mis bba 10+chapter four fall+2012 beta
TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © M @dil @ K@zi
Copyright © M @dil @ K@zi
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Islamabad
Management Information Systems
Title of Book: Management Information Systems:
(Managing the Digital Firm. 10th ED)
By: Laudon, Kenneth C & Laudon, Jane P.
Faculty: M Adil A Kazi [email protected]
Batch/ Section: BBA- 10/ A-B
Semester: Fall-2012
Credit Hrs: 3
Monday, August 27, 2012
Ethical and Social
Issues in Information
Systems
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Islamabad
Copyrights © 2011- M @dil @ K@zi
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
• Analyze the relationships among ethical, social, and
political issues that are raised by information systems.
• Identify the main moral dimensions of an information
society and specific principles for conduct that can be
used to guide ethical decisions.
• Evaluate the impact of contemporary information systems
and the Internet on the protection of individual privacy and
intellectual property.
• Assess how information systems have affected everyday
life.
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Information System & Technology a two-edge weapon
Opportunity & Threat go together
While it is a source of many benefits whereas it carry high risks; create
new opportunities for breaking the law or exploiting sensitive information
to get benefits away from others. Creating ethical dilemma…
Warning: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!”
Does Location Tracking Threaten Privacy?
• Problem: New opportunities from new technology and need for
greater security.
• Solutions: Redesigning business processes and products to
support location monitoring increases sales and security.
• Deploying GPS and RFID tracking devices with a location
tracking database enables location monitoring.
• Demonstrates IT’s role in creating new opportunities for
improved business performance
• Illustrates how technology can be a double-edged sword by
providing benefits such as increased sales and security while
compromising privacy.
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
• The SECURITY and ETHICAL ISSUES
raised by the Information Age & INTERNET
are the most explosive to face our society in
decades.
• SOCIALLY RESPONSIVE &
ACCEPTABLES policies & practices need
time to evolve.
• IS & T is rapidly changing and require a
strong grip to understand its effects & impacts
to make erudite legislations, regulations,
policies & practices.
• And by then a lot of water had run under the
bridge.
• It remain a big challenge more for
Information System dependent societies that
less developed ones.
Each American is listed in about
60 government and 80 private
sector databases.
On a typical day, each person‘s
name is passed between
computers 10 times.
A lot of personal information
about us has always been
available, just not as easily and
as readily as today.
Massive databases maintained
by commercial companies and
governments at all levels now
allow profiling like that above to
be accomplished easier and
faster than ever before.
A model for thinking about ethical, social, &
political issues
• Freedom of speech,
• Personal responsibility,
• Corporate responsibility
• Right of access to information
As individual actors are confronted with new situations
often not covered by the old rules
Social institutions cannot respond overnight to these
ripples...may take years to develop etiquette,
expectations, social responsibility, politically correct
attitudes or approved rules!
Political institutions also require time before developing
new laws and often require the demonstration of real
harm before they act.
In the meantime, you may have to act. You may be
forced to act in a legal ‗Gray Area.‘
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
The U.S & EU governments are just beginning to pass laws against cybercrimes but it‘s
difficult to stay one step ahead of the cybercriminals
Ever since 30 years of Internet &
10 years of www, the societies
globally face the IT cropped ethical
issues & dilemmas.
Ethics being a relative term
extends the opportunity to one
person‘s whimsies & desire to use
or abuse information; a much
easier ability facilitated by the
Internet
How you act, individually and as
groups, in this Gray Area may well
define the future of our society
Relationship
Ethical, Social, and Political Issues in an Information Society
Figure 4-1
The introduction of
Information Systems
Technology has a ripple effect,
raising new ethical, social, and
political issues that must be
dealt with on the individual,
social, and political
institutional levels.
These issues have five moral
dimensions:
• Information rights and obligations,
• Property rights and obligations,
• System quality,
• Quality of life, and
• Accountability and control.
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Relationship Ethical, Social, and Political Issues in an Information Society Information rights & obligations: a) What information rights do individuals & organizations possess w.r.t.
themselves?
b) What can they protect?
c) What obligations do individuals & organizations have concerning this
information?
Property rights and obligations: How will traditional intellectual property rights be protected in a digital society,
in which tracing & accounting for ownership are difficult & ignoring such
property rights is so easy?
System quality: What standards of data & system quality should we demand to protect
individual rights & the safety of society
Quality of life: a) What values should be preserved in a information & knowledge based
society?
b) Which institution should we protect from violation?
c) Which cultural values & practices are supported by the new information
technology?
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Accountability & Control: Who can & will be held
accountable & liable for the harm
done to individual & collective
information & property rights?
Key technology trends that raise ethical issues
IT has heightened ethical concerns, taxed existing social arrangements, & made some laws
obsolete or severely crippled as it has created new approaches & opportunities for criminal
behaviour & mischief
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
DoubleClick: a major Internet advertising broker, announced in early 2000 that it would use data
gathered from web sites in conjunction with data collected from sources other than the Internet to
identify people by name — a process known as profiling. It intended to sell the data to marketers who
would be able to target advertising campaigns more efficiently. Public outcry about privacy issues
forced DoubleClick to cancel its plans.
Key technology trends that raise ethical issues
IT has heightened ethical concerns, taxed existing social arrangements, & made some laws
obsolete or severely crippled as it has created new approaches & opportunities for criminal
behaviour & mischief
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
ChoicePoint: is one of the largest data brokers with more than 5,000 employees, gathers data from
police, criminal, & motor vehicle records: credit & employment histories, current & previous addresses;
professional licenses, & insurance claims – assembling & maintaining e-dossiors on almost every
adult in US. Choicepoint sells these personal information to business & government agencies
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
Key technology trends that raise
ethical issues
Profiling is possible through the
technique called data mining. Adding to
that the capabilities of NonObvious
Relationship Awareness (NORA) data
analysis technology, as being shown in, a
complete stranger might know just as
much about you as you do. It can and has
been done. So you should be concerned
and you should care.
Technological trends are posing
new situations and questions we
haven’t had to deal with before. As
it’s you, your world and your
future, and you should be
concerned and become involved in
their resolution.
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Understanding Ethical and Social Issues Related to Systems
• Read the Interactive Session: Management, and then discuss the
following questions:
• Do data brokers pose an ethical dilemma? Explain your
answer.
• What are the problems caused by the proliferation of data
brokers? What management, organization, and technology
factors are responsible for these problems?
• How effective are existing solutions to these problems?
• Should the U.S. federal government regulate private data
brokers? Why or why not? What are the advantages and
disadvantages?
Data for Sale
• Responsibility, Accountability,
Liability
• Ethical analysis
• Candidate ethical principles
• Professional codes of conduct
• Some real-world ethical
dilemmas
Ethics in an Information Society
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
BASIC CONCEPTS:
Ethics - are principals of right & wrong that can be used by individuals (acting as free moral agents) to make
choices to guide their behaviours.
Having alternative courses of action, one has to determine…
WHAT is the correct moral choice? WHAT are the main features of ethical choices?
Ethical choices are decisions made by individuals who are responsible for the consequences of their chosen
courses of action! Responsibility: Accepting potential costs, duties, and obligations
for your decisions.
Accountability: Determining who should take responsibility for
decisions and actions.
Liability: Legally placing responsibility with a person or group.
Due Process: ensuring the laws are applied fairly and correctly.
• Responsibility, Accountability,
Liability
• Ethical analysis
• Candidate ethical principles
• Professional codes of conduct
• Some real-world ethical
dilemmas
Ethics in an Information Society
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
BASIC CONCEPTS:
Ethics - are principals of right & wrong that can be used by individuals (acting as free moral agents) to make
choices to guide their behaviours.
Having alternative courses of action, one has to determine…
WHAT is the correct moral choice? WHAT are the main features of ethical choices?
Ethical choices are decisions made by individuals who are responsible for the consequences of their chosen
courses of action!
These basic concepts form the underpinning of an
Ethical Analysis of Info Systems & those who manage
them.
Identify and describe clearly the facts.
Separate fact from fiction.
Define the conflict or dilemma and identify the higher-order values involved.
Remember, no matter how thin you slice it, there’s always two sides.
Identify the stakeholders.
Determine who’s really involved.
Identify the options that you can reasonably take
Compromise; it doesn’t always have to be an “either-or” outcome.
Identify the potential consequences of your options.
Anticipate the outcome; it will help you devise better solutions.
• Responsibility, Accountability,
Liability
• Ethical analysis
• Candidate ethical principles
• Professional codes of conduct
• Some real-world ethical
dilemmas
Ethics in an Information Society
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
BASIC CONCEPTS:
Ethics - are principals of right & wrong that can be used by individuals (acting as free moral agents) to make
choices to guide their behaviours.
Having alternative courses of action, one has to determine…
WHAT is the correct moral choice? WHAT are the main features of ethical choices?
Ethical choices are decisions made by individuals who are responsible for the consequences of their chosen
courses of action! Candidate Ethical Principals are deeply rooted in cultures around the
world in their everyday business. But they are equally valid even in
cyberspace!
Golden rule — do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative — if an action is not right for
everyone to take, it is not right for anyone.
Descartes’ rule of change — if an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is
not right to take at all.
Utilitarian Principle — take the action that achieves the higher or greater
value.
Risk Aversion Principle — take the action that produces the least harm
or the least potential cost.
Ethical “no free lunch” Rule — assume that virtually all tangible and
intangible objects are owned by someone else unless there is a specific
declaration otherwise.
Information rights: Privacy and freedom in the Internet Age
Privacy is the claim of individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other
individuals or organisations, including the state
IS & T has threatened individual claims to privacy by making the invasion of privacy cheap, profitable and
effective (e.g. workplace surveillance technologies etc. )
Fair Information Practices (FIP) – (Euro-Americana privacy law regime). is a set of principles
governing the collection and use of information about individuals. FIP principles are based on the notion
of a mutuality of interest between the record holder and the individual.
• The European directive on data protection – Companies to inform and disclose people when they collect info. about them & how it ‗d be stored & used
The customer‘s Informed Consent is a pre-requisite to legally use data about them for business purposes.
• Internet challenges to privacy – Many websites make their privacy policies obvious and others don‘t.
Be careful about the terminologies used by websites/ portals as some actually abide by their policies and others don‘t.
They distinguishes between personally identifiable information and anonymous information. They can match the two types of information to further identify you.
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Information rights: Privacy and freedom in the Internet Age
Privacy is the claim of individuals to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other
individuals or organisations, including the state
IS & T has threatened individual claims to privacy by making the invasion of privacy cheap, profitable and
effective (e.g. workplace surveillance technologies etc. )
Fair Information Practices (FIP) – (Euro-Americana privacy law regime). is a set of principles
governing the collection and use of information about individuals. FIP principles are based on the notion
of a mutuality of interest between the record holder and the individual.
• The European directive on data protection – Companies to inform and disclose people when they collect info. about them & how it ‗d be stored & used
The customer‘s Informed Consent is a pre-requisite to legally use data about them for business purposes.
• Internet challenges to privacy – Many websites make their privacy policies obvious and others don‘t.
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
How do these organizations gather the information?
By using cookies; part of every browser program - a tiny file deposited on the hard disk when
an individual visits certain site. It identifies the user & track his visits to the website.
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
How Cookies identify web visitors
Spyware detection software - helps you secure your identity theft attempts
Opt-in & Opt-out Models – one permits collection of personal information until the user revokes for so and
the other prohibits from collection of personal information unless the user specifically approves information
collection & its use. (Europeans practice opt-in whereas Americans practice opt-out)
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Technical solutions
Some tools that can help you block
someone from tracing your Internet
activities.
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) – a freeware
encryption software programs for e-mail.
Its limitations are that both the SENDER
and RECIPIENT must have the program
installed in order for it to work
Platform for Privacy Practices (P3P) -
embedded in Internet Explorer version 6.0
that allows the user to determine what
sites can collect information behind the
scenes through the user‘s cookie files.
Because the P3P standards are ―machine-
readable‖ the user doesn‘t have to search
each Web site for its privacy policy. The
user can let the computers do the
comparison and automatically block any
site not conforming to the user‘s wishes.
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Property rights: Intellectual property The laws and policies in place to settle disputes about trade secrets, copyrights, and patents have to
be rewritten to apply to the Internet.
Intellectual property is a result of someone’s effort at creating a product of value based on their
experiences, knowledge, and education. We may say - intellectual property is brain power.
Patents
A legal document that grants the owner an
exclusive monopoly on the ideas behind an
invention for 17 years; designed to ensure that
inventors of new machines or methods are
rewarded for their labor while making widespread
use of their inventions.
Trade secrets Any intellectual work or product used
for a business purpose that can be
classified as belonging to that
business, provided it is not based on
information in the public domain.
Copyright © A statutory grant that
protects creators of
intellectual property
against copying by others
for any purpose for a
minimum of 70 years
Challenges to intellectual
property rights (no return of
your product)
Everything on the Web is
considered to be protected
under copyright and intellectual
property laws unless the
contents specifically stated to
be public domain.
Digital Millennium Copyright©
Act (DMCA) 1998 makes it a
federal offense to violate
Copyright© laws on the
Internet, punishable with a fine
up to $250,000
Accountability, liability, and control
One tenet of the Communications Decency Act and the Child Online Protection Act is that the Internet
Service Providers (ISP) should somehow be liable for content placed on the Internet through their users.
“If you receive an obscene phone call, is the telephone company responsible and liable for the problem?
“If you receive a threatening letter in the mail, is the Post Office department responsible for reading every piece
of mail on the chance that there might be a problem in one of the letters?”
All of the following factors require significant interrelated checks & balances, that the usage facilities &
benefits the consumer in socially productive & responsible manner:
Technology – Facility - Security – Privacy – Responsibility – Accountability – Liability - Control
Computer-related liability problems
As our dependence on the use of computer systems grows, legal courts have no choice but to develop
laws designed to deal with computer-related liability problems.
Traditionally, software producers have not been held physically or economically liable for any harm that
comes about through the use of their software products.
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
System quality: Data quality and system errors
If your record has been presented somewhere with wrong information - who’s fault is it?
While driving a fully loaded (e-transmission) car on a highway the computer chip controlling
brake system fails resulting in a rather nasty crash. Who’s at fault? <You>, <the car
company>, or <the company that made the computer chip>?
A virus carried by an e-mail or a download product, affecting your system – can fix a
responsibility on <ISP>, <a public domain portals>, <the software manufacturer> or
<the company that licenses the software>?
Three principal sources of poor system performance are described as:
1. Software bugs and errors
2. Hardware or telecommunication facility failures caused by natural or other causes
3. Poor input data quality
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Quality of life: Equity, access, and boundaries:
• Losing the face-to-face contact with other human beings
• Under-developed normal social skills in children who spend most of their time on computers
• Online love affairs & obnoxious or false identity relationship crimes
• Exposures and theft of digital images – confidential or personal - to hacker (groups & individuals)
Some of Acts and Foundations have been in service to encounter such issues:
• The Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) April 2000.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation, http://www.eff.org/, an organization dedicated to ―protecting rights and
preserving freedom in the electronic frontier,‖ has lots of information about protecting free speech on the
Internet.
Balancing power: Center versus periphery (out-streams)
• Centralized mainframe computers centralized power at corporate headquarters levels.
• Shift toward highly decentralized computing, decentralized of decision making to respective (Strategic –
Tactical & Operational) organizational level making business organizations a flatten structure
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Rapidity of change: Reduced response time to competition
• Created much more efficient national and international markets.
• Competitive positioning: are we at risk of developing a “just-in-time society” with “just-in-time jobs” and “just-
in-time” workplaces, families, and vacations?
Maintaining boundaries: Family, work, and leisure
• One quality-of-life issue that affects more and more people personally is the ability to work from home.
• Life becomes too mechanized & swiveling man into family – workplace & leisure paradox adversely effecting
social patterns of life.
Dependence and vulnerability
Societies becoming incredibility dependent on information systems - putting ourselves in a highly vulnerable
position if these systems fail.
Information systems – becoming a commonplace requirement as having a television in our homes (Beware - no
regulatory or standard-setting forces in place to regulate IS).
Computer Crime & Abuse
Computer Crime - Commission of an illegal act thru the use of computer or against the computer system.
Computer Abuse – Commission of acts involving a computer that may not be illegal but considered unethical.
e.g. SPAM
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
The Spamming Problem
Spam – a junk email sent by an organization or individual to a mass audience of Internet
users who have expressed no interest in the product or service being marketed
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
Employment: Trickle-down technology and reengineering job loss
• Job losses and career changes caused by technology - you‘ll be a part of the evolution of technology for
the rest of your life.
• Be competitive in the job market by continual update of your technology skills and knowledge.
Equity and access: Increasing racial and social class cleavages
Unequal access to technology has triggered a Digital Divide amongst individuals, organisations, societies
& nations
Health risks: RSI, CVS, and Techno-stress As managers, you should be acutely aware of the health issues caused by computer usage - Repetitive
• Stress Injury (RSI) - also called cumulative trauma disorder (CTD), occupational overuse syndrome, or
work related upper limb disorder (WRULD), is any of a loose group of conditions resulting from overuse of a
tool, such as a computer keyboard or musical instrument or other activity that requires repeated movements.
• Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is a temporary condition resulting from focusing the eyes on a
computer display for protracted, uninterrupted periods of time that strain eyesight.
• Technostress is the psychological resistance of change that accompanies newly introduced machines to
work, home & leisure situations
• Read the Interactive Session: Organizations, and then discuss the
following questions:
• Does use of the Internet by children and teenagers pose an
ethical dilemma? Why or why not?
• Should parents restrict use of the Internet by children or
teenagers? Why or why not?
The Internet: Friend or Foe to Children?
Management Information Systems Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems
The Moral Dimensions of Information Systems