Ethics in Management Information System
[Name of the Writer]
[Name of the Institution]
Ethics in Management Information System
Table of Contents
TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc3654090 \h 2
Introduction PAGEREF _Toc3654091 \h 2
The Need to Understand Ethics in Management Information System PAGEREF _Toc3654092 \h 3
Business Ethics PAGEREF _Toc3654093 \h 4
Ethics Issues in Information System PAGEREF _Toc3654094 \h 4
Confidentiality PAGEREF _Toc3654095 \h 4
Intellectual Property Rights PAGEREF _Toc3654096 \h 5
Professional Accountability PAGEREF _Toc3654097 \h 6
Data Privacy PAGEREF _Toc3654098 \h 7
Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc3654099 \h 8
References PAGEREF _Toc3654100 \h 10
Abstract
The aim of this research is to identify the role of ethics in management information systems. The entire research in this paper is based on the issues of ethics in a management information system. This has been done by discussing the main features of ethics in an information system. The paper tends to provide an in-depth analysis of the features of a management information system. The document is subjected to tell the reader the ways in which ethical behavior can be improved. The paper explores the ethical issues that surround information systems.
Introduction
There is no doubt that the use of an information system is becoming more widespread, and along with this an increased number of organizations and individuals are seen relying on the internet to conduct their business. The outcomes of this result in making the information system more important for assuring that the internet is the only place where privacy is undoubtedly protected. In the current scenario, due to an increased reliance on the information system, a wide range of organization are becoming vulnerable to attacks on precious technologies (Laudon et al., 2016).
The matter of fact is that at times when professional have to deal with emerging technologies and information systems, they have to face certain ethical issues. It has been observed that ethical decision-making is seen as an important issue for all individuals and organizations in the arena of information technology. In the current scenario, if there is a need to understand the ethical dilemmas that private citizens and professionals face, there is a high need for the academics, partitioners, and researchers to access to the trending thinking and practice that concerns information systems and ethics (Pearlson et al., 2016).
The Need to Understand Ethics in Management Information System
In the past couple of years, it has been observed that the Management Information System has gone through a significant technological revolution. The revolution is based on the use of software and the nature in which the software is dealt along with its mechanism. In the current times, there is a high need to understand ethics in Management Information System. The reason for that is quite simple as there is a growing importance of management information systems’ role in management. Moreover, it has been observed that most of the organizations are dependant on the new software. There is a high need to understand the ways to deal with software and development (Chatterjee et al., 2015).
Management Information Systems or simply known as MIS professionals are often seen struggling with certain ethical issues that are same as the issues faced by other business professionals (Laudon et al., 2016). When it comes to the ethical dilemmas about environmental impact, equal opportunity, theft, and conflict of interest tend to impact cut across professions. Moreover, the nature of computer technology tends to render the ethical issues encountered be Information System professionals unique. It has been observed that the information on magnetic and electronic storage media lends itself to ease of contamination, theft, and reproduction. The outcomes of this may result in the rise of issues about property rights, propriety rights, misuse, plagiarism, and privacy.
Due to the increasing benefits accrued from access to computers, it has been suggested that there is a high chance for the development of circumstances in which access to computers could be constructed as rights. There is a high need for the Information System professionals to take to determine the ways in which their work is applied. Studies and researches based on Ethics in Management Information Systems are indicating the importance of IS professionals (Chatterjee et al., 2015). There is no doubt that experienced professionals tend to have a strong commitment to ethical behavior.
Business Ethics
When it comes to ethics, it can simply be referred to as the branch of philosophy that tends to deal with the determination of what is bad or good, wrong or right. The matter of fact is that behaving as per ethics is another name of living one’s life by following a set of ethical principles that are based on certain moral values. There is a high need for ethical behavior to be grounded in moral principles (Pearlson et al., 2016). When it comes to the business environment, there is a high need for ethics to be flexible. Business ethics are considered as moral principles, codes, standards, or rules that tend to provide guidelines for the right behavior in certain situations.
Ethics Issues in Information System
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is something that has high importance when it comes to an information system. Confidentiality is considered as the principle that tends to keep secure and secret the information from others. Such information can be given or about some individuals in terms of professional relationships. There is a high chance that the regulation of processing of information can lead to the identity of an individual. In information systems, there is a high need to ensure the protection of confidentiality.
There are certain solutions that may help the organization in such a scenario by helping them to protect confidentiality. An organization, in order to secure data, will have to look up for some solutions (Laudon et al., 2016). A piece of advice for any organization is to provide passwords only a need-to-know basis and require the use of a password for accessing data. However, when it comes to ethical issues like deciding who should be known is definitely a tough job. A perfect example in such a scenario would be whether the managers have access to the psychological profiles or medical records of their supervisee.
There are certain guidelines that an organization can follow in order to resolve this ethical issue. The organization should be making appropriate security arrangements for the transmission and storage of personal information. It should be taken a notice that internet e-mail can be intercepted. There is a high need to ensure the equipment that contains data in a secure place. Another important thing to take into consideration is to obtain and record the advice of professionals before connecting to any network (Hajli et al., 2016).
Intellectual Property Rights
Another major ethical issue regarding information systems is the IPR that concern the protection of each product that is designed or created by human intellect such as trademarks, poems, songs, books, and software. At times, when professional ethics are seen to be concerned, it is none other than the protection, or violation that concerns the most. In the 21st century, the copying of software programs is quite common. Although people have enough knowledge that such copying is tantamount to theft, it still is not being stopped, because it is an easier approach. Another reason is that in any such situation, there is no chance of getting caught (Pearlson et al., 2016).
One thing that must be taken into consideration that such copying involved business as well, and is not just restricted to personal users. It has been observed that employees tend to contribute greatly to illegal software in the workplace. In such a scenario, there is a high chance for the employer to face serious financial and legal consequences. Majority of the employees bring software from home, and among half of them downloads the software from unauthorized copies from the internet.
Professional Accountability
Another ethical issue in a management information system is the professional accountability that is closely tied to a number of codes of ethical conduct. Members are required to accept professional responsibility for their work. Apart from their work, they should accept the professional responsibility of the work of their associates and subordinates as well. Moreover, the members should not terminate the assignments except for reasonable notice and good reason. One thing that must be taken into consideration is that the members are required to be accountable for the not just the quality and timelines, but also the use of the resource in their work for which they are responsible for.
In a nutshell, it can be assumed that accountability tends to lie at the root of vendor-client relationship. Hence, it is considered relevant to professional behavior in professional work. There is no doubt that accountability is quite important as it tends to show that high-quality work has value. Apart from this, it tends to encourage the professional to be responsible and diligent in their practice and plays an important part in establishing compensation at times when software does not perform as per the requirements.
Accountability has its own importance, and the reason for that lies in the fact that computer software is used throughout society, and are considered as an essential component of a number of life-critical systems (Laudon et al., 2016).
Data Privacy
One of the most contentious issues of the information age is none other than privacy. It has been observed that the capability of information systems for gathering, processing, sorting, storing, and distributing all form of information is not paralleled in human history (Mason, 2017). Moreover, the confidentiality of such information has been severely eroded. The data about individuals is collected in a number of ways. One of the ways to collect data is the information provided on application forms, website transactions, and debit/credit card transactions. Such information can then be combined and processes again before selling them to the interested party.
There is a high need to ensure the privacy of individuals to be protected. There must be the consent of users before using their information. There is no doubt that it is quite sensible for assuming that the majority of the individuals are concerned about their personal information, and each of them wishes to keep the information related to him/her confidential. In case if an individual does not request his/her to be used, it is in most of the cases then assumed that permission had been given.
There are certain ways in which the privacy of data can be assured. An important thing to consider is to collect data in a fair and lawful manner (Laudon et al., 2016). There is a high need for data users to explain what type of data they are trying to collect, and the ways in which they are going to use that data. In case if personal data has been collected, in such a scenario, the data should be kept accurate, and up-to-date. On personal data, there should be some suitable security measures applied. Moreover, the data users are required to be open about the type of data that they store and its usage.
Conclusion
It is concluded that an increased number of organizations and individuals are seen relying on the internet to conduct their business. The outcomes of this result in making the information system more important for assuring that the internet is the only place where privacy is undoubtedly protected. Management Information Systems or simply known as MIS professionals are often seen struggling with certain ethical issues that are same as the issues faced by other business professionals. When it comes to the ethical dilemmas about environmental impact, equal opportunity, theft, and conflict of interest tend to impact cut across professions.
Due to the increasing benefits accrued from access to computers, it has been suggested that there is a high chance for the development of circumstances in which access to computers could be constructed as rights. There are certain guidelines that an organization can follow in order to resolve this ethical issue. The organization should be making appropriate security arrangements for the transmission and storage of personal information. At times, when professional ethics are seen to be concerned, it is none other than the protection, or violation that concerns the most.
It can be assumed that accountability tends to lie at the root of vendor-client relationship. Hence, it is considered relevant to professional behavior in professional work. One of the most contentious issues of the information age is none other than privacy. It has been observed that the capability of information systems for gathering, processing, sorting, storing, and distributing all form of information is not paralleled in human history. There is a high chance that the regulation of processing of information can lead to the identity of an individual. In information systems, there is a high need to ensure the protection of confidentiality. The matter of fact is that behaving in an ethical way is another name of living one's life by following a set of ethical principles that are based on certain moral values. There is a high need for ethical behavior to be grounded in moral principles.
References
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