A MATTER OF TRUST
by Inderpal Bhandari, executive editor at large
As decision support technologies have become more sophisticated, that increase in power has been matched by a corresponding increase in concerns of potential misuse of these technologies. Many of these concerns have to do with the issue of ensuring the private lives of people, and it is straightforward to see how they should be resolved. However, there is one knotty problem that occurs in the workplace. It has to do with the analysis of data pertaining to job performance and what regulation should govern the use of those analyses. I discuss this issue below and describe how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is addressing it.
Most people would agree that substantial data pertaining to their jobs is either already on-line or will shortly be on-line. Once on-line, it is inevitable that managers will want to analyze those data .After all, a manager is responsible for the quality of the output of the worker. Clearly, it makes business sense to use the most powerful data mining algorithms to identify hidden problems from that data and correct them rapidly. It will improve the performance of the worker and if applied pervasively, impact the bottom line of the corporation.
On the flip side of this argument, we are reminded by H.L. Mencken that we are but human. In talking about skepticism, he pointed out that, "No man ever quite believes in any other man. One may believe in an idea absolutely, but not in a man." Again, not without some justification. Managers have been known to misuse performance data to fire workers, raising the question that in the face of human frailty, what safeguards should be in place to prevent misuse of such data by management.
Throw in the fact that data mining tools are becoming increasingly powerful, and you see the horns of the dilemma. Powerful data mining algorithms hold the promise of unheralded gains to the bottom line by identifying hidden patterns that compromise performance. They also hold the threat of unheralded misuse by unscrupulous managers, intent on furthering their own agendas.
A case in point is the FAA. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that FAA administrator Jane Garvey is to issue a policy statement promoting widespread use of data recorders to track the performance of thousands of U.S. airline flights daily. Further, the FAA is working on guidelines and follow-up regulations shielding airlines and their employees from potential federal-enforcement actions, except in cases involving egregious or deliberate misconduct. In return, carriers will likely have to provide plans to solve perceived safety problems.
In other words, the FAA is proposing a partnership between the airlines, the pilot's unions, and itself, to improve flight safety. This makes eminent sense. All three entities have an interest in improving flight safety. The FAA's strategy emphasizes that common ground while removing the grounds for mistrust. I think it will succeed, letting the FAA emerge from years of regulatory deadlock over how to collect and analyze data from quick-access flight data recorders on an industry-wide basis.
Corporations may want to take a leaf out of the FAA's book. They can adopt a policy with the same spirit for the analysis of their on-line performance data, namely, that the analysis be done jointly by management and workers without the threat of unwarranted reprisal.
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Inderpal Bhandari can be reached via http://www.virtualgold.com