Ethics in Information and Technology

By Raul Bernardino

Introduction:

The Internet global communication has brought countries without any boarder. In this case country law and enforcement has to be overridden with the international law. For instance, the crimes happened over the internet. “Normally physical location of the crimes will be determined the jurisdiction and sets of law to be applied,” Hall, P. A.V. & Fernandez-Ramil, J. (2007, P. 95). However, a person from Africa, sites the information on the Asia internet web sites whereas insulting or offence a person in Europe or USA, which law will be applied. Will it apply USA Law? Will it apply European Law? Will it apply African Law or Asia Law? In this complexity case, it will be analysis it sets of the laws and applied the international law.

The CIO is using utilitarian approach on the Schrage scenarios. According to the Benthem is that ‘the greatest happiness to the greatest number’. This means that any decision to be taken it has to base on the benefits to the majority numbers of the employees and for the sake of the business operations. The CIO sees that outsourcing is the best practice to help company operation and minimized the operation cost than using internal IT then it has to be outsource. The internal IT team has to learn from the outsourcing team in order to perform next term. According to Dewey “doing in a right thing is good for the business”. Further Dewey explains that to disclose the information to the boss has to be done in the right moment or in the right time and in the right place. However, the CIOs have to think ahead and look the for the long-term business operation before it comes to the conclusion or decision.

With the normative approach, the CIOs have to use the internal policies, procedures, agreements, code of conducts, and organization culture or behaviors and values as a base for judging the employees, given the rewords and recognitions to the best performing of the employees. Therefore, in the Schrage scenarios, the CIO will be taking decisions base on the normative that has been taken place in the organization. This will be very clear for the CIOs to make a decision on the outsourcing in case the internal IT team cannot perform the task in timely manner. It can be outsourced the activities such as the CRM system development. The internal IT team can be learned from outsourcing best practices for the future implementation. In term of disclosing the information to the boss, in my case, as an employee had a confidential agreement with the organization whereas I can’t disclose any institutional memories to the public. It has to be approved by organization before it goes to public. In other end as employee that embedded in to the organization has a responsibility to make right thing in the organization. Also inform unethical issues to the management to solve in the proper manner.

In the short term run, the organization or company may loss the employees because not well rewarded to their efforts. In the Schrage scenario for the CRM system development, it can be forced to lose staff because the company willing to have outsource to meet the dead-line. In the long run it can be benefit to the organization or company because the CRM system in place and each to track customers information for the future businesses. The CRM system will make organization or company business more effective. According to Gupta and other stated that “the CIO has to consider the long term runs of the company rather than just current needs.” New ideas and constructive critics coming from employees in which that are for the improvement of the organizations and companies, they have to be considered by CIO.

In my own opinion, the businesses have to be run in the good ethics rather than the businesses are focusing on the financial benefit. My argument is that with the good ethics the business can be survived and it is can be running for the long term of the period. While business that is focusing on the financial benefit may gain lot of benefit in the short term of period however it may not be in the long term. The simple reason is that because it is focusing on financial benefit and it might use unethical manner to reach their objectives. For instance: new product innovation. The company may reproduce coca cola to the market and have not paid the royalty to the originator coca cola company. At the end coco cola company may bring this company to the court and this company has to pay millions of dollar because use of coca cola brand name. Normally, this company has to get a license from the coca cola company before it reproduces. In the software application, we can’t just bought one application reproduce or copy them into thousand CDs and sell them in the market in order to gain financial benefit. It is unethical and it will cost for the long term running. It has to be started with the reseller license and doing the business.

In conclusion:

“Systematic innovation consists in the purposeful and organized search for changes and in the systematic analysis of the opportunities such changes might offer for economic and social innovation,” Drucker (2002). The normative approach is better base for CIOs to make a decision because it is cover almost all aspects or ruling the organization or company. In any ethical analysis situation the moral philosophy will be taken in first place.

References:

Hall, P. A.V. & Fernandez-Ramil, J. (2007) Managing the Software Enterprise:

Software Engineering and Information Systems in Context. London: Thomson Learning.

 Armstrong, G. and Kotler, P. (2010) Principles of marketing,13th edition, Global

edition:  Prentice Hall