MIS
CHAPTER 4
PERSONAL, LEGAL, ETHICAL,
AND ORGANIZATIONAL
ISSUES OF INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
Hossein BIDGOLI
MIS, Chapter 4
©2013 Course Technology, a part of Cengage Learning
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
learning outcomes
LO1
Discuss information privacy and methods for
improving the privacy of information.
LO2
Explain the effects on information privacy of e-mail,
data collection, and censorship.
LO3
Discuss the ethical issues related to information
technology .
LO4
Discuss the principles of intellectual property and
issues related to the infringement of intellectual
property.
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
l e a r n i n g o u t c o m e s (cont’d.)
LO5
Discuss information system issues that affect
organizations, including the digital divide, electronic
publishing, and on the connection between the
workplace and employees’ health.
LO6
Describe green computing and the ways it can
improve the quality of the environment.
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Privacy Issues
• Concerns about privacy in the workplace
– Employers search social networking sites
– Employee monitoring systems
• Misuse and abuse of information gathered by:
– Healthcare organizations
– Financial institutions
– Legal firms
• Defining privacy is difficult
– Information technologies have increased ease of
access to information
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Social Networking Sites and Privacy Issues
• Stacy Snyder
– Former student at Millersville University of
Pennsylvania
– Posted a photo of herself on MySpace, wearing a
pirate’s hat and drinking
• Millersville administrators
– Considered the image unprofessional
– Refused to grant her an education degree and
teaching certificate
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
• Number of databases increasing rapidly
• Enforcement of federal laws has been lax
• Index and link databases using Social Security
numbers
– Direct marketing companies major user of this
information
• U.S. government began linking large databases
to find information
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
• Federal laws now regulate collecting and using
information on people and corporations
– 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Acceptable use policies
– Set of rules specifying the legal and ethical use of a
system and the consequences of noncompliance
• Accountability
– Issues involving both the user’s and the organization’s
responsibilities and liabilities
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
• Nonrepudiation
– Method for binding all the parties to a contract
• Hardware or software controls
– Determine what personal information is provided on
the Web
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
E-mail
• Presents some serious privacy issues
• Spam
– Unsolicited e-mail sent for advertising purposes
– Sent in bulk by using automated mailing software
• Ease of access
– People should assume that others have access to
their messages
– Any e-mails sent on company-owned computers are
the property of the organization
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Data Collection on the Web
• Number of people shopping online is increasing
• Many customers reluctant to make online
purchases
– Concerns about hackers getting access to their credit
card numbers
– Many credit card companies reimburse fraudulent
charges
• Other electronic payment systems are being
developed
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Data Collection on the Web (cont’d.)
• Concerned about computers’ contents being
searched while they’re connected to the Web
• Information users provide on the Web
– Combined with other information and technologies to
produce new information
• Cookies
–
–
–
–
Small text files with a unique ID tag
Embedded in a Web browser
Saved on the user’s hard drive
Many users disable cookies
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Data Collection on the Web (cont’d.)
• Log files
– Generated by Web server software
– Record a user’s actions on a Web site
• Data collected on the Web must be used and
interpreted with caution
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Ethical Issues of Information Technologies
• Ethics means doing the right thing
– What is “right” can vary from one culture to another
and even from one person to another
– More difficult to determine than legal versus illegal
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Ethical Issues of Information Technologies (cont’d.)
• Information technology offers many
opportunities for unethical behavior
– Cybercrime, cyberfraud, identity theft, and intellectual
property theft
• Many experts believe management can reduce
employees’ unethical behavior
– Codes of ethics
• Many associations promote ethically responsible
use of information systems and technologies
– Codes of ethics
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
• Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other
people
• Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s
computer work
• Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s
files
• Thou shalt not use a computer to steal
• Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false
witness
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics (cont’d.)
• Thou shalt not use or copy software for which
you have not paid
• Thou shalt not use other people’s computer
resources without authorization
• Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s
intellectual output
• Thou shalt think about the social consequences
of the program you write
• Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show
consideration and respect
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Censorship
• Who decides what should be on the Web?
• Types of information
– Public
– Private
• Whether or not something can be censored
depends in part on who is doing the censoring
• Restricted access to the Web
– Burma, China, and Singapore
• U.S. citizens don’t want the government
controlling Web access
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Censorship (cont’d.)
• Parents are concerned about what their children
are exposed to
– Pornography, violence, and adult language
• Search keywords
• Guidelines to teach their children to use good
judgment while on the Web
• Programs such as CyberPatrol, CyberSitter, Net
Nanny, and SafeSurf
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Intellectual Property
• Intellectual property
– Protections that involve copyrights, trademarks, trade
secrets, and patents for “creations of the mind”
developed by people or businesses
• Industrial property
– Inventions, trademarks, logos, and industrial designs
• Copyrighted material
– Literary and artistic works
– May apply to online materials
– Exceptions under Fair Use Doctrine
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Intellectual Property (cont’d.)
• Trademark
– Protects product names and identifying marks
• Patent
– Protects new processes
– Organizations can benefit from patents
• Software piracy
• Laws
– Telecommunications Act of 1996
– Communications Decency Act (CDA)
– Laws against spamming
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Intellectual Property (cont’d.)
• Internet use policy
– Avoid legal risks
• Cybersquatting
– Registering, selling, or using a domain name to profit
from someone else’s trademark
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Verizon’s Cybersquatting Suit
• Verizon sued OnlineNic
• OnlineNic registered domain names containing
Verizon trademarks
– myverizonwireless.com
– iphoneverizonplans.com
– verizon-cellular. com
• Verizon won this suit
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Social Divisions and the Digital Divide
• Digital divide
– Computers still aren’t affordable for many people
– Companies installing cables for Internet connections
might subject their communities to a type of
economic “red-lining”
– Children are often victims of this divide
• Funding for computers at schools and libraries
• Loaner programs
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
The Impact of Information Technology in the
Workplace
• New jobs for:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Programmers
Systems analysts
Database and network administrators
Network engineers
Webmasters
Web page developers
e-commerce specialists
Chief information officers (CIOs)
Technicians
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
The Impact of Information Technology in the
Workplace (cont’d.)
•
•
•
•
•
Web designers
Java programmers
Web troubleshooters
Telecommuting and virtual work
Job deskilling
– Skilled labor eliminated by introducing high
technology
– Job downgraded from a skilled to a semiskilled or
unskilled position
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Table 4.1
Potential benefits and potential drawbacks of telecommuting
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
The Impact of Information Technology in the
Workplace (cont’d.)
• Job upgrading
– Clerical workers who now use computers
• One skilled worker might be capable doing the
job of several workers
• Virtual organizations
– Networks of independent companies, suppliers,
customers, and manufacturers
– Connected via information technologies
– Share skills and costs
– Have access to each other’s market
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Information Technology and Health Issues
• Reports of health-related issues caused by video
display terminals (VDTs)
– No conclusive study
– Health problems associated with the environment in
which computers are used
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Information Technology and Health Issues (cont’d.)
• Other reports of health problems
–
–
–
–
–
Vision
Musculoskeletal
Skin
Reproductive
Stress-related
• Amount of time some people spend on the Web
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Health and Social Issues of Online Gaming
• Online games World of Warcraft and EverQuest
blamed for a host of problems
– Poor academic performance, divorce, suicide, and the
death of a child because of parental neglect
• Fantasy worlds in online games believed to be
addictive and to affect marriages and careers
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Green Computing
• Computing that promotes a sustainable
environment and consumes the least amount of
energy
• Helps an organization save on energy costs
• Improves the quality of the environment in
which we live and work
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Green Computing (cont’d.)
• Green computing
– Involves the design, manufacture, use, and disposal
of computers, servers, and computing devices
– Monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking
and communications equipment
– Minimal impact on the environment
• Implemented without the cooperation of both
the private and the public sector
• Goals
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Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
Summary
• Privacy issues related to information
technologies
– Methods for protecting privacy: Personal information
and organizations’ data resources
• Ethical issues related to information systems
– Censorship, intellectual property laws, digital divide
• Effect of information systems on the workplace
and possible heath issues
• Green computing
– Impact on the environment
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