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184 Part One Organizations, Management, and the Networked Enterprise

Review Summary

1. What ethical, social, and political issues are raised by information systems?
Information technology is introducing changes for which laws and rules of acceptable conduct have
not yet been developed. Increasing computing power, storage, and networking capabilities—including
the Internet—expand the reach of individual and organizational actions and magnify their impacts.
The ease and anonymity with which information is now communicated, copied, and manipulated in
online environments pose new challenges to the protection of privacy and intellectual property. The
main ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems center around information
rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, accountability and control, system quality, and
quality of life.

2. What specific principles for conduct can be used to guide ethical decisions?
Six ethical principles for judging conduct include the Golden Rule, Immanuel Kant’s Categorical
Imperative, Descartes’ rule of change, the Utilitarian Principle, the Risk Aversion Principle, and the
ethical “no free lunch” rule. These principles should be used in conjunction with an ethical analysis.
3. Why do contemporary information systems technology and the Internet pose challenges to the
protection of individual privacy and intellectual property?
Contemporary data storage and data analysis technology enables companies to easily gather
personal data about individuals from many different sources and analyze these data to create detailed
electronic profiles about individuals and their behaviors. Data flowing over the Internet can be
monitored at many points. Cookies and other Web monitoring tools closely track the activities of Web
site visitors. Not all Web sites have strong privacy protection policies, and they do not always allow for
informed consent regarding the use of personal information. Traditional copyright laws are insuffi-
cient to protect against software piracy because digital material can be copied so easily and transmit-
ted to many different locations simultaneously over the Internet.
4. How have information systems affected everyday life?
Although computer systems have been sources of efficiency and wealth, they have some negative
impacts. Computer errors can cause serious harm to individuals and organizations. Poor data quality is
also responsible for disruptions and losses for businesses. Jobs can be lost when computers replace
workers or tasks become unnecessary in reengineered business processes. The ability to own and use a
computer may be exacerbating socioeconomic disparities among different racial groups and social
classes. Widespread use of computers increases opportunities for computer crime and computer abuse.
Computers can also create health problems, such as RSI, computer vision syndrome, and technostress.

Key Terms

Accountability, 160 Intellectual property, 169
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), 182 Liability, 160
Computer abuse, 180 Nonobvious relationship awareness (NORA), 158
Computer crime, 178 Opt-in, 168
Computer vision syndrome (CVS), 183 Opt-out, 168
Cookies, 166 Patent, 172
Copyright, 172 Privacy, 162
Descartes’ rule of change, 161 Profiling, 157
Digital divide, 181 Repetitive stress injury (RSI), 182
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 174 Responsibility, 159
Due process, 160 Risk Aversion Principle, 161
Ethical “no free lunch” rule, 161 Safe harbor, 165
Ethics, 155 Spam, 178
Fair Information Practices (FIP), 163 Spyware, 167
Golden Rule, 161 Technostress, 182
Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative, 161 Trade secret, 169
Information rights, 156 Utilitarian Principle, 161
Informed consent, 165 Web beacons, 167

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