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Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems 161

CANDIDATE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

Once your analysis is complete, what ethical principles or rules should you use
to make a decision? What higher-order values should inform your judgment?
Although you are the only one who can decide which among many ethical prin-
ciples you will follow, and how you will prioritize them, it is helpful to consider
some ethical principles with deep roots in many cultures that have survived
throughout recorded history:
1. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (the Golden Rule).
Putting yourself into the place of others, and thinking of yourself as the object
of the decision, can help you think about fairness in decision making.
2. If an action is not right for everyone to take, it is not right for anyone
(Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative). Ask yourself, “If everyone did
this, could the organization, or society, survive?”
3. If an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is not right to take at all
(Descartes’ rule of change). This is the slippery-slope rule: An action
may bring about a small change now that is acceptable, but if it is repeated, it
would bring unacceptable changes in the long run. In the vernacular, it
might be stated as “once started down a slippery path, you may not be able to
stop.”
4. Take the action that achieves the higher or greater value (Utilitarian
Principle). This rule assumes you can prioritize values in a rank order and
understand the consequences of various courses of action.

5. Take the action that produces the least harm or the least potential cost (Risk
Aversion Principle). Some actions have extremely high failure costs of very
low probability (e.g., building a nuclear generating facility in an urban area) or
extremely high failure costs of moderate probability (speeding and automobile
accidents). Avoid these high-failure-cost actions, paying greater attention to
high-failure-cost potential of moderate to high probability.

6. Assume that virtually all tangible and intangible objects are owned by someone
else unless there is a specific declaration otherwise. (This is the ethical “no free
lunch” rule.) If something someone else has created is useful to you, it has
value, and you should assume the creator wants compensation for this work.
Actions that do not easily pass these rules deserve close attention and a great
deal of caution. The appearance of unethical behavior may do as much harm to
you and your company as actual unethical behavior.

PROFESSIONAL CODES OF CONDUCT

When groups of people claim to be professionals, they take on special rights and
obligations because of their special claims to knowledge, wisdom, and respect.
Professional codes of conduct are promulgated by associations of professionals,
such as the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Bar Association
(ABA), the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), and
the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). These professional groups
take responsibility for the partial regulation of their professions by determining
entrance qualifications and competence. Codes of ethics are promises by
professions to regulate themselves in the general interest of society. For exam-
ple, avoiding harm to others, honoring property rights (including intellectual
property), and respecting privacy are among the General Moral Imperatives of
the ACM’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

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