c h a p t e r

1
5

15.1

ETHICAL &
SOCIAL IMPACT
OF INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
2002 by Prentice Hall

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
ANALYZE ETHICAL, SOCIAL,
POLITICAL ISSUES RAISED BY
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
IDENTIFY, APPLY MORAL
DIMENSIONS OF INFORMATION
SOCIETY
*
15.2

2002 by Prentice Hall

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
APPLY ETHICAL ANALYSIS
EXAMINE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR
CONDUCT
DESIGN CORPORATE POLICIES FOR
ETHICAL CONDUCT
*

15.3

2002 by Prentice Hall

MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES
UNDERSTAND ETHICAL & SOCIAL
ISSUES RELATED TO SYSTEMS
ETHICS IN AN INFORMATION
SOCIETY
MORAL DIMENSION OF
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
*
15.4

2002 by Prentice Hall

ETHICS
PRINCIPLES OF RIGHT AND WRONG
USED BY INDIVIDUALS
AS FREE MORAL AGENTS
TO GUIDE BEHAVIOR
*

15.5

2002 by Prentice Hall

ETHICAL, SOCIAL & POLITICAL ISSUES

INFORMATION
RIGHTS &
OBLIGATIONS

POLITICAL ISSUES
SOCIAL ISSUES

PROPERTY
RIGHTS &
OBLIGATIONS

ETHICAL ISSUES
INFORMATION
&
TECHNOLOGY

ACCOUNTABILITY
& CONTROL

INDIVIDUAL
SOCIETY

SYSTEM
QUALITY

POLITY

15.6

QUALITY OF LIFE

2002 by Prentice Hall

MORAL DIMENSIONS OF THE

INFORMATION AGE
INFORMATION RIGHTS &
OBLIGATIONS
PROPERTY RIGHTS
ACCOUNTABILITY & CONTROL
SYSTEM QUALITY
QUALITY OF LIFE
*
15.7

2002 by Prentice Hall

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS &

ETHICAL ISSUES
COMPUTING POWER DOUBLES EVERY 18
MONTHS
DECLINING COSTS OF DATA STORAGE
DATA MINING ADVANCES
NETWORKING ADVANCES & INTERNET
*

15.8

2002 by Prentice Hall

ETHICS IN AN INFORMATION
SOCIETY
RESPONSIBILITY: Accepting costs, duties,
obligations for decisions
ACCOUNTABILITY: Assessing
responsibilities for decisions & actions
LIABILITY: Must pay for legal damages
DUE PROCESS: Insures laws are applied
properly
*
15.9

2002 by Prentice Hall

ETHICS IN AN INFORMATION
SOCIETY
ETHICAL ANALYSIS:
IDENTIFY, DESCRIBE FACTS
DEFINE CONFLICT, IDENTIFY VALUES
IDENTIFY STAKEHOLDERS
IDENTIFY OPTIONS
IDENTIFY POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES
*
15.10

2002 by Prentice Hall

ETHICS IN AN INFORMATION
SOCIETY
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES:
TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WANT TO BE TREATED
IF ACTION NOT RIGHT FOR EVERYONE, NOT
RIGHT FOR ANYONE (KANT)
IF ACTION NOT REPEATABLE, NOT RIGHT AT
ANY TIME (DESCARTES)
PUT VALUE ON OUTCOMES, UNDERSTAND
CONSEQUENCES
INCUR LEAST HARM OR COST
NO FREE LUNCH
*
15.11
2002 by Prentice Hall

INFORMATION RIGHTS
PRIVACY: Right to be left alone
FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES (FIP):
NO SECRET PERSONAL RECORDS
INDIVIDUALS CAN ACCESS, AMEND INFORMATION
ABOUT THEM
USE INFO ONLY WITH PRIOR CONSENT
MANAGERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR DAMAGE DONE
BY SYSTEMS
GOVERNMENTS CAN INTERVENE
*

15.12

2002 by Prentice Hall

U.S. FEDERAL PRIVACY LAWS

GENERAL FEDERAL PRIVACY LAWS:
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1968
PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT OF 1986
COMPUTER MATCHING AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT
OF 1988
COMPUTER SECURITY ACT OF 1987
FEDERAL MANAGERS FINANCIAL INTEGRITY ACT OF
1982
*

15.13

2002 by Prentice Hall

U.S. FEDERAL PRIVACY LAWS

PRIVACY LAWS AFFECTING PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS:
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT, 1970
FAMILY EDUCATION RIGHTS & PRIVACY ACT OF 1978
RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1978
PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 1980
CABLE COMMUNICATIONS POLICY ACT OF 1984
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT OF
1997
*

15.14

2002 by Prentice Hall

U.S. FEDERAL PRIVACY LAWS

MORE PRIVACY LAWS AFFECTING PRIVATE
INSTITUTIONS:
VIDEO PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 1988
CONSUMER INTERNET PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF
1997
COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY & CONSUMER
EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 1997
DATA PRIVACY ACT OF 1997
CONSUMER INTERNET PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF
1999
*
15.15

2002 by Prentice Hall

ACCOUNTABILITY, LIABILITY &

CONTROL

ETHICAL ISSUES: Who is morally

responsible for consequences of use?
SOCIAL ISSUES: What should society
expect and allow?
POLITICAL ISSUES: To what extent
should government intervene,
protect?
*
15.16

2002 by Prentice Hall

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Intangible
creations protected by law
TRADE SECRET: Intellectual work or product
belonging to business, not in public domain
COPYRIGHT: Statutory grant protecting
intellectual property from copying by others
for 28 years
*
15.17

2002 by Prentice Hall

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
TRADE MARK: Legally registered mark,
device, or name to distinguish ones
goods
PATENT: Legal document granting owner
exclusive monopoly on an invention for 17
years
*

15.18

2002 by Prentice Hall

SYSTEM QUALITY:
DATA QUALITY &
SYSTEM ERRORS

ETHICAL ISSUES: When is software or

service ready for release?
SOCIAL ISSUES: Can people trust quality of
software, services, data?
POLITICAL ISSUES: Should congress or
industry develop standards for software,
hardware, data quality?

*
15.19

2002 by Prentice Hall

QUALITY OF LIFE
CENTRALIZATION VS. DECENTRALIZATION
RAPID CHANGE: Reduced response time to
competition
MAINTAINING BOUNDARIES: Family, work,
leisure
DEPENDENCE AND VULNERABILITY
COMPUTER CRIME & ABUSE
*
15.20

2002 by Prentice Hall

QUALITY OF LIFE
EMPLOYMENT: Trickle-down
technology; reengineering job loss
EQUITY & ACCESS: Increasing racial &
social class cleavages
HEALTH RISKS
*

15.21

2002 by Prentice Hall

QUALITY OF LIFE
HEALTH RISKS:
REPETITIVE STRESS INJURY (RSI)
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME (CTS)
COMPUTER VISION SYNDROME (CVS)
TECHNOSTRESS: Irritation, hostility,
impatience, enervation, fear
VDT RADIATION
*

15.22

2002 by Prentice Hall

INTERNET CRIME & ABUSE

HACKING: Access to proprietary data

JAMMING: Tie up host computer
MALICIOUS SOFTWARE: Viruses disable
computer
SNIFFING: Intercept data passing through
system, e.g. credit card data
SPOOFING: Fraudulent misrepresentation
*
15.23

2002 by Prentice Hall

MANAGEMENT ACTIONS: A
CORPORATE CODE OF ETHICS
INFORMATION RIGHTS &
OBLIGATIONS
PROPERTY RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS
ACCOUNTABILITY & CONTROL
SYSTEM QUALITY
QUALITY OF LIFE
*
15.24

2002 by Prentice Hall

c h a p t e r

1
5

15.25

ETHICAL &
SOCIAL IMPACT
OF INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
2002 by Prentice Hall