Information System Ethics

Information System
• Information system, an integrated set of
components for collecting, storing, and
processing data and for providing information,
knowledge, and digital products.
Ethics
• The term ethics is defined as “a set of moral
principles” or “the principles of conduct
governing an individual or a group.”
Basic Concepts for Ethical Analysis
• Responsibility- Accepting the potential costs,
duties, and obligations for decisions „
• Accountability-Mechanisms for identifying
responsible parties „
• Liability- Permits individuals (and firms) to
recover damages done to them
• Due Process-ŠLaws are well known and
understood, with an ability to appeal to higher
authorities
Ethical Concerns in Information System
• Information Privacy
▫ Protecting one’s personal information
• Information accuracy
▫ Deals with authentication and fidelity of information
• Information property
▫ Deals with who owns information about individuals
and how information can be sold and exchanged
• Information accessibility
▫ Deals with what information a person has the right to
obtain about others and how the information can be
used
Ten Commandments of Computer
Ethics
• by the Computer Ethics Institute

1. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Harm Other People.

2. Thou Shalt Not Interfere With Other People�s Computer Work.
3. Thou Shalt Not Snoop Around In Other People�s Computer Files.
4. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Steal.
5. Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Bear False Witness.
6. Thou Shalt Not Copy Or Use Proprietary Software For Which You have Not Paid.
7. Thou Shalt Not Use Other People�s Computer Resources Without Authorization Or Proper Compensation.
8. Thou Shalt Not Appropriate Other People�s Intellectual Output.
9. Thou Shalt Think About The Social Consequences Of The Program You Are Writing Or The System You Are
Designing.
10. Thou Shalt Always Use A Computer In Ways That Insure Consideration And Respect For Your Fellow
Humans.

•
Case Study: The Ethics of
Information System Consulting
Top Information System Consulting
Firms
What is an Information System
Consultant?
• is a third-party service provider who is qualified
to advise clients on the best use of IT to meet
specific business requirements. IT consultants
may work with a professional IT consultancy
firm or as independent contractors. They may
conduct a business needs assessment and
develop an information systems solution that
meets the organization's objectives.
10 ethical rules for IT consultants
Questions
1. How would you deal with an IS Manager who
was pushing you to develop a system in a time
frame that was too rapid to enable you to do a
good job? What if it were the client who was
pushing you?
2. To whom should an IS consultant ultimately be
loyal, the client or the consulting firm? Why?
3. Should an IS consultant strive not only to solve
clients’ problems but teach and enable them to
solve their own problems in the future? Why or
why not?
4. What in your opinion, are some of the
characteristics of a good consultant? How do you
think a good consultant will ensure that a client
will return in the future?