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Chapter 11. Using Information Ethically

Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach

by Keri PearlsonPowerPoint Slides prepared by Gene Mesher

Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Copyright John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that named in Section 117 of the United States Copyright Act without the express written consent of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Adopters of the textbook are granted permission to make back-up copies for their own use only, to make copies for distribution to students of the course the textbook is used in, and to modify this material to best suit their instructional needs. Under no circumstances can copies be made for resale. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages, caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information contained herein.

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CONTROL OF INFORMATION

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Figure 11.1 Mason’s areas of managerial concernPrivacy: What information must a person reveal

about one’s self to others? What info should others be able to access? What safeguards exist for your protection?

Accuracy: Who is responsible for the reliability and accuracy of information? Who will be accountable for errors?

Property: Who owns information? Who owns the channels of distribution, and now should they be regulated?

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

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NORMATIVE THEORIES OF BUSINESS ETHICS

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Normative theory

Meaning doing the “right” thing: principles expressed in ordinary language that can be applied to moral quandaries in business.

Stockholder theoryStakeholder theorySocial Contract theory

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Stockholder theory

Biz. goal: maximize stockholder value.M.Friedman: “sole resp. of business is to

increase profits through open and free competition without deception or fraud”

1. Managers must employ legal means to achieve this goal.

2. Managers must take the long view of shareholder interest, forgoing short-term gains so as to maximize long term value.

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Stakeholder theory

Biz. goal: maximize benefits to all stakeholders

Stakeholder: any group whose interests the corporation vitally affects

Includes: stockholders, customers, employees, suppliers, the local community

Management must balance the rights of all stockholders without impinging the rights of any one particular stockholder

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Social Contract theory

Derived from needs of managers to consider their social responsibilities to society.

Social contract = social welfare + justice Social contract managers must pursue

profits in a way compatible with societal well-being

Justice corporations must pursue profits legally, without fraud or deception, avoiding activities that injure society.

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EMERGING ISSUES IN THE ETHICAL GOVERNANCE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

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Inner and outer ethical spheres of managerial overview

Outward transactions of the business. Focus is on the customer

Example: selling [private?] customer preference information for marketing purposes

Use of information inside the corporation. Includes: internal surveillance and monitoring, deskilling, and workplace rigidity.

Example: conducting private business on company time (e.g., sending personal e-mail).

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Figure 11.3 Some causal connections between identified areas of ethical concern (cf. Leal (1995))

Loss of Skills

Loss of Control

Loss of Identity

Loss of Privacy

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: ETHICS AND THE INTERNET

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Ethics and the Internet

Now an issue of public debate. E.g., consider a pornographic website:

Does the website have a responsibility to make sure only appropriate visitors view it?

Who is resp. to keep children from seeing it: The web author? The website host? The access

site (e.g., school)? Parents?Consider Rinaldi’s ethical rules regarding

using computers (see figure 11.4).Security measures may also have

unforeseen consequences (see figure 11.5).

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Fig. 11.4 Ten commandments of computer ethics (cf. Rinaldi, 2000)

1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people. 2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work. 3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s files. 4. Thou shalt not use to steal. 5. Thou shalt not use use a computer to bear false witness. 6. Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not

paid. 7. Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources without

authorization. 8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s intellectual output. 9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the

program you write. 10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration

and respect.

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Figure 11.5 Security and control tools (cf. Duquenoy and Whitehouse, 1999)

Firewalls Encryption Net OS Security Info Mgmt Server and Browser sfwe security Labeling and Rating sfwe Filtering/Blocking sfwe

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End of Chapter 11