1. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 1 Enterprise IT Management Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager l Introduction. l Ethics and the Law. l Ethics and Business. l 5 reasons for business ethics. l The Ethical Manager. l Ethical decision making. l Ethics and Information Technology. l Ethics and the IT professional. l Managers and Codes of Conduct. l Managing Ethical and Legal Issues. l Conclusion.

2. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 2 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager INTRODUCTION ETHICS are beliefs regarding right and wrong behaviour. An individuals interpretation of ethical behaviour is strongly influenced by a combination of family influences, life experiences, education, religious beliefs, personal values, and peer influences. If a person acts with integrity, that person is acting in ways that are consistent with his or her own code of principles. Integrity is one of the cornerstones of ethical behaviour.

3. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 3 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICS AND LAW It is most important not to confuse law and ethics. Law – while being based upon ethics – and ethics are different. Law is about the observance – or breaking – of a legally defined set of instructions. An ethical issue is defined by rules and disciplines of what is good, bad, or morally required. Ethics are important to all organisations and their managers, and are often established as codes of conduct. In particular – through their words and actions – managers have an important influence over the way that rules and obligations implement ethical behaviour in an organisation.

4. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 4 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICS AND BUSINESS Business ethics are increasingly important because the risks associated with inappropriate behaviour have grown in number, complexity, likelihood, and significance. Organisations can take a number of actions to reduce business ethics risks: appoint a corporate ethics officer, set ethical standards at a high organisational level, establish a corporate code of conduct, conduct social audits, require employees to take ethics training, and include ethical criteria in employee appraisal systems.

5. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 5 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager 5 REASONS FOR BUSINESS ETHICS 1.To protect the organisation and its employees from legal action. 2.To create an organisation that operates consistently. 3.To produce good business. 4.To avoid unfavourable publicity 5.To gain the goodwill of the community. Unfortunately, being ethical does not always guarantee business success.

6. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 6 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager THE ETHICAL MANAGER Culture, law, religion, nationality, and other factors form the basis for individual ethical standards. In most businesses, wide differences exist in individual ethical standards, even between standards. These differences arise from parentage, heritage, religious beliefs, education, training, and experience. Managers must assume that employees intend to behave ethically, but that they may not come into the workplace with an appreciation of ethics that is consistent with the business or their colleagues. Therefore, managers have special responsibilities to establish these ethical standards.

7. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 7 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager THE ETHICAL MANAGER Well managed organisations act to ensure that managers and employees appreciate the basic beliefs and policies governing behaviour within the organisation and in external business relationships. These organisations conduct regular training sessions and provide specially trained people in the workplace to answer specific questions about the business’s policies and practices. The organisations establish a code of conduct and ensure that all employees follow it.

8. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 8 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager THE ETHICAL MANAGER Actions that managers can take to foster ethical behaviour include: 1. Develop a statement of ethical principals for the business. 2. Establish employee & manager rules of conduct. 3. State & enforce penalties for rule violations. 4. Emphasise ethics as a critical factor in business. 5. Inform employees of applicable laws & regulations. 6. Recognise ethical behaviour in performance evaluations. 7. Maintain business controls & remove temptation. 8. Support a confidential forum for answering ethical concerns. 9. Lead by outstanding example.

9. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 9 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICAL DECISION MAKING Seven steps can be useful in guiding ethical decision making. However, it is not a simple “7 step process” - iteration (returning to a previous step) will be required. 1.Get the facts. 2.Identify the stakeholders and their position. 3.Consider the consequences of your decision. 4.Weight various guidelines, laws and principles. 5.Develop and evaluate the options. 6.Review your decision. 7.Evaluate the results of your decision.

10. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 10 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The growth in the use of the Internet, the ability to capture and store vast amounts of personal data online, and our increasing reliance on information systems in all aspects of our life have increased the risk of unethical uses of information technology. While there have been many technological breakthroughs in recent years, the importance of ethical behaviour has often been forgotten...

11. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 11 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Concerns with the ethical use of information technology include: Organisations monitoring their employees' private email messages. Individuals downloading MP3 files. Individuals accessing and copying classified databases. Students cheating on their assignments by cutting and pasting from the Internet. Hackers defacing corporate and other websites.

12. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 12 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Ethical issues raised by the application of information technology in business are numerous, often complex, and on the increase. Therefore IT managers must be especially focused upon these issues. It is especially important that organisations address questions about ethical issues in a thoughtful and clear manager, taking special clear to free managers and employees from paranoia and guilt. For some situations the organisation establishes rules of conduct, in other situations external sources establish laws and regulations.

13. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 13 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICS & THE I.T. PROFESSIONAL A professional is someone who requires advanced training and experience, who must exercise discretion and judgement in the course of his or her work, and whose work cannot be standardised. A professional is expected to contribute to society, to participate in a life-long training program to keep up- to-date in his or her field, and to help to develop other professionals. The IT industry recognises that people have many different roles as IT professionals – provided that they can do the jobs required by their roles.

14. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 14 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager ETHICS & THE I.T. PROFESSIONAL I T professionals typically become involved in many different relationships, and each set of relationships has its own set of ethical issues and potential problems. For example: IT professional – employer. IT professional – client. IT professional – supplier. IT professional – professional. IT professional – IT user. IT professional – society.

15. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 15 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager MANAGERS & CODES OF CONDUCT A professional code of ethics states the principles and core values essential to the work of a particular occupational group. Such a code serves as a guideline for ethical decision-making, promotes high standards of practice and ethical behaviour, enhances trust and respect from the general public, and provides an evaluation benchmark.

16. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 16 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager MANAGERS & CODES OF CONDUCT Managers must understand the business’s code of conduct and present it to employees unambiguously. Managers themselves must develop and practice a code of behaviour that encompasses the firm’s policies and leaves no doubt that the business values and supports ethical behaviour. Managers must answer employee questions thoughtfully – there may be subtleties!

17. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 17 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager MANAGERS & CODES OF CONDUCT When in doubt, seek guidance from senior executives – discuss ethical dilemmas with them and seek their wisdom. An organisation cannot build standards for ethical behaviour on an ad hoc, manager-by-manager basis. To do so will create serious inconsistencies that have the potential to undermine the business’s rules for ethical conduct and behaviour.

18. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 18 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager Managing Ethical and Legal Issues The adoption of IT into organisations is almost always accompanied by issues that have both legal and ethical dimensions. Laws and regulations that individuals and businesses are expected to know and follow govern issues like intellectual property rights, licensing, copyrights, and royalty payments. Applications software and hardware are especially critical for most organisations. Business controls and other management practices are essential to manage both intellectual and physical property, and to ensure that licence and royalty payment are made.

19. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 19 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager Managing Ethical and Legal Issues Periodically the legal and audit departments should review the business’s position and recommend improvements. Managers, including those from IT should seek advice and briefings from the legal and human resource staff, who have the specialised role of supporting managers. The bottom line is that individual managers should verify the organisation’s legal and personnel policies with the experts, and not attempt to deal with these difficult issues unsupported.

20. CDU – School of Information Technology HIT342 Lecture 12 - Slide 20 Legal Issues & the Ethical Manager Conclusion The structure and culture of a business can sometimes be a barrier to ethical behaviour. A manager can improve the situation by: l Setting an example of ethical behaviour. l Honouring confidential and private communications and conversations. l Knowing the legal requirements associated with privacy, harassment and other relevant issues. l Interacting with all stakeholders fairly. l Setting a code of conduct that incorporates the ethical standards of the business and relevant statute law. l Maintaining integrity in business dealings.