Chapter 4: Ethical and Social Issues in IS

Question 1

Key problems arising with IT

Answer 1

• new kinds of crime, for which no laws & rules have been developed
• expanded reach & power of individual & org actions due to increased computational power, storage systems & network capability
• new challenges to data protection & intellectual property (copying & manipulation of online information)

Question 2

Main ethical, social & political problems arising with IS in a nutshell

Answer 2

• information rights & obligations
• property rights & obligation
• accountability & control
• system quality
• quality of life
• specific: emotet (Trojan spread through spam email (malspam)

Question 3

Exemplary ethical principles for judging conduct (6)

Answer 3

• golden rule: Putting oneself in the place of others as the object of decision
• Kant’s categorical imperative: if it’s not right for everyone it’s not for anyone
• slippery slope rule: if action can’t be taken repeatedly, it’s not right
• utilitarian principle: values ranked in order of utility, highest amount of good for highest amount of people
• risk aversion principle: take the action that produces least harm or incurs least cost
• ethical no-free-lunch rule: all (in)tangible objects are owned by someone else, unless there is a declaration otherwise & the creator wants compensation for this work

Question 4

Explain the different steps of ethical analysis

Answer 4

1. Identify & describe facts clearly
2. Define conflict or dilemma & identify higherorder values
3. Identify stakeholders
4. Identify reasonable options
5. Identify potential consequences of options

Question 5

Explain the four concepts for ethical analysis

Answer 5

• Responsibility: Accepting potential costs, duties & obligations for decisions
• Accountability: Mechanisms for identifying responsible parties
• Liability: Permits individuals & firms to recover damages done to them
• Due process: Laws are well-known & understod, with an ability to appeal to higher audiences

Question 6

What are the main ethical challenges arising with IS?

Answer 6

• advanced data storage & analysis tech enable companies to gather large amounts of personal information ad create digital profiles
• flowing data can be monitored at many points & not all websites have strong privacy protection policies
• traditional copyright laws are insufficient to protect against software privacy

Question 7

What are the principles of FTC (federal trade commission) Fair Information Practice?

Answer 7

Core principles:
- notice/ awareness: websites must disclose data collection practices
- choice/ consent: consumers must be able to choose how information is used
Further:
- access/ participation: consumers must be able to review & contest accuracy of personal data
- security
- enforcement

Question 8

What negative effects arise with IS?

Answer 8

• computer errors can cause serious harm (system failures, hacks)
• poor data quality can lead to business failure
• jobs can be lost due to computerized automatization
• digital divide: disparities among social classes & ethnic groups might increase due to some having limited access to IS tech
• computer crimes can hardly be prosecuted (challenging existing liability laws & social practices)
• physical & psychological problems: repetitive stress injury, computer vision syndrome, technostress, inability to think clearly or perform complex tasks

Question 9

Name three key ethical concerns when it comes to IS tech use by companies?

Answer 9

• nonobvious relationship awareness (NORA): tech that finds obscure hidden connections between people/ entities by analyzing & correlating relationships
• profiling: data from multiple sources to create dossiers of detailed information about individuals
• mobile device tracking (third party cookies)