Ethics In IT Management (Ali-Mollabagher.Com)

LOGO Islamic Azad University Science & Research Campus IT Management Advanced Management Theories Ethics In IT Management Instructor Dr.Ra’ad Far Presented by: Ali Mollabagher Eshrat Shafaat ed 2 Semester of 2009 Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Outline  Introduction  What Statistics Show ?  What is Ethics ?  What do we mean by Ethics ?  Why Does Unethical Behavior Occur?  In Real World  In Virtual World  Some General Ethical Principles  The Golden Rule.  The Categorical Imperative  The Slippery Slope Rule  The Utilitarian Rule  No Free Lunch

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved  Information Technology Ethics  IT Ethical Issues  Codes of ethics  Intellectual property rights  Copyright  Patents  Trademarks  Trade secrets.  Accountability  Personal and data privacy  Freedom of speech versus censorship  Ownership of information  Ethical Challenges In Information Technology

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Introduction The wide application of IT and the pervasive nature of the Internet have created many opportunities for activities that some people may judge to be unethical. That’s why Ethics in information technology is becoming an important issue in ― IT Age‖. on one hand these opportunities can help people to do their works easier . One the other hand , it suppresses some creators’ rights .In this paper, We are about to take a look at some main ethical subjects in IT and Present some ethical rule which are accepted by a vast majority of people to aid them following ―The Right things‖ In their society in order to Living together by Mutual Respect.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved What is Ethics ?  Moral principles and beliefs about what is right or wrong (utilitarian, rights & justice)  Ethics has been defined as involving the systematic application of moral rules, standards, and principles to concrete problems (Lewis, 1985).  The body of moral principles or values governing or distinctive of a particular culture or group

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved What do we mean by Ethics ? Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the analysis of decisions and actions with respect to their Appropriateness in a given Social Context.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Why Does Unethical Behavior Occur?  In Real World :  Personal ethics: ethics developed as part of the upbringing and education  Self-interest: weighing our own personal interests against the effects of our actions on others  Outside pressure: pressures from the reward systems, industry and other forces …

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved  Example 2 : Most of us would not pick a lock to someone’s house However Guessing passwords to gain access to a website, information, or programs is common !

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved • Example 3 : Sometimes the technology is not well understood…romance and fear may accompany a new technologies. Movies, Books, TV capitalize on this fear and romance and make unethical or illegal actions seem heroic, or necessary

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved The Slippery Slope Rule ―If an action can be repeated over and over again with no negative consequences, then no problem. But if such a repeated action would lead to disastrous consequences, then the action should not be undertaken even once.‖

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved The Utilitarian Rule ―The best action is the one that provides the most good for the most people.‖ ―The best action is the one that leads to the least harm or costs the least.‖

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Information Technology Ethics  Deal with proper use of technology devices, data, services, and software.  Prior to Technology it may have been easier to know whether the activity was right or wrong

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved IT Ethical Issues Codes of ethics Intellectual property rights Accountability Personal and data privacy Freedom of speech versus censorship Information Ownership

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Codes of Ethics Codes of ethics involve the formalizing of some rules and expected actions. Codes of ethics are valuable for raising awareness of ethical issues and clarifying what is acceptable behavior in a variety of circumstances.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property is the intangible property created by individuals or organizations. Intellectual property is protected under laws relating to :  Copyright  Patents  Trademarks  Trade secrets. Property that represents the fruit of one’s endeavors.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Accountability accountability refers to the acknowledgment that a person (or group of people) takes Responsibility for a decision or action, is prepared to justify that decision/action, and if necessary to give Compensation to affected parties if the decision/ action causes negative effects, whether intended or otherwise.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Personal and data privacy claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, and to what extent, information about them is communicated to others.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved SIX PRINCIPLES OF THE DATA PRIVACY  1. Purpose and manner of collection Data should be collected in a fair and lawful manner. Data users should explain to data subjects what data is being collected and how it will be used.  2. Accuracy and duration of retention Personal data that has been collected should be kept accurate, up-to-date, and for no longer than is necessary.  3. Use Data must be used only for the specific or directly related purpose for which it was collected. Any other use is conditional on consent of the data subject.  4. Security Suitable security measures should be applied to personal data.  5. Information availability Data users should be open about the kind of data that they store and what they use it for.  6. Access Data subjects have the right to access their personal data, to verify its accuracy, and to request Correction.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Freedom of speech versus censorship The right to speak, or otherwise communicate, one's opinion without fear of harm or prosecution. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship or limitation.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Information Ownership  if you use information in your day-to-day work, then you should be responsible for it.  Suppose you write a Report following a member of staff’s annual review. This report is obviously confidential to some degree – it should only be viewed by a select group of people.  Since you created the report, this makes you the information owner. As the information owner, you are responsible for protecting this document to an appropriate degree

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Malware A student finds the teacher’s password to the school’s information system and uses it to change his grades and the grades of other students.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Intellectual Property • Is it acceptable to buy a software product, and then to install it twice? • How about if you install it, then give it to a friend for personal use? • Alternatively, what if you install it and use a CD writer to create 100 copies—and sell them for profit to anyone who wishes to buy? • What about making the software available on a Web site for others to download? • What about trading software on the Web (consumer to consumer)?

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved A student downloads a graphic file from the web to place on his own webpage. However, he does provide a link to the author’s site. A student uses another student’s project website as a guideline. A student copies a previous published story in his own handwriting and submits it as his own work. Do we need better/clearer definitions of property?

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Freedom of speech versus censorship On The Internet  Should the internet have censored topics which would be illegal to post and/or view freely by children?  Freedom of speech does not protect speech that harms the wellbeing, security, or welfare of people in society (Leonard, 2008). Therefore, should certain regulations be lawful to stop communication that encourages violence, obscenity, defamation, or possibly harmful outcomes

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Pornography  A student downloads a sexually explicit picture from the Internet on a computer in the school library. Other students are able to see the picture.  What security measures need to be put in place by schools, parents, companies and libraries to keep individuals from seeing inappropriate materials?

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Right Vs. Duty  1. Does a company have the right to read its employees’ e-mail?  2. Does a company have the right to monitor the Web sites that its employees visit from company computers?  3. Does an employee have the duty to its owners (stockholders) to use company resources only for company purposes/business?  4. Does an employee have the duty to report the misuse of company resources?  5. Does an individual have the right to data privacy?

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved  6. Does an individual have the duty to ensure that personal data held about him or her is at all times accurate and up-to-date?  7. Does a software developer have the right to use disclaimers to minimize or eliminate responsibility for software failures?  8. Does an end-user have the duty to respect the intellectual property vested in a product—by not decompiling and modifying it, even if the purpose is to improve the product?  9. Does a data subject (e.g., member of the public) have the right to access and to correct data records held by government agencies and departments (e.g., police, anticorruption agencies, taxing agencies)?  10. Does a data user (e.g., the government) have the duty to ensure that it responds promptly to data subjects’ requests for access to that data?

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved Conclusion  The appropriate relationship between rights and duties is clearly critical. Any understanding of this relationship will be informed by social and cultural circumstances.  The lack of concrete ―correct‖ answers, due to legal and ethical differences in different societies.  You may be surprised to discover that there are no ―correct‖ answers to these questions. Legally, it depends on the jurisdiction where you live and work. Ethically, it depends on the specific cultural and social circumstances of the environment in which you live and work.

Copyright © 2008-2009 Ali-Mollabagher.com | All rights reserved References Agranoff, M. H., “Controlling the Threat to Personal Privacy,”Journal of Information  Systems Management, Summer 1993. British Computer Society, “British Computer Society Code of Conduct,”  bcs.org.uk/aboutbcs/coc.htm, 2000. Accessed November 2, 2000. Davison, R. M., “Professional Ethics in Information Systems: A Personal View,”  Communications of the AIS, 3(8), 2000. Lewis, P. V., “Defining Business Ethics: Like Nailing Jello to the Wall,” Journal of Business  Ethics, 4(5), 1985, pp. 377–383.  Locke, J., Second Treatise of Civil Government. New York: Bobbs- Merrill, 1964. Steidlmeier, P., “The Moral Legitimacy of Intellectual Property Claims: American Business and Developing Country Perspectives,”  Journal of Business Ethics, 12(2), 1993, pp. 157–164. Warren, S. D., and L. D. Brandeis, “The Right to Privacy,” Harvard Law Review, 193, 1890, pp. 193–220 And More … 

Ethics In IT Management (Ali-Mollabagher.Com)

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