Organizational Ethical Issue and Policy - Essay Example

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Ethical Issue and Policy Ethical dilemma: websites disclosing important information by ignoring privacy concern Stakeholders Autonomy Publicity Veracity 1: You The prime duty and responsibility falls on your own shoulders not on anyone else You yourself have the supreme power of what needs to be understood and revealed What you say should be based on truth and this is your moral responsibility 2: Other users of website Everyone has the right to make their own decision and to perform duty The decision made by them are quite important as it has to go with morality and ethical standard, and wrong websites and individual behind this should understand this fact They strongly believe that the individuals behind have the responsibility to tell the truth 3:The website The autonomy or the power of the website is restricted and controlled by law and order Users of the websites have different motives and if something illegal and unethical seem existing, law should deal with it if any kind of wrong publicity is made. The laws should insist that truth has to be reported and beyond going to the truth is unlawful. 4 1. Why I chose this dilemma? This dilemma selected is of high relevance in respect to the mounting IT related security issues today. An array of websites in various industries tends to disclose clients’ important personal information deliberately or inadvertently through their websites. This involves numerous security issues as the website owners or even other users of the sites can misuse the date disclosed. 2. Why you chose the three principles? Confidentiality is the core element of every online business, especially which deals with clients data. Hence, organizations and their members have the moral responsibility ensure data security while they carry out their business activities irrespective of the size or nature of the websites they own. Finality is another important principle as there are situations when an organization has to extend its service beyond legal, religious, or social parameters to ensure reliability. Justice also becomes important when an organization pays attention to clients requirements fairly without any bias. In this regard, the firm will ensure that all risks and benefits are equally distributed among the beneficiaries involved. 3. An analysis of the research used to identify the actions in the matrix An extensive research has been conducted to analyze the way various websites collect and use clients’ information. Admittedly, many of the social networking sites are highly prone to data theft. The research altogether reached the conclusion that legal intervention is essential in this matter to curb the intensity of the threat. Organizational Policy to Address the Issue The ethical dilemma based on the dependency to information technology is evident in every sector as there are possibilities of manipulation and illegal activities. Today there are many websites existing with wrong intention of deceiving the users or more specifically general public. The prime motto of such websites is to interfere into the privacy of individuals. Apart from the mere interference and proclamation, they also exaggerate the fact with rumors, finally destroying the character of an individual or the reputation of the organization itself. Many policies have been proposed to safeguard the individuals from the treat caused by technology. Reynolds (2011, p. 105) insists the importance of establishing a security policy to meet the basic requirements of an acceptable ethical standard. There is more than one reason behind choosing this particular dilemma. Although the term ethical dilemma seems ambiguous, in fact it is simple as Reynolds describes it. According to him, it is “moral code or morality” that is highly related to business application and relation to information technology (p.3). Today many websites exist in the networking world collecting and disclosing information which is highly personal. Although, the targeted individuals are not very often ordinary people, in coming days, this will affect every segment of the society. The three principles are essential to understand the concept clearly. The autonomy, publicity and veracity are the basic principles of this analysis. The information leaked or published by any unique website cannot be entertained. The very existence of such unethical websites remains as a threat to the entire governing order. Moreover, this kind of publicity is not desirable as privacy is what one would like to enjoy always. Therefore, the publicity given with wrong intention should be recognized and prevented. Analyzing the fact in every aspect leads to a general truth of insecurity of human life, specifically with the advent of modern technology. Hence, implementing strict rules and regulations is essential. And what is more important and demanding is the execution of punishment to the culprits who involve in illegal activities. Twenty-first Centuries has witnessed tremendous changes in technological world. The technology has moved from the electronic equipment computer to the device of internet, bringing whole world home. Although, its positive influences are numerous, the negative sides cannot be ignored. With the invention of interactive websites like social media people publish their details over the internet. But with the development of such magnificent technology, certain negative progress has also evolved. The fraud activities are highly calculated and preplanned. To certain extent, they succeeded in attaining and achieving their goals. Organizations have the moral responsibility set up proper and secure information system. Important information and data are to be kept secret. In the hunt for attractive news, the culprits intrude into the privacy or personal life of people. For instance, nowadays the entertainers, precisely the film stars are the targeted individuals of illegal networks. Great Britain’s House of Commons (2010, p. 438) understands the reality of havoc on them as “erosion of understanding and respect”. In most of the cases, highly fabricated stories are published with intent to remove celebrities from the front. This kind of illegal activities in the long term affect the smooth functioning of the state and order. It is also widely noticed that the individuals or the general public are deceived by such unethical strategies. Public often receives a wrong view about the happenings and fail to recognize the reality. In this context, Solove (2004, p. 58) insists for the adaptation of remedial measures, that is policy formulation. This ethical dilemma needs to be resolved with organizational and security policy both for the individual and institutions. Disclosing certain information can have hazardous influence. It is essential to keep certain information in secret. But certain websites reveal these highly confidential matters to the mass. Often these things are observed in certain political and defense sector. Certain political details and matters are highly confidential thus they are kept in privacy to overcome the difficulties if everyone recognizes them. Illegal websites seem interested in disclosing even defense secrets. One such example for this kind of information loss was the recent headlines of newspapers in recent times. Recently, Wikileaks disclosed some of the American military secrets even to rival countries. As per reports, “Wiki leaks became the center of international storm surrounding the role of individual in the networked public sphere” (Estate & Benkler, 2011). This kind of wiki leaks discloses certain important military secrets related to their military activities and techniques, information about the weapons and highly dangerous equipments. According to Fenster (2012), it can offer transparency and transformative effects as well as no matter harm the governmental operations. It is not a matter of individual right but a security issue affecting the entire nation. Therefore, rather than encouraging these websites and persons involved in such activities, immediate actions need to be undertaken to curb the negative impacts. So, websites intended for illegal movements need to be understood and treated in an appropriate manner. Following an ethical professional policy for controlling the misuse of technological aspects is essential. To recapitulate, information technology is boon for the society for its overall progress and development. However, unethical networks need to be detected with efficient moves so that many of the social issues can be eradicated very easily. Admittedly, the policy initiated in this regard will imply a commitment to ethical professional conduct of the members of the organization concerned. They will have to give prime importance to the privacy of the clients’ personal details. The members should make sure that data collected for the business purposes are not disclosed to any third party without the consent of the clients involved. Also, the members or the firm itself has no right to use the information for any other purposes other than what they are entitled for. The organization should make sure that no personal data could be accessed by a third party from the firm’s website. For instance, social networks like Facebook give little importance to privacy policy. Any user can access a person’s details or download profile pictures from the site very easily. Such personal data and images can be misused by anyone causing great troubles to the individuals involved and to the society as a whole. Therefore, an organization that values privacy policy must insist its members to comply with its ethical policy of information technology. Without focusing on such ethical matters, a firm cannot maintain its social responsibility, and this in turn will spoil the firm’s status in the long run. References Estate, A & Benkler, Y. (2011). Free Irresponsible Press: Wiki leaks and the Battle over the Soul of the Networked Fourth. 46 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 311. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/hcrcl46&div=15&id=&page=. Fenster, M. (2012). Disclosure’s Effects: Wikileaks and Transperancy. University of Florida. Iowa Law Review, 97: 755-805. Great Britain: House of Commons. (2010). Press standards, privacy and libel: second report of session 2009-10. UK: The Stationery Office. Reynolds, G. W. (2011). Ethics in Information Technology, 4th ed. Cengage Learning. Solove, D. J. (2004). The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age. New York: NYU Press. Read More