The Ethics of Information Systems
Introduction
Information systems in their simplest forms have always been a part of business. With the increase of technology, business information systems are expanding and becoming a more intriqet part of how business is done. Companies count on information systems to support their business decisions and operations. Along with this increasing role comes the questions of ethical actions. Taking this into consideration this paper will cover what information systems are. What is ethics, and how does it apply to information systems and business? We will look at what has been done to promote ethical behavior as well as discuss what more could be done to better increase this desired behavior in regard to information systems. With newer and different ways of doing business constantly appearing, business is left with the task of integrating long held standards and ethics into these new fields. This is an increasingly important aspect of business given the many scandals and attempted cover-ups that have emerged recently within businesses of all types.
To start out with what is an information system? I stated that information systems have been around for a long time, and found information systems defined as “(1) A set of people, procedures, and resources that collects, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization. (2) A system that accepts data resources as input and processes them into information products as output.” (Management Information Systems) Information systems therefore were originally people gathering information and processing it into useable data through a set of defined steps. For many companies, IS is the name of the department responsible for computers, networking ...
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Everyone is looking for better and healthier life! People today pay more and more attention to the food they eat, they want it to be healthy and tasty, on the other side modern life is so dynamic and eventful, that the food must be fast. So you need to come up with something that will support all these needs. The great solution is Frozen Yogurt. It is a refreshing, savory dessert that combines the flavors and textures of ice cream and sherbet. Frozen yogurt is a new-comer in the dessert market. Nevertheless, “the history of frozen desserts dates back thousands of years to Asia where water ices were first made.’’ (wiki) Yogurt was brought to the U.S. in the early 1900s and steadily increased in popularity as a health food item over the next several decades. By the 1970s, with the popularity of ice cream technology was transferred to the production of frozen yogurt. But it’s entry into the dessert market was a distinct failure—consumers complained that it tasted too much like yogurt. Relaying on consumer demand for a sweet product that tasted like ice cream, TCBY opened its first store in 1981. The highest popularity comes to Fro-yo by the mid 1990s. But in the late 1990s as Americans turned their attention to high-protein, high-fat diets, demand for frozen yogurt slowed considerably. Low-fat foods such as frozen yogurt fell out of favor as food trends preferred higher fat and lower cost ice cream at the turn of the millennium. Trends changed back to frozen yogurt in the mid 2000s with the advent of live probiotic powder-based mixes. Over the last decade the production of frozen yogurt has grown multi-million dollar business with dozens of competing companies.
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Laws have an important role in maintaining order within society. Understandably, society comprises of different individuals with differing aspirations, beliefs, personalities, and merits – just to name a few. Allowing individuals to push their personal desires using resources available to them would not only lead to a disordered society, but also one that embraces injustice and prejudice. Laws are the common principles that guide the conduct of individuals in society while ensuring that society upholds the rights of everyone who is part of it. Such laws accrue as a resemblance of morality for entities in society to which all members are held accountable irrespective of their race, social class, or popularity. However,
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In every society around the world, the law is affecting everyone since it shapes the behavior and sense of right and wrong for every citizen in society. Laws are meant to control a society’s behavior by outlining the accepted forms of conduct. The law is designed as a neutral aspect existent to solve society’s problems, a system specially designed to provide people with peace and order. The legal system runs more efficiently when people understand the laws they are intended to follow along with their legal rights and responsibilities.
At this point one can distinguish Black?s tendency to unite the opposites, especially evident in his concluding paragraph stating that if all the trends continue, humans are in the advent of a new society, which will be ?at once close and distant, homogenous and diverse, organized and autonomous, where reputations and other statuses fluctuate from one day to the next? (Black 133). The author predicts the future of law, its quantity and style as the meteorologist predicts the weather, observing the environment and making conclusions.
The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior (Fieser, 2009). Many of the decisions one faces in a typical day could result in a multitude of outcomes. At times it can be hard to determine whether or not the decision you are making is an ethical one. Many philosophies have been devised to illustrate the different ways of evaluating moral decisions. Normative ethics focuses on assessing right and wrong behavior. This may involve reinforcing positive habits, duties we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior (Fieser, 2009). Of the many normative philosophies two stand out to be most accepted; teleology and deontology. Although they oppose each other in how actions are evaluated, they uphold many similar characteristics under the surface.
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For every technological introduction or advancement, there are consequences which come with it. This excludes not those that come with introduction of management information systems in companies. The modern society is entirely depended on information systems. Failure of these systems, today, can be declared as end of humanity. Worse enough is that there is a generational shift whereby future generations will not live without information systems that manage information. However, latest evaluations of the impact of management information systems have proven that there are chances, which are very high, of ethics being abused at the work place. Both the employees and the employers, are guarded by certain cord of ethics which aim at regulating the dignity of everybody at working place; and how far one party can be influential on the other especially on matters pertaining privacy. Profit making goals should not, by any means, overlook the importance of working ethics. This paper endeavors to explore areas of major concern where working ethics are likely to be compromised or have already been compromised at the working place due to institution of management information systems. Nevertheless, this research does not underscore the importance of these systems at the working place. The aim is to expose the negative impacts that might result from misuse of management information systems. These impacts can emanate from either party that forms part of the organization. In this case, mostly, it is either from the employee or the employer.
In the early years of computers and computerized technology, computer engineers had to believe that their contribution to the development of computer technology would produce positive impacts on the people that would use it. During the infancy of computer technology, ethical issues concerning computer technology were almost nonexistent because computers back then were not as multifaceted as they are today. However, ethical issues relating to computer technology and cyber technology is undeniable in today’s society. Computer technology plays a crucial role in all aspects of our daily lives. Different forms of computer technology provide unique functionalities that allow people to perform daily activities effectively and efficiently. In modern society, we use computer and cyber technology to communicate with friends and family via social networking sites, participate in business transactions, and get current news. Different tasks require unique technological feature in computer technology to function properly. Although, unique technological features increase people’s proficiency in accomplishing various tasks, unique technological features in computer and cyber technology increase security vulnerabilities. In many cases, the security vulnerabilities in computer technology are exploited by cybercriminals to invade people’s privacy, and steal people’s identity. We know that computers have no moral compass; they cannot make moral decisions for themselves. Essentially, people make moral decisions that affect others positively or negatively depending on how they use computer technology. Some of the biggest ethical issues facing people in the computing environment include privacy concerns on the web and identity theft. Privacy concerns...
Law is the foundation of central structures of social life on which society’s integrity depends, which is why Petrazycki, Ehrlich and Habermas perceive it to be a key steering mechanism in society,
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The relationship between law and morality has been argued over by legal theorists for centuries. The debate is constantly be readdressed with new cases raising important moral and legal questions. This essay will explain the nature of law and morality and how they are linked.
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The Internet has received a great deal of attention in the media lately due to its tremendous