36634&site=eds-live&scope=site
Lucke, D. M. (2015). Ohne Ansehen des Geschlechts. Der “Gender Law Gap” zwischen Gleichberechtigung, Gleichstellung und Gleichbehandlung [Without regard to gender. The “gender law gap” between equal
rights, equality and equal treatment]. Sozialwissenschaften und Berufspraxis, 38(1), 16—19.
Mahieu, R., van Eck, N. J., van Putten, D., & van den Hoven, J. (2019). From dignity to security protocols: A scientometric analysis of digital ethics. Ethics and Information Technology, 20(3), 175—187.
Reith, F., Kelle, U., & Wroblewski, A. (2017). Gleichstellung messbar machen: Grundlagen und Anwendungen von Gender- und Gleichstellungsindikatoren [Making equality measurable: Basics and applications of
gender and gender equality indicators]. Springer.
Royakkers, L., Timmer, J., Kool, L., & van Est, R. (2018). Societal and ethical issues of digitization. Ethics and Information Technology, 20(2), 127—142.
Schwarzer, B. (2014). Ansätze für eine diversity-sensible Soziale Arbeit. [Approaches for diversity-sensitive social work]. In B. Bretländer, M. Köttig, & T. Kunz (Eds.), Vielfalt und Differenz in der sozialen Arbeit:
Perspektiven der Inklusion [Diversity and difference in social work: Perspectives on inclusion] (pp. 577—608). Kohlhammer.
Vedder, G, & Krause, F. (2017). Corporate social responsibility und diversity management — eine Win-Win-Situation [Corporate social responsibility and diversity management — a win-win situation]. In K. Hansen
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