Define ethics, list and describe the three fundamental tenets of ethics, and describe the four categories of ethical issues related to information technology.

Introduction

Ethics and privacy are two big and important issues in the digital age. The two issues are closely related both to each other and to IT and both raise significant questions involving access to information in the digital age. This blog will give you insights into how to respond to ethics and privacy issues. Further, it will help you to make immediate contributions to your company’s code of ethics and its privacy policies. You will also be able to provide meaningful input concerning the potential ethical and privacy impacts of your organization’s information systems on people within and outside the organization.

For example, suppose your organization decides to adopt social computing technologies to include business partners and customers in new product development. You will be able to analyze the potential privacy and ethical implications of implementing these technologies.

Security can be defined as the degree of protection against criminal activity, danger, damage, and/or loss. Information security refers to all of the processes and policies designed to protect an organization’s information and information systems (IS) from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.

Ethical Issues

Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that individuals use to make choices that guide their behavior. Deciding what is right or wrong is not always easy or clear-cut. Fortunately, there are many frameworks that can help us make ethical decisions.

Ethical Frameworks

There are many sources for ethical standards. Here we consider four widely used standards: the utilitarian approach, the rights approach, the fairness approach, and the common good approach. There are many other sources, but these four are representative.

The utilitarian approach states that ethical action is the one that provides the best or does the least harm. The ethical corporate action would be the one that produces the greatest good and does the least harm for all affected parties—customers, employees, shareholders, the community, and the environment.

The rights approach maintains that ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of the affected parties. Moral rights can include the right to make one’s own choices about what kind of life to lead, to be told the truth, not to be injured, and to a degree of privacy. Which of these rights people are entitled to—and under what circumstances— is widely debated. Nevertheless, most people acknowledge that individuals are entitled to some moral rights. An ethical organizational action would be one that protects and respects the moral rights of customers, employees, shareholders, business partners, and even competitors.

The fairness approach suggests that ethical actions treat all human beings equally, or, if unequally, then fairly, based on some defensible standard. For example, most people might believe it is fair to pay people higher salaries if they work harder or if they contribute a greater amount to the firm. However, there is less certainty regarding CEO salaries that are hundreds or thousands of times larger than those of other employees. Many people question whether this huge gap is based on a defensible standard or whether it is the result of an imbalance of power and hence is unfair.

Finally, the common good approach highlights the interlocking relationships that underlie all societies. This approach argues that respect and compassion for all others is the basis for ethical actions. It emphasizes the common conditions that are important to the welfare of everyone. These conditions can include a system of laws, effective police and fire departments, healthcare, a public educational system, and even public recreation areas.

If we combine these four standards, we can develop a general framework for ethics (or ethical decision making). This framework consists of five steps.

Deciding and testing it

1. Recognize an ethical issue

   • Could this decision or situation damage someone or some group?

   • Does this decision involve a choice between a good and a bad alternative?

   • Does this issue involve more than legal considerations? If so, in what way?

2. Get the facts

   • What are the relevant facts of the situation?

   • Do I have sufficient information to make a decision?

   • Which individuals and/or groups have an important stake in the outcome?

   • Have I consulted all relevant persons and groups?

3. Evaluate alternative actions

   • Which option will produce the best and do the least harm? (The utilitarian approach)

   • Which option best respects the rights of all stakeholders? (The rights approach)

   • Which option treats people equally or proportionately? (The fairness approach)

   • Which option best serves the community and not just some members? (The

     common good approach).

4. Deciding and Testing it
   • Considering all the approaches, which option best addresses the situation?
5. Act and reflect on the outcome of your decision

   • How can I implement my decision with the greatest care and attention to the concerns of all stakeholders?

   • How did my decision turn out, and what did I learn from this specific situation?

   • Now that we have created a general ethical framework, we will focus specifically on ethics in the corporate environment.

Ethics in the Corporate Environment

Many companies and professional organizations develop their own codes of ethics. A code of ethics is a collection of principles intended to guide decision-making by members of the organization.

Keep in mind that different codes of ethics are not always consistent with one another. Therefore, an individual might be expected to conform to multiple codes. For example, a person who is a member of two large professional computing-related organizations may be simultaneously required by one organization to comply with all applicable laws and by the other organization to refuse to obey unjust laws.

Fundamental tenets of ethics include responsibility, accountability, and liability.

• Responsibility means that you accept the consequences of your decisions and actions.

• Accountability refers to determining who is responsible for actions that were taken.

• Liability is a legal concept that gives individuals the right to recover the damages done to them by other individuals, organizations, or systems.

  it is very important that you realize that what is unethical is not necessarily illegal. For example, a bank’s decision to foreclose on a home can be technically legal, but it can raise many ethical questions. The ethical decisions can have serious consequences for individuals, organizations, and society at large.

  Advancements in information technologies have generated a new set of ethical problems. Computing processing power doubles roughly every two years, meaning that organizations are more dependent than ever on their information systems. Organizations can store increasing amounts of data at decreasing cost. As a result, they can store more data on individuals for longer periods of time. Going further, computer networks, particularly the Internet, enable organizations to collect, integrate, and distribute enormous amounts of information on individuals, groups, and institutions. These developments have created numerous ethical problems concerning the appropriate collection and use of customer information, personal privacy, and the protection of intellectual property.

  The power of information technology also makes it possible to very quickly implement electronic commerce Web sites that closely resemble successful, existing businesses that practice electronic commerce. This practice is called cloning Web sites.

 Ethics and Information Technology

All employees have a responsibility to encourage ethical uses of information and information technology. Many of the business decisions you will face at work will have an ethical dimension. Consider the following decisions that you might have to make:

• Should organizations monitor employees’ Web surfing and e-mail?

• Should organizations sell customer information to other companies?

• Should organizations audit employees’ computers for unauthorized software or illegally downloaded music or video files?

The diversity and ever-expanding use of IT applications have created a variety of ethical issues. These issues fall into four general categories: privacy, accuracy, property, and accessibility.

       1. Privacy issues involve collecting, storing, and disseminating information about individuals.

2. Accuracy issues involve the authenticity, fidelity, and correctness of information that is collected and processed.

3. Property issues involve the ownership and value of information.

4. Accessibility issues revolve around who should have access to information and whether a fee should be paid for this access.

questions and issues for each of these categories

Privacy Issues

• What information about oneself should an individual be required to reveal to others? What kind of surveillance can an employer use on its employees?

• What types of personal information can people keep to themselves and not be forced to reveal to others?

• What information about individuals should be kept in databases, and how secure is the information there?

Accuracy Issues

• Who is responsible for the authenticity, fidelity, and accuracy of the information collected? How can we ensure that the information will be processed properly and presented accurately to users?

• How can we ensure that errors in databases, data transmissions, and data processing are accidental and not intentional?

• Who is to be held accountable for errors in information, and how should the injured parties be compensated?

Property Issues

• Who owns the information?

• What are the just and fair prices for its exchange?

• How should we handle software piracy (copying copyrighted software)? Under what  circumstances can one use proprietary databases?

• Can corporate computers be used for private purposes?

• How should experts who contribute their knowledge to create expert systems be compensated?

• How should access to information channels be allocated?

Accessibility Issues

• Who is allowed to access information?

• How much should companies charge for permitting access to information? How can access to computers be provided for employees with disabilities? Who will be provided with equipment needed for accessing information?

• What information does a person or an organization have a right to obtain, under what conditions, and with what safeguards?

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