Define ethics, list and describe the three fundamental tenets of ethics, and describe the four categories of ethical issues related to information technology. Show
IntroductionEthics 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. 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 FrameworksThere 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
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.
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:
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.
questions and issues for each of these categoriesPrivacy Issues
Accuracy Issues
Property Issues
Accessibility Issues
Thanks for reading, if you liked it please share it with your peers. Which ethical approach believes that the ethical action is one that produces the most good and or does the least harm?The Utilitarian Approach
Some ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm, or, to put it another way, produces the greatest balance of good over harm.
What approach maintains that an ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of the affected parties?The utilitarian approach deals with consequences; it tries both to increase the good done and to reduce the harm done. Other philosophers and ethicists suggest that the ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of those affected.
What are the fundamental tenets of ethics?The Fundamental Principles of Ethics. Beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice constitute the 4 principles of ethics. The first 2 can be traced back to the time of Hippocrates “to help and do no harm,” while the latter 2 evolved later.
What is the second step in the general framework for ethics?The four steps are: 1. Identify the facts. 2. Determine the relevant ethical principles.
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