Ethics in Information Technology
Chapter 1
An Overview of Ethics
George W. Reynolds
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Learning Objectives
•
What is ethics?
•
What trends have increased the likelihood of
unethical behavior?
•
What is corporate social responsibility, and why
is fostering good business ethics important?
•
What measures can organizations take to
improve their business ethics?
•
How can you include ethical considerations in
your decision making?
•
What trends have increased the risk that
information technology will be used in an
unethical manner?
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1-1 What is Ethics?
• Ethics: A code of behavior defined by the group to which
an individual belongs
• Morals: Personal principles upon which an individual
bases his or her decisions about what is right and what is
wrong
• Virtue: A habit that inclines people to do what is
acceptable
• Vice: A habit of unacceptable behavior
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1-1a Integrity
• Acting in accordance with a personal code of principles
• Extending the same respect and consideration that one
expects to receive from others
• Applying the same moral codes in all situations
• Consistency can be difficult to achieve in situations that
conflict with one’s moral standards
• Inconsistency also occurs if one applies moral standards
differently depending on the situation or people involved
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1-1b Difference Between Morals, Ethics, and
Laws
Morals
Ethics
Law
• Personal principles • Code of behavior • System of rules,
an individual uses
that is defined by
enforced by a set
to determine what
the group to
of institutions,
is right and what is
which an
that tells us what
wrong
individual belongs
we can and cannot
• Moral acts conform
do
to what an
• Legal acts are acts
individual believes
that conform to
to be the right
the law
thing to do
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1-2 Ethics in the Business World
• Trends that have increased the risk of unethical
behavior:
• More complex work environments spanning diverse
cultures make it more difficult to apply principles and
codes of ethics consistently.
• Today’s challenging economic climate has increased the
pressure on organizations to maintain revenue and profits.
• Heightened vigilance by employees, shareholders, and
regulatory agencies has increased the risk of financial
loss and lawsuits for businesses that act unethically.
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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Source: Ethics Resource Center, “2011 National Business Ethics Survey: Workplace Ethics in Transition,” ©
2011, https://s3.amazonaws.com/berkley-center/120101NationalBusinessEthicsSurvey2011WorkplaceEthicsinTransition.pdf.
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1-3 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Organization should act ethically by taking responsibility for
the impact of its actions on:
•Shareholders
•Consumers
•Employees
•Community
•Environment
•Suppliers
• Setting CSR goals encourages an organization to achieve
higher moral and ethical standards
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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Supply Chain Sustainability
• A component of CSR focused on developing and maintaining
a supply chain that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
needs
• Takes into account:
• Fair labor practices
• Energy and resource conservation
• Human rights
• Community responsibility
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1-4 Reasons to Foster Corporate Social
Responsibility and Good Business Ethics
1. Gain the goodwill of the community
2. Create an organization that operates consistently
3. Foster good business practices
4. Protect the organization and its employees from
legal action
5. Avoid unfavorable publicity
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1. Gaining the Goodwill of the Community
• Although organizations exist primarily to earn profits or
provide services to customers, they also have some
fundamental responsibilities to society
• Examples:
• making contributions to charitable organizations and nonprofit
institutions
• providing benefits for employees in excess of any legal
requirements
• devoting organizational resources to initiatives that are more
socially desirable than profitable
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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2. Creating an Organization that Operates Consistently
• Consistency ensures that employees know what is
expected of them and can employ the organization’s
values to help them in their decision making
• Examples:
• Honesty and integrity
• Be ethical
• Respect others
• Strive to be the best
• Value diversity
• Make decision based on facts and principles
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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3. Fostering Good Business Practices
• Good ethics can mean good business and improved
profits.
• Examples:
Companies that . . .
Produce safe and effective
products
Provide excellent service
Get this . . .
Avoid costly recalls and
lawsuits
Retain customers
Develop and maintain strong
employee relations
Have lower turnover rates and
better employee morale
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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4. Protecting the Organization/Employees from Legal
Action
• Employers can be held responsible for the acts of its
employees – even if the employees act against corporate
policy
• Several legal organizations argue that organizations
should be able to escape criminal liability if they have
acted as responsible corporate citizens, making strong
efforts to prevent and detect misconduct in the
workplace
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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5. Avoiding Unfavorable Publicity
• The public reputation of a company . . .
• strongly influences the value of its stock
• how consumers regard its products and services
• the degree of oversight it receives from government
agencies
• the amount of support and cooperation it receives from its
business partners
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1-5 How Organizations Can Improve Their Ethics
1. Appoint a Corporate Ethics Officer
2. Require the board of directors to set and model high
ethical standards
3. Establish a corporate code of ethics
4. Conduct social audits
5. Require employees to take ethics training
6. Include ethical criteria in employee appraisals
7. Create an ethical work environment
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1. Appoint a Corporate Ethics Officer
• Also called a corporate compliance officer
• Provides an organization with vision and leadership in
the area of business conduct
• Ideally a senior-level manager who reports directly to
the CEO
• Responsibilities:
•
Ensuring compliance with ethical procedures
•
Creating and maintaining the ethics culture envisioned
by the highest level of corporate authority
•
Serving as the key contact person for ethics issues
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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2. Require the Board of Directors to Set and
Model High Ethical Standards
• Conduct themselves according to the highest standards
of personal and professional integrity
• Set the standard for company-wide ethical conduct
• Ensure compliance with laws and regulations
• Create an environment in which employees can:
•
Seek advice about business conduct
•
Raise issues
•
Report misconduct
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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3. Establish a Corporate Code of Ethics
• A code of ethics:
• Highlights an organization’s key ethical issues
• Identifies the overarching values and principles
important to the organization and its decision making
• Organizational code of ethics should:
•
•
•
•
Focus on areas of ethical risk
Help to recognize and deal with ethical issues
Provide mechanisms for reporting unethical conduct
Foster a culture of honesty and accountability
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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4. Conduct Social Audits
• Organization reviews its ethical and social responsibility
goals, and communicates its goals for the upcoming year
• Information is shared with:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Employees
Investors
Market analysts
Customers
Suppliers
Government agencies
Community
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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5. Require Employees to Take Ethics Training
• A comprehensive ethics education program:
• Encourages employees to act ethically
• Shows employees examples of how to apply the code of
ethics in real life
• A critical goal of such training is to increase the
percentage of employees who report incidents of
misconduct
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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6. Include Ethical Criteria in Employee Appraisals
• Treating others fairly and with respect
• Operating effectively in a multicultural environment
• Accepting personal accountability for meeting business
needs
• Continually developing others and themselves
• Operating openly and honestly with suppliers,
customers, and other employees
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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7. Create an Ethical Work Environment
• Have a code of ethics
• Ensure that employees know how and to whom to report any infractions
of the code of ethics
• Ensure that employees can report violations of the code of ethics safely
and without fear of retaliation
• Take action against those who violate the code of ethics
• Ensure that senior managers are setting an example by communicating
the code of ethics and using it in their own decision making
• Evaluate and provide feedback to employees on how they operate with
respect to the values and principles in the code of ethics
• Educate employees of sanctions for breaching the code of ethics
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1-6 Five-Step Ethical Decision-Making Process
1. Develop a problem statement
2. Identify alternatives
3. Evaluate and choose alternative
4. Implement decision
5. Evaluate results
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1. Develop a problem statement
•Problem statement = a clear, concise description
of the issue that needs to be addressed
•Should answer:
• What do people observe that causes them to think
there is a problem?
• Who is directly affected by the problem?
• Is anyone else affected?
• How often does the problem occur?
• What is the impact of the problem?
• How serious is the problem?
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2. Identify Alternatives
• Brainstorm with stakeholders, if appropriate
• Identify several solutions
• Don’t be critical of ideas
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3. (Evaluate and) Choose Alternative
•Evaluate each alternative by considering . . .
• Is it legal?
• Does it align with the code of ethics of the
organization and/or profession?
• How does it affect each stakeholder group?
• Does it effectively solve the problem?
• Choose best alternative
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4. Implement Decision
• Once an alternative is selected, it should be
implemented in an efficient, effective, and timely
manner.
• Communication is important
• Create transition plan
• Train people
• Provide incentives for making change
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5. Evaluate Results
• After the solution to the problem has been
implemented, monitor the results to see if the desired
effect was achieved and observe its impact on the
organization and the various stakeholders.
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otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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1-7 Concerns About the Ethical Use of
Information Technology
• Surveillance of citizens by governments
• Email and Internet access monitoring at work
• Music and movies downloaded in violation of
copyright laws
• Unsolicited email and text messages
• Identify theft by hackers
• Plagiarism by students
• Cookies and spyware used to track users’ online
purchases and activities
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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