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Technology changes and unethical practice

Covers AS90845

Technology as a critical problem

Technology appears in AS90844 as an external factor to respond to. In this standard it appears as a problem that can end a business.
Three ways it becomes critical:
- A competitor adopts it and the business does not, so the competitor's costs or service move beyond what the business can match.
- The technology replaces the business's product, not just its process — the clearest form, because no amount of efficiency saves a product people no longer want.
- The business adopts it badly — a system that does not work, a changeover that stops production, a data breach.

Effects

Falling sales as customers move to the new way of buying or the new product
Rising relative costs against competitors who automated
Stranded assets: equipment and premises configured for a process that is no longer competitive
Skills that no longer match the work, and staff who resist the change that is needed

Solutions

Adopt the technology, in stages, piloting first
Partner with a technology provider rather than building capability the business does not have
Redefine the product around what the technology cannot do — the human, local, immediate or bespoke part
Use the technology to serve the same need differently — the businesses that survive a technological shift are usually the ones that redefine what business they are in
Exit the affected line and redeploy resources, which is a legitimate solution

Unethical practice as a critical problem

Unethical practice means conduct that may be legal but breaches what customers, staff or the community consider acceptable — and sometimes conduct that is also unlawful.
Examples the exam has used or implied: pay systems that reward speed at the cost of quality or safety; misleading claims about a product; unsafe or exploitative treatment of seasonal workers; deductions from wages that employees never agreed to; misuse of customer data.

Why it becomes critical fast

Reputation collapses much faster than it is built. A single incident can reach a national audience in a day, and customers act immediately.
Large customers withdraw. Supermarkets and export buyers with their own standards drop suppliers rather than share the exposure.
Accreditation can be lost, and where a premium price depends on certification, losing it removes the business's entire pricing position at once.
Staff leave, especially the ones who objected, and recruitment becomes harder.
Regulators and enforcement follow, adding penalties and legal costs to a business already losing revenue.

Note the specific trap the exam sets: an incentive scheme designed to raise productivity — a bonus for volume picked or units produced — can create unethical behaviour, because staff take shortcuts to hit the target. The business did not intend the misconduct; it designed a system that rewarded it. That is a business-decision problem, not a bad-people problem.

Solutions

Fix the incentive. Pay for quality-adjusted output, cap bonuses, or add a quality gate that must be passed before a bonus is earned.
Set clear policies and procedures, and enforce them consistently, including for high performers.
Train and communicate the standard, so nobody has to guess where the line is.
Provide a reporting route so concerns surface internally rather than publicly.
Audit the practice rather than trusting the assurance.
Act quickly and openly when something has gone wrong: fix it, tell the affected parties, and show what changed. Concealment is what turns an incident into a scandal.

Technology changes and unethical practice

Covers AS90845

Technology as a critical problem

Technology appears in AS90844 as an external factor to respond to. In this standard it appears as a problem that can end a business.
Three ways it becomes critical:
- A competitor adopts it and the business does not, so the competitor's costs or service move beyond what the business can match.
- The technology replaces the business's product, not just its process — the clearest form, because no amount of efficiency saves a product people no longer want.
- The business adopts it badly — a system that does not work, a changeover that stops production, a data breach.

Effects

Falling sales as customers move to the new way of buying or the new product
Rising relative costs against competitors who automated
Stranded assets: equipment and premises configured for a process that is no longer competitive
Skills that no longer match the work, and staff who resist the change that is needed

Solutions

Adopt the technology, in stages, piloting first
Partner with a technology provider rather than building capability the business does not have
Redefine the product around what the technology cannot do — the human, local, immediate or bespoke part
Use the technology to serve the same need differently — the businesses that survive a technological shift are usually the ones that redefine what business they are in
Exit the affected line and redeploy resources, which is a legitimate solution

Unethical practice as a critical problem

Unethical practice means conduct that may be legal but breaches what customers, staff or the community consider acceptable — and sometimes conduct that is also unlawful.
Examples the exam has used or implied: pay systems that reward speed at the cost of quality or safety; misleading claims about a product; unsafe or exploitative treatment of seasonal workers; deductions from wages that employees never agreed to; misuse of customer data.

Why it becomes critical fast

Reputation collapses much faster than it is built. A single incident can reach a national audience in a day, and customers act immediately.
Large customers withdraw. Supermarkets and export buyers with their own standards drop suppliers rather than share the exposure.
Accreditation can be lost, and where a premium price depends on certification, losing it removes the business's entire pricing position at once.
Staff leave, especially the ones who objected, and recruitment becomes harder.
Regulators and enforcement follow, adding penalties and legal costs to a business already losing revenue.

Solutions

Fix the incentive. Pay for quality-adjusted output, cap bonuses, or add a quality gate that must be passed before a bonus is earned.
Set clear policies and procedures, and enforce them consistently, including for high performers.
Train and communicate the standard, so nobody has to guess where the line is.
Provide a reporting route so concerns surface internally rather than publicly.
Audit the practice rather than trusting the assurance.
Act quickly and openly when something has gone wrong: fix it, tell the affected parties, and show what changed. Concealment is what turns an incident into a scandal.