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I have chosen to examine the ethical issues surrounding the “Provision and Use of IT for Business”. This is a topic that will hopefully allow me to have practical applications for my findings as I currently work in this industry. I think that the dichotomy found in the IT industry that provides the biggest potential ethical issue, is that IT software, hardware and consulting firms inherently have to serve their business clients best interest and at times the client’s end consumers’ best interests as well. That can put profit at odds with ethics in multiple ways. A question asked in forward of Ethics in the Provision and Use of IT for Business is “Can IT suppliers win your business through your competitive tendering processes without lying to you?” This primary principle of integrity trickles its way down into several areas of concern as companies try to provide best in class customer service to customers while growing revenues and profits. Other potential issues that arise are: When there is a bid process in place, is it a level playing field or are their influencers beyond the proposal document that impact the decision making process? How do personal relationships with leaders at the purchasing company open doors for companies?
When you move outside the world of business to business type IT engagements and into the world of business to consumer interactions, other ethical issues can be raised. What does a company do with its customer information, and how is that information protected from malicious groups? How does IT influence buying or selling through analytics or programming. Does your company use algorithms to screen customers or provide modified products to pricing? What are the limits or boundaries in doing so?
I will look to apply various ethical theories and discuss the potential answers and outcomes to these questions. Companies must strive to push the envelope to improve efficiency, proficiency and profitability without stepping over the line of ethical decision making if they want to survive in the business world today. That is because, situations involving unethical decisions, when discovered, can be easily communicated and can spread like wild fire. The use of social media to indict businesses that may have stepped into murky territory is itself, ironically, somewhat of an ethical gray issue.
Resources List:
Business Ethics and Organizational Culture Chapter 2. Retrieved from: https://www.slideshare.net/MaiPhuong16/ethical-issue-and-dilemmas
Ethics in the Provision and Use of IT for Business. (2010) Retrieved from: http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/publicationdownloads/ibe_occasional_paper_1_ethics_in_the_provision_and_use_of_it_for_business.pdf
Saylor. Exploring Business Chapter 2. (2010). Retrieved from: https://learn.umuc.edu/content/enforced/226900-001154-01-2175-OL3-7381/Exploring%20Business%20-%20Chapter%202%20(1).pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=1mE5hKppWBrZng0ZkGS0lLKHZ
Brown University. A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions. (2013) Retrieved from: https://www.brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/framework-making-ethical-decisions
Ries, David (2010). SAFEGUARDING CONFIDENTIAL DATA: Your Ethical and Legal Obligations. Retrieved from: https://www.americanbar.org/publications/law_practice_home/law_practice_archive/lpm_magazine_articles_v36_is4_pg49.html
Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/2010/01/19/knauss-clorox-ethics-leadership-citizenship-ethics.html
Miller, Claire. (2015). When Algorithms Discriminate. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/upshot/when-algorithms-discriminate.html