What about moving the information from his office computer to his home computer?

Taking Work Home – Computer Ethics
Matthew Burgaw works for the large accounting firm of Taylor, Johnson, and Taylor. Matthew was recently working on a project for the firm, reviewing client activity over the last five years. For this project Matthew was reviewing the client’s basic information such as type of client, location, industry, etc. as well as the type of work, how often, and the billings for them. Included also was the financial aspects of each client project (revenues versus expenses). To put together this report, Matthew was provided access to all files in the firm’s main computer. It takes Matthew several weeks to find the information he needs because it is located in a variety of places in the system. As he finds information, he downloads it to the computer in his office; that is, he copied the information from the main computer onto the hard disk drive in his office computer. Under pressure to get the report finished by the deadline, Matthew finds that he is continuously distracted at work. He decides that he will have to work at home over the weekend to finish on time. This will not be a problem. He copies the information onto a portable hard drive and takes it home. He finishes the report over the weekend. To be safe, he leaves a copy of the report on his home computer as well as copying it onto the hard drive which he takes back to work.

Using the material here on Computer Ethics as well as the material we have covered in class regarding Ethics and Ethical Decision-making, discuss the following (this is a discussion, not simply short answer)…
Was Matthew wrong in moving personal information from the main computer to his office computer?
What about moving the information from his office computer to his home computer?
And then leaving the information on his computer at home?
What could happen as a result of Matthew’s treatment of the data?
Should Matthew’s firm have a policy on the use of personal information stored in its system?
What might such a policy specify?
How does accounting ethics play a role in this dilemma?

For this assignment, the Case of the Month rubric will be used and is attached below. However, it breaks down as such…
Content Knowledge – 30 points
Organization – 20 points
Professionalism – 20 points
Word Count Minimum – 30 points
Timeliness – (no deductions for meeting the deadline)

So, to reiterate, 60% of your grade on this assignment is applying information learned from the course material so far as well as make sure to meet the MINIMUM word count (750 words) for this assignment.

Type your discussion up in a Word document. Once you have completed your submission, you will want to save the file on your computer and then, using the title link above, submit it. Any questions should be directed to your instructor well in advance of the deadline.

To maximize your grade potential, make sure:
All requirements for the assignment were met:
Submission addresses all parts/questions as assigned in the instructions.
Submission is 750 words in length.
Submission is your original work.
Correct grammar and spelling and complete sentences were used.
Be sure to provide citations for any “borrowed” work.
All work is completed by the assignment deadline.
Work is submitted as a Word doc file.

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