Management Information and Communication Systems - Research Paper Example

Management Information and Communication Systems Privacy is dead – get over it Introduction Management of information and communication systems (MICS) involves the processing of raw data into relevant bits of information that help organizations in efficient decision making. Information required by organizations is collected through various online and offline sources that provide the managers with vital inputs on business processes and market trends. With the advent of computers and Internet, access to information is not only faster and efficient but also convenient. The rapidly advancing MICS has presented the organizations with immense benefits in terms of efficient data collection, processing of data to support managerial decision making, problem solving processes and enabling a highly collaborative work environment. Transformations in business processes and managerial strategies have been guided by the developments in MICS for enhanced productivity, performance and competitive advantage. However, the challenges exposed by such systems cannot be ignored since it requires in-depth understanding and effective policies to control the ill-effects of MICS. Organizations make use of various techniques like data mining and warehousing to analyse online user behaviour and accommodate strategic practices to achieve higher traffic to their websites. Personal information and vital data related to financial transactions are exposed to threats of misuse by fraudsters. Thus, privacy and data protection issues are some of the vital challenges to which individuals are exposed today and this is one of the primary factors guiding online user behaviour. Issues like online frauds, identity theft, information leakage, and hacking have become the buzzwords for Internet users. How vulnerable are we to such frauds and invasions on our personal spaces and what measures can we take to protect ourselves from such incidents? These are some of the vital questions that are faced by the Internet users. Organizations and institutions are grappling with the challenges of protecting customer data and ensuring ethical practices while dealing with sensitive personal information provided by users. The paper provides an in-depth assessment and analysis of these issues by highlighting key aspects of MICS and the ways in which information is handled in today’s world. The report identifies common practices adopted by online websites and organizations to tap into individual information easily available on the Internet and use it to promote its business goals and objectives. The ethical concerns raised by such practices has become the focal point of quite a lot of research studies and efforts are on to control the negative impacts of MICS through efficient practices and policies that guide online behaviour. MICS and privacy – an overview of current and traditional theories The global economy is deeply influenced by innovations and technology breakthroughs that have opened new opportunities and new models of operating in an increasingly complex environment. The complexities arising from globalization of economies and opening of markets to foreign trade and capital have created new possibilities for organizations, despite the fact that this has also presented new challenges and difficulties for managers in devising effective strategies for promoting business goals. Technology in such instances has proved itself a boon in assisting managers to pursue international marketing goals and objectives. Businesses are driven by profits and goals that constantly seek new markets and opportunities for growth. However, this is not an easy task given the wide diversities existing in global regions and markets. One of the popular means of exploring new markets and business growth potentials is the Internet that has provided the global managers with an innovative tool to assimilate vital data and statistics that aid in faster decision making and accurate problem solving mechanism. Organizations thus rely on information transfer and knowledge processing tools for ensuring successful operations (Hutter & Ullmann, 2005). Knowledge forms the key to survival of businesses in an increasingly competitive world today. The new business environment depends on the ability of organizations to process available data into relevant bits of information and knowledge that reflects the core competency of firms in driving their performance and productivity in the desired direction. Technology aids in simplifying the process of knowledge transfer and data processing activities (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). Organizations pursue their goals through automated systems and applications that are designed to meet the business information needs, decision making requirements, business processes and operational models pursued by the managers. The primary issue facing the effective design and development of such systems and applications is the identification of specific information needs and understanding systems behaviour (Muller, 2006). The information system (IS) planning and development process goes through distinct stages that have evolved over the past few decades to increased sophistication in methods and approach taken by organizations. Conventional IS planning models include the stage model explained by Nolan in the year 1973-74. The model identified four distinct stages of IS design and development. These involved the initiation stage that made use of computers for basic needs of the organization followed by the expansion or contagion stage that increased the number of users and applications for meeting enhanced needs of the firm. The third stage involved the formalization or control stage where the organization controlled the widespread use of systems for cost effective reasons. The last stage or maturity and integration stage defined the integration of the organizational needs with information systems designed for effective control over operations (Hodges, 2007). Subsequent developments in this model provided six distinctive stages of planning and developing IS. The present day information systems are based on networking models that makes use of computer networking systems and Internet tools to integrate the tasks of various departments and units within the organization. It also helps in defining efficient information flow and collaboration between strategic units across geographic boundaries (Apte & Karmarkar, 2008). Cost efficiency and streamlining of operations are the key benefits of such systems enabling managers to monitor and supervise operational targets and outcomes. “Information exchange is the key mechanism through which this integration is achieved and ICT is increasingly being conscripted to facilitate efficient combinations of centralized and decentralized decision making and to integrate and manage distributed, yet independent operations (Eom, 2005, p186). The current practices in IS planning and development process take into account structured methodologies and project management principles that enables managers to highlight and identify critical areas of focus, information needs, and enterprise based applications that allow effective integration of distinct operations and work processes through a single system (Curry, Flett & Hollingsworth, 2006). Strategic focus of such system development activities are on emerging business needs and innovative work practices that help businesses in gaining competitive advantage. However, the systems used for these strategic purposes are open systems that are networked for enhanced accessibility and this poses distinctive threats to the security and privacy of data held by the systems. “Systems are increasingly open and interconnected, which poses new challenges for security technologies” (Petkovic & Jonker, 2007, p4). Open systems have their benefits in terms of improved access by users across remote locations but at the same time it also leaves the door open for online hackers rendering the system vulnerable to fraudulent practices. Emerging trends in MICS and data privacy MICS technologies and applications have integrated to provide new business models and solutions for strategic planning and growth objectives for firms. E-commerce is one of the most popular medium used by businesses to promote their goods and services and pursue customer relationships through the web. The cost effective medium allows the firms to buy, sell or exchange vital data and information related to their businesses. Organizations promote their marketing strategies and satisfy user information needs through their company websites that serves as the portal to the firm’s operations and activities. The e-commerce model begins with the launch of the company’s website that invites users to visit and read the information provided on the website. The prospective consumer needs to fill in his personal details and specific queries he may have. The company responds to the consumer query and passes on additional information that suits the consumer needs. However, this involves judicious use of information seeking tools. Organizations asking for religious beliefs of the user, political affiliations, or sexual orientation while selling books online is a classic case of violation of privacy. The present day marketing strategies are based on strengthening customer relationship through improved customer service and frequent collaborations between the buyer and sellers for long term relationships. The net today provides numerous effective communication channels that are being used to keep the customer happy. Long term customer retention strategies and marketing goals are pursued more effectively and efficiently by organizations using the host of collaboration tools supported by the World Wide Web. This includes the web, email, and chat, and video, voice to serve and support the customers for enhanced customer experience. The E-commerce market continues to be a big opportunity for retailers. In an era where the convenience of shopping in virtual stores from the comforts of his home, the consumer expectations have risen dramatically over the years. With a wide range of items available online from daily grocery requirements to cosmetic surgery the consumers’ major concern lies with the security of financial transactions and privacy violation. Selling of customer financial data and information related to his assets to third parties for financial gains without the consent of the customer is illegal and unethical business practice. But this worry is fast becoming obsolete with smart technologies used on the Net (Trcek, 2006). E-commerce models operate on the concept of shared business processes that seamlessly integrates the knowledge needs of each units and departments within the organization. The e-commerce models founded on the principles of shared business processes have made a huge difference to ways in which it has benefited the ultimate consume and the organizations. The convenience of transacting from the comforts of one’s home or office while accessing related information and details of the goods or services over the net has added to the business viability and feasibility of going online. Moreover, the advances in the collaboration and communication technology tools have contributed immensely to enhancing individual productivity, organizational performance and market growth opportunities (Mutch, 2008). Business transactions over the Internet present a host of challenges to users in the form of remote buyers and sellers whose activities are not governed by the conventional laws and regulations. The use of computers for online banking and monetary transactions as well as communicating with friends and associates online has left the users vulnerable to hackers and spywares (Giannotti & Pedreschi, 2008). Privacy of users and data protection issues are some of the significant challenges faced by online business models since the users are exposed to increased frauds and issues relating to privacy of sensitive personal information. The present economic environment and business organizations are deeply impacted by knowledge sharing applications that drive competitive advantage while ensuring high quality products and services to the customers. However, the effectiveness of such knowledge based programs lies in the ability of organizations to identify privacy risks and data protection issues. Strategic approaches must focus on enabling faster access to relevant information that is both accurate and reliable for improving operational efficiency in business, while implementing measures for avoiding information misuse and chances of frauds (McDaniel & Gupta, 2007). This entails limiting the accessibility of vital data and statistics to wider audience and implementing data protection controls within the organization using strict monitoring and surveillance systems. Spywares are software applications that can be downloaded to the user computer through Internet and these applications hold vital user details and information without the knowledge of the user. Such information is collected by various firms and institutions for promoting their business goals and objectives. The application gets downloaded through other programs or websites that the user visits or downloads into his computer. Most of the times the spywares are included in the freeware or free to download applications available on the Internet and when the user downloads these applications the spywares are also downloaded without the user knowledge (Spamlaws.com, 2009). Some of the recent spyware programs are targeting users of financial services online or online shoppers. These programs are engineered to identify key-strokes, scan through the user hard drives, and transfer vital information to third parties (CIBC, 2009). “Spyware is not only nuisance from a technical standpoint, but also carries the potential for criminal use” (Stepanov, 2008). The very idea of monitoring an individual’s activities or invasion of personal space without their consent or knowledge raises ethical issues and legal implications. This is evident in the case of Julie Amero, a school teacher who was accused of exposing pornography material to her students. The pornography was downloaded as spyware into Amero’s computer without her knowledge. (Stepanov, 2008) Computer hacking is the technique to take the administrative control of the personal computer through changes in the operating system or hardware configuration. The hacking happens through a software-code written to surpass the security of the personal computer without the knowledge of the real owner. Hacking software tools are written by the people who are having in-depth knowledge of the computer operating system and who have every details of the architecture of the computer system. There are many ways that the computer can be hacked. Few of the methods of hacking are: through a software-code or a software-program passed on to the PC through a file opened at a particular website or the file is transferred to the PC through a removable media or a file embedded within a file that the user copied or downloaded to his PC. Once the computer is hacked it can be fully hijacked by the hackers and the hacker keeps the control of the computer. The hacker uses the computer for doing criminal activities like distributing illegal files, sending spam emails, using the hijacked computer to attack other computers, stealing user identities and passwords etc. The hackers and their computer hijacking has becomes a big business in the cyberspace. There are organized gangs of hackers who hijack a group of computers and add to their slave. The computers hacked and hijacked are called ‘bots’ or ‘zombies’ (Franklin, 2007). The ‘zombies’ are on sale in cyberspace. They are sold by hackers further to the other cyber criminal for fulfilling their need of Internet connected computers in the cyberspace. One of the very common crime that hackers does through the use of zombies is to cripple a particular website or a group of websites Hacker have been using ‘zombies’ for attacking websites and web-servers to trigger denial-of-services. They use 1000’s of zombies to browse or hook to a particular website at the same time resulting in increase in the density traffic to the website and thus consuming all the bandwidth and instigating denial-of-services or web-page-not-found messages appearing. Sometime this kind of attacks completely crashes the websites as well as the web-server where the website is hosted. These can be used by business people to cripple the website of the rival businesses. But it is very interesting to know that hacking is not only done by the cyber criminals but is also done by the ethical business communities. The hacking being done and practiced by the business communities is called ‘ethical hacking’. Ethical hacking is used for testing, diagnosing, forensic-investigating vulnerability of computer networks and computers and further planning for its preventions. Programs like spyware, adwares, viruses or hacking software can be prevented from being downloaded into the computer system through the use of firewalls, adjusting browser settings and installing anti-spyware protection applications. Most of the computer users are unaware of the dangers or potential abuse related to these applications and can cause extensive damage or increase the chances of fraud or identity theft or damage to the computer systems and files. It is a challenging task to prevent cyber crime owing to the unlimited expanse and use of Internet that provides extensive scope to fraudsters. However, awareness among computer users about these threats and possible implications is an effective means of curbing this menace. The right to privacy is considered very important for businesses in UK and legislative requirements have been placed for the protection of personal data and right to privacy. While business enterprises promote unethical practices involving spamming, phishing and identity theft for achieving business growth and expansion, there are few websites that take adequate measures to ensure data protection (Soriano, 2003). Fundamental rights of individual to privacy is grossly violated by companies collecting, processing and exchanging vital information related to individual tastes, habits, orientation and related financial information. Individual rights define the scope of ownership and freedom of the person and this entitles the person to live in accordance with the rules associated with the rights. Individuals are bound by legal and moral rights that constitute of rules made by law and human nature. Many theories have been put forward in context of human ethics and legal rights. Some practitioners believe that individuals need to take precautionary measures to defend their claims and rights (Maier, 2007). Hence governing institutions are necessary to ensure that justice is implemented properly and defend individual rights. The interesting case of T-Mobile in UK that admitted to selling vital customer information to third party agencies for financial gains is just one among a million cases where businesses have resorted to unethical practices in misusing customer related data (Visage Mobile, 2009). Google one of the most popular and widely used search engines has also been known to use web data mining techniques to collect user browsing habits for promoting business gains (Marketing Week, 2011). The application collects vital user information through their keyword searches and browsing patterns on the Internet to display advertisements and popup that may hold interest to the user. Numerous such cases have highlighted the vulnerability of the computer systems and MICS in terms of user privacy and data protection issues. But the question lies in how can we protect ourselves from potential hacking or misuse of personal information easily available over the net. Ethical concerns in MICS Business ethics and ethical standards play an important role in determining the extent of professionalism that drives organizations in their pursuit of business goals and targets. “Ethical issues and the associated laws developed to control the ethical approach to Internet marketing constitute an important consideration of the Internet business environment for marketers” (Dave, 2008, p160). The ethics is good or bad is often decided based on the prevalent social environment. An ethics is considered good or bad only in comparison to the existing believe system, social environments and other influential factor of a particular social structure. What is wrong for you may not be wrong for other. You decide wrong or right for yourself and not for others. The theory of relativism positively claims that the concept of right or wrong is relative to the society in which we exist. The negative claim asserts that there is no one single standard for the entire human society. Since our society has become reliant on technology, it has also become important for individuals and organizations to endow themselves with the knowledge of information technology. The online consumer has reservations regarding the security and privacy protection of his personal and financial details. The online stores need to gain consumer trust on this account to ensure a safe and hassle free experience. Data protection issues have assumed great importance in the E-commerce era. The increasing incidents of hacking have also grown with the growth of E-commerce. Most companies feel that the use of passwords for authentication is sufficient but the system has inherent weaknesses like the password may be overheard or traced. Users often use passwords that are short and easy to remember. Dual key encryption where the user has a password or PIN and a key or token is a better security mechanism (Furnell, 2008). The e-business models must focus on providing its customers with safe and secured online payment applications taking into account the fact that most online users feel unsafe while making credit card transactions on e-commerce websites. This insecurity is further triggered by growing instances of unauthorized access to vital user information, privacy violations and online frauds. The use of secured socket layer (SSL) is an effective technology that helps websites in encrypting the data input by the user and translating it into an indecipherable code. This prevents unauthorized access and hacking of personal and sensitive user data. There are many more technologies that provide similar benefits and serve to enhance the security system of the applications online (Furnell, 2008). Any dispute or conflict arising between the buyers and sellers online is yet another aspect impacting online user behaviour. Legal proceedings relating to online disputes and ethical concerns are not well understood by users who are in a disadvantageous position when it comes to fighting online frauds and crimes. Conclusion The Internet if used properly can be a great add-on to any business for effective targeted marketing and higher profitability keeping in mind the growing relevance of E-commerce and other online business models. However, the issue of individual rights to privacy online remains debatable in the face of emerging trends that promote increased user interaction over the web. The past few decades have witnessed a growing shift in online browsing habits with more and more individuals revealing their personal details and interactions on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter for others to read. Readily available information on websites is easily available to business enterprises for promoting marketing strategies and business gains. Instances of data security breaches and violation of individual privacy are some of the common issues that are surfacing at present. What are the future implications of these violations and ethical use of information over the Internet is a pertinent question in determining the efficiency of the MICS in promoting its goals and objectives. “With the amount of data maintained and transmitted by organizations, it is extremely difficult to guard against every circumstance that may lead to a data breach, whether it be as a result of an accident or due to criminal wrongdoing” (Leaderer, 2011, p3). Legislative practices and policies alone are not enough to curb these trends and the onus lies on organizations to take proactive measures against potential privacy threats and violations that can have negative repercussions on the community and society at large. Effective management of information and communication systems by organizations is the only way that organizations can provide its stakeholders with the assurance that their information is safely handled and will not be exposed to potential misuse for financial gains. References 1. Apte, U.M., & Karmakar, U. 2007, Managing in the information economy: current research issues, Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 2. CIBC 2009, Spyware Examples, Available from http://www.cibc.com/ca/legal/spyware-examples.html 3. Curry, A., Flett, P., & Hollingsworth, I. 2006, Managing information and systems: the business perspective, Routledge. 4. Dave, C. 2008, E-Business and E-Commerce Management, Pearson Education India. 5. 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