1. C4- Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues in the Digital Firm

2. Ethics
Principles of right and wrong that individuals, acting as free moral agents, use to make choices to guide their behaviors
Unethical Behavior in Firms
several recent examples (e.g. Enron)
role of IS: financial reporting systems used to bury decisions from public scrutiny
Five moral dimensions
Information rights and obligations
Property rights and obligations
Accountability and control
System quality
Quality of life

3. Key Technology trends that raise Ethical Issues
Computing power doubles every 18 months
More organizations depend on computer systems for critical operations
Rapidly declining data storage costs
Organizations can easily maintain detailed databases on individuals
Data analysis advances
Companies can analyze vast quantities of data gathered on individuals to develop detailed profiles of individual behavior
Networking advances and the Internet
Easier to copy data from one location to another and to access personal data from remote locations

4. Ethics in an Information Society
Ethical Analysis
Make Ethical Decisions
Identify and clearly describe the facts
Define the conflict or dilemma, and identify the higher-order values involved
Identify the stakeholders
Identify the options that you can reasonably take
Identify the consequences of your options
religious codes
well respected authority
appeal to known principles
put self in place of affected parties
utilitarianism: rank order
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5. Spyware
Software downloaded onto a user’s computer – usually without the user’s knowledge – that tracks Web behavior and reports that behavior to a third-party server
Often used to divert customers from one site to a preferred site
Internet Challenges to Privacy

6. Internet monitoring software
Internet Challenges to Privacy

7. Information rights Privacy and freedom in the Internet Age
Privacy: Claim of individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other individuals, organizations, or the state.
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) establishes principles for collection, use, and disclosure of personal information
Internet Challenges to Privacy
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8. Fair Information Practices
Principles
Notice/Awareness
Choice/Consent
Access/Participation
Security
Enforcement
Internet Challenges to Privacy:
Ability to collect data on online activities
Cookies are used to collect information from Web site visits
Web bugs and spyware can be installed surreptitiously
Opt-in versus opt-out models of informed consent
Internet Challenges to Privacy

9. Cookies to identify Web visitors
Internet Challenges to Privacy

10. Web bugs Tiny graphic files embedded in e-mail messages and Web pages
Designed to monitor online Internet user behavior
When a user views the or the page, a message is sent to another computer without the knowledge of the user
Internet Challenges to Privacy

11. Challenges to Intellectual Property Rights
Perfect digital copies cost almost nothing
Sharing of digital content over the Internet costs almost nothing
Sites, software, and services for file trading are not easily regulated.
A web page may present data from many sources, and incorporate framing
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12. Accountability if software causes injury, who is liable?
producer of software has some responsibility
how about manager? programmer? IT head?

13. System Quality data quality system errors
ship it, even when not quite right (e.g. Microsoft releases)‏
problems include:
software bugs
hardware failures
poor input quality
most common source of business system failure = data quality

14. Quality of life Family, work and leisure
Computer crime/abuse - e.g. spam
Job losses due to technology
redesigning business processes: middle managers, clerical
Digital divide
Health risks
carpal tunnel syndrome

15. Spam
Junk sent by an organization or individual to a mass audience who have expressed no interest
Laws against spamming in Europe
Serendipity desired by some
Spam filtering software
costs very little; growing in use

16. Management opportunities, challenges, and solutions
Managers have the opportunity to use information technology to create an ethical business and social environment.
This does not mean management actions will always please all stakeholders, but at least management actions should take into account the ethical dimensions of IT-related decisions
Management Challenges:
Understanding the moral risks of new technology
Establishing corporate ethics policies that include information systems issues