Application
of a decision making framework to an IT-related ethical issue.
Explore and
apply a decision making framework to an IT-related ethical issue. A
framework provides a methodical and systematic approach for decision making.
Decision-making
frameworks
Reynolds Seven-Step
Approach
Get the facts – Before proceeding,
ensure that you have assembled the relevant facts regarding the ethical issue
that you’re addressing.
Identify the stakeholders – Identify
who is impacted by this situation and its subsequent resolution. Define what
their role is as well as what would be the best-case outcome for each
stakeholder group.
Consider the consequences – What are
the benefits and/or harm that could come from your decision to you
individually, the stakeholders, and the organization as a whole?
Evaluate the various guidelines,
policies, and principles – First look to any applicable laws, then to any
existing corporate policies, ethical codes, and individual principles. Look at
the application of traditional ethical theories as well as Normative Theories
of Business Ethics.
Develop and evaluate options – You
may identify several possible solutions and may find it useful to support each
with key principles that support the recommendation. Your chosen solution
should be ethically defendable and, at the same time, meet the stakeholder and
organizational needs and obligations.
Review your decision – Review your
decision in relationship to your personal and the organization’s values. Would
others see this as a good and right decision?
Evaluate the results – Did the final
outcome achieve the desired results? This is an important step to help develop
and increase your decision-making abilities.
Kidder’s
Nine Steps
Recognize that there is a moral
issue.
Determine the actor (whose moral
issue is it?).
Gather the relevant facts.
Test for right-versus-wrong issues.
Test for right-versus-right
paradigms (what sort of dilemma is this?).
Apply the resolution principles
(ends-based, rule-based, or care-based).
Investigate the “trilemma”
options (look for common ground or compromise).
Make the decision.
Revisit and reflect on the decision.
Spinello’s
Seven-Step Process.
Identify and formulate the basic
ethical issues in each case. Also, consider legal issues and whether ethical
and legal issues are in conflict.
What are your first impressions,
your moral intuition about the problem?
Consult appropriate formal
guidelines, the ethical and/or professional codes.
Analyze the issues from the
viewpoint of one or more of the three ethical frameworks.
Do the theories lead to a single
solution, or do they offer competing alternatives? If competing, which
principle or avenue of reasoning should take precedence?
What is your normative
conclusion—what should happen?
What are the public-policy
implications of this case and your normative recommendations? Should the
recommended behavior be prescribed through policies and laws?
Major Ethical Theories
Teleology (Consequentialism)
Utilitarianism – Seeks the greatest
good for the greatest number of people; wants to make the world a better place
Egoism – Seeks to maximize one’s
individual benefit and minimize harm to self; key idea: survival.
Altruism – Seeks to maximize
decisions and actions based on interests of others, even if at own individual
expense; opposite of egoism.
Common Good – Based on the
assumption that within society, we are all pursuing common goals and values.
Deontology (Rights and Duties)
Duty-Based Ethics (Pluralism) – Based
on Kant’s categorical imperative: all acts can be made into a universal
maximum; act always as an end (not a means)
Rights-Based (Contractarianism) – Seeks
action or policy that best upholds the human rights of individuals involved
(foundation for United States form of government).
Fairness and Justice Approach – Equals
should be treated equally; favoritism and discrimination are unethical.
Virtue – Seeks to encourage all to
develop to their highest potential
For
this paper, the following five elements must be addressed:
Describe a
current IT-related ethical issue: Since this is a paper exercise, not a real-time
situation, you may want to construct a brief scenario where
this issue comes into play, and thus causes an ethical dilemma. The
dilemma may affect you, your family, your job, or your company; or it may be a
matter of public policy or law that affects the general populace. See
the list below for a list of suggested issues, which may be a source of ethical
dilemmas.
Define a
concise problem statement that
is extracted from the above description or scenario. It
is best if you define a specific problem caused by the dilemma, that
needs a specific ethical decision to be made, that will solve the dilemma.
Be aware that if it is a matter of public policy or law, that it may
require a regulatory body or congressional approval to take action to implement
a solution.
Analyze your
problem using one of the structured
decision-making frameworks chosen from above. Make sure that you identify
the decision-making framework utilized. In addition, the steps in the
decision-making framework selected must be used as major headings in the
Analysis section.
Consider and
state the impact of the decision that you made on an individual, an organization, stakeholders,
customers suppliers, and the environment, as applicable!
State and
discuss the applicable ethical theory from
above that supports your decision.
Concerning
your paper:
Use headings
for each topic criteria
Include a Cover Page.
Reminder: Each of the steps for whatever framework that you
select must be a major heading in the Analysis section of your
paper.
Here
are some suggested issues for you to consider, the additional text is designed
to help you flesh out the issue:
1.
Privacy on
the Web: What is happening now in terms
of privacy on the Web? Think about recent abuses and improvements. Describe and
evaluate Web site policies, technical and privacy policy protections, and
current proposals for government regulations.
2.
Personal
Data Privacy Regulations in Other Countries: Report
on personal data privacy regulations, Web site privacy policies, and
governmental/law enforcement about access to personal data in one or more
countries; e.g., the European Union. This is especially relevant as our
global economic community expands and we are more dependent on non-US clients
for e-business over the Internet.
3.
Computer-Based
Crimes: Discuss the most prevalent types
of computer crimes, such as Phishing. Analyze why and how these can occur.
Describe protective measures that might assist in preventing or mitigating
these types of crimes.
4.
Government
Surveillance of the Internet:
The 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001 brought many new laws and permits more
government surveillance of the Internet. Is this a good idea?
5.
The Digital
Divide: Does it exist; what does it
look like; and, what are the ethical considerations and impact?
6.
Privacy in
the Workplace – Monitoring Employee Web and
E-Mail Use: What are current opinions concerning the monitoring of employee
computer use. What policies are employers using? Should this practice of
monitoring, be authorized or not?
7.
Medical
Privacy: Who owns your medical history?
What is the state of current legislation to protect your health information? Is
it sufficient? There are new incentives with federal stimulus financing
for health care organizations to develop and implement digital health records.
8.
Software
Piracy: How many of you have ever made an
unauthorized copy of software, downloaded software or music (free or for a
fee), or used copyrighted information without giving proper credit or asking
permission? Was this illegal or just wrong? How is this being addressed?
9.
9. Consumer Profiling:
With every purchase you make, every Web site you visit, your preferences are
being profiled. What is your opinion regarding the legal authority of these
organizations to collect and aggregate this data?
10. Biometrics & Ethics: Your
fingerprint, retinal-vessel image, and DNA map can exist entirely as a digital
image in a computer, on a network, or in the infosphere. What new and old
ethical problems must we address?
11. Social Networking: What are some of the ethical issues surrounding using new
social networks? How are these now considered for business use?
What are business social communities? Are new/different protections and
security needed for these networks?
12. Medicine and Psychiatry in Cyberspace: Some considerations include: privacy issues; security;
third-party record-keeping; electronic medical records; access to information,
even by the patient (patient rights); access to information by outsiders
without patient knowledge; authority to transfer and/or share information. Are
there any policies proposed by professional organizations?
13. Counterterrorism and Information Systems: Your protection versus your rights
14. Open-source Software versus Closed-source Software: Ethical ramifications and impact on intellectual
property law
15. Creative Commons Licenses: How
do they work and what are the legal and ethical impacts and concerns?
16. Universal ID card: What
is the general position of the U.S. government about issuing each individual a
unique ID card? Which individual U.S. government agencies have already provided
a unique ID card? What steps have been taken to include individual ID
information electronically in passports? How is privacy and security provided?
17. Video Games: Does
playing video games distract from everyday responsibilities? Do video games
correlate with real world violence? Why do game creators continually increase
the violence of video games? What is video game addiction?
18. Cyberbullying: What
is cyberbullying and what can be done to stop it?
19. Net Neutrality: What
is the current position of the federal government and is it fair to all?
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