Ethical Issues of BitCoins - Essay Example

Ethical issues Introduction Bit coins are generally created through a process known as mining whereby computer networkingindividuals such as the user who verify, provide computing power and record payments into achieves in order to exchange for transaction fees. In this case, users generally send and receive bit coins by the use of software wallets on mobile device, personal computer or even web applications (Guttmann, 35). Generally, bit coins are obtained through exchange of products, mining process and services. Alternatively, it can be through currencies. The past years has seen Bit coin go through a lot of scrutiny amid allegations of it being used for illegal purposes. Alternatively, Bit coin remains the leading innovator when it comes to some of the emerging markets in the digital currency world. These aspects are created electronically (Guttmann, 45). Bit coins are decentralized meaning that they have no ownership and can operate because of the large amounts of computer power, which can be converted into mining. Bit Coins is seen as a future innovation towards the global economy. However, in case the aspect of Bit coins is fully implemented across the globe, then nations across the globe would be using only one currency. Bit coins are the beginning of digital change for future. Bit coins transactions does not involve any banking transactions hence no banking fee. This aspect allows quick online shopping thus cheaper shopping options for shoppers. With reference to the aspect of Bit coins as an innovation in the market, this study will generally discuss some of the ethical aspects of Bit coins. Alternatively, the paper will elaborate on the cultural influences of Bit Coins in the market. Bit coins as an ethical issue Vital Currency Currently, Bit coins are one of the most popular currency forms across the globe. According to the Bit coin website, Bit coin is a low cost form of currency, which gives people the opportunity to exchange money via the internet without bank inferences or destabilizing any authorities. In most cases, online business allows bit coins payment to be converted into American dollars or euros. Additionally, Bit coins value can be stored in online wallets, which are heavily encrypted. Despite all the positivity that comes along with the aspect of Bit coins, there are various ethical issues of using Bit coins (Piderit, 38). Currently, Bit coins are considered a high-risk investment. Generally, the value or the price of coins keeps on fluctuating hence there is no regulation on coins usage over a short period. In as much as Bit coin makers and users consider the innovation as a global economy revolution, there are various policies and ethical issues that surround Bit coins usage. Some of the ethical issues that come along with Bit coins usage include money laundering aspect, tax, illegal goods purchases, fraud, hacking of Bit coin wallets (Mullan, 39). Storing and generating keys offline might mitigate Bit coins theft hence the aspect of Bit coin will most probably promote theft on regular basis (Piderit, 57). In most cases, theft occurs in a situation where unauthorized Bit coins transfer takes place from the wallet by the use of private key in order to unlock the wallet. Alternatively, large-scale theft cases occur while still at the payment processors, online wallet services or during exchanges which store many Bit coin user’s private keys. In this case, the thieves get the opportunity to hack the online wallet services by the act of finding website bug or by spreading malware to computers that hold private keys. In a situation where the thieves get the controlling aspect of a website or the website database, then they get the opportunity to gain access of some of the private keys of the users. By doing this, they can comfortably steal the Bit cons of the users (Mullan, 49). Generally, Bit coin activities are anonymous in nature hence any activity that involve Bit coins transactions are difficult. Bit coin being a digital aspect in the market, will as well signal the beginning of cyber security issues in the market. Through cybercrimes and security issues, people’s savings can be away stolen through the internet just by a simple click. Alternatively, banks can be vulnerable to similar things but most of them have proved to have the ability to handle such security issues (Koslowski, 29). Alternatively, full implementation of Bit coins in the markets will play a vital role in losing the importance of banking systems. Most people across the globe save their earnings in the banking systems. Therefore, the introduction of the Bit coins in the market will definitely signal an end to the banking systems. Bit coins are more interesting to use as compared to the banking systems. The aspect of using Bit coins would most definitely affect the government. However, on a more positive note, using the Bit coins ensures that the world would use a common currency hence play an important role in improving the international economy (Piderit, 94). Job elimination and Bit coins usage With the new economic innovation, various questions can be asked in relation to implementation of the Bit coins in the economy. The main ethical issue or question in reference to the innovation is whether this type of innovation brings positivity or negativity across the globe (Mullan, 85). Does Bit coin as a technological innovation reutilize, enhance or eliminate jobs across the globe? As an ethical issue, Bit coin aspect generally plays a key role in job elimination across various sectors. The banking sectors will be the most affected sector in the industry that might end up suffering because of the innovation. In most cases, banking systems tend to be more vulnerable when it comes to technological innovations in the economical world in as much it has been able to handle some of its security threat issues (Koslowski, 18). Moreover, enactment of the Bit coins usage in the markets will negatively influence most banking systems in to closure. Bit coins system of payment will tend to change the common aspect where people save their earnings in the banks. This would therefore mean that the banking sector would seriously decline hence many job losses in the banking sector with the introduction of the Bit coins in the market. Alternatively, most people would prefer to sue the bit coin aspect due to its flexibility and effectiveness as compared to the banking sector and by doing this, the banking sector would be losing more clients daily hence immediate closure and loss of jobs (Koslowski, 28). Positivity This discussion can be argued in the sense that, the advance in technology has generally provided various opportunities to eliminate long business operations and process and instead to streamline change across the globe (Minus, 64). In as much as many people will lose their jobs because of the innovation, thousands of factories working in the previous era can conduct their operations more easily and efficiently. Greater amounts of products in most organizations can be done with only a few technicians monitoring the computer-controlled technological devices in the organization (Mullan, 90). Why it is a problem and cultural influence Generally, Bit coin has various cultural, economic and social issues, which make it not suitable. The ethical issues of this type of innovation are many hence investing in this particular aspect will only bring more problem and disadvantages to individuals investing in it. In most cases, investing in Bid coin will only enable fraud or other crime related activities. This remains one of the most outstanding features of Bit coin’s anonymity (Shipley, 36). Generally, conventional currencies are subjected to counterfeit and laundering and in most cases; it is difficult to eliminate some of the risks that comes with it. Investing in Bit coin only magnifies most of those risks because there are no other ways in which an individual can exchange Bit coin unless it is anonymously (Minus, 74). Bit coin investment generally dominates networks, which have traffic in narcotics, which means that they are against the law. In as much as law enforcers have been trying too hard to shut down some of these networks because of their ability to terminate financial transaction actors in Bit coins, they have been unable to do so. In a situation where the network is done, then the Bit coin is termed as gone (Lempka, 26). Moreover, conventional currencies do not really work just the way real transactions work. Alternatively, the Bit coin investment remains vulnerable to theft. Generally, there are no Bit coin central banks across the globe. Consequently, the Federal Reserve has given the United States as opportunity to withstand any financial tensions because it can be able to unify its national currency. Investing in Bit coin is generally an ethical aspect that needs to be addressed before it goes out of hand. Bit coin investment plays as a contributing factor towards job elimination of many workers whether in the banking industry, factories or the corporate sector. However, the banking industry is most likely to be the most affected sector because of the innovation. Alternatively, the banking industries tend to suffer a lot from aspects of internet fraud from pranksters and other technological innovations despite their efforts to handle aspects of security in the sector. Massive investments in Bit coins usage in the markets tends to negatively influence the banking industries to closure. The aspect of minting copyright currencies is always easy with the investment of the Bit coin (Lempka, 37). Bit coins mining is a health hazard Generally, the aspect of mining Bit coins is hazardous to the miners. The type of mining is not always the same as the real-world mining. Generally, Bit coins mining transforms nothing to versions, which are encrypted. The heat during the mining process can also be hazardous to both the miners and the environment as a whole. Personal experience As human beings, we all believe about our values in life such that it is important for leaders in organizations to understand our own values so that they have a better opportunity to know our strong and weak points while making ethical decisions, which will support those values. Understanding the good ethics can be important for good business while the poor ethics will generally undermine trust scene, deplete energy, rise fear and even create malaise. The good ethics will play an important role in providing good ethical decision especially in an organization. The ethical dilemma is the focus on this section. In this case, the ethical situation took place at the X Company during the fall of 2010. Currently, the company operates as a fourth generation and is known for vocalizing its focus on the values of the family. Additionally, the company has pride in respecting and understanding its employees. Understanding employee’s lifestyle remains an important aspect towards leadership development. Respect as a simple expression remains an important aspect in our own lives and organizational employees in most cases are repaid for their own loyalty in the organization. The ethical situation in this case was at the Merchandising department. In this case, in order to keep things normal and do away with under the table deals or temptations, the departmental head established various rules regarding them as vendor opportunities. In this case, the rules were always communicated to departmental members once a year and all the members of the department were required to understand them properly. During the 2011 fall, one employee decided to go and see the superintendent of the organization in order to communicate to him about his intentions to go as a vendor the following day. Instead of granting the opportunity, instead the supervisor decided to talk to the departmental headfirst because that would be going against the organizational vendor opportunity guidelines. Pissed by the supervisor’s decision to first ask the departmental head, the worker told the supervisor to never mind asking the departmental head. The ethical concern in this case was that superintendent was about to go against the company’s efforts of vendor relations transparencies. Alternatively, the company takes pride of privatization of its workers right to explore the personal vacation opportunities in the organization. The issues in this context thus fairness and transparency are generally good moral aspects hence they remain moral concern issues (Lempka, 90). Organizational moral concerns with non-moral values of good employee relationships and profitable business will most likely be of benefit to the organization. Ethical decisions especially in organizations might be bring both positivity and negativity in the organization depending on how the organization handles it. Poor handling of the ethical decisions will end up bringing bad blood and hate in the organization while proper handling of the ethical situation will bring love and positivity in the organization. How a person or an organization handles the aspect of ethics might affect how other individuals feels whether the love or the hate towards an individual. Conclusion From the ethical issues that relate to Bit coin investments, it is quite clear that investing in Bit coin can be quite frustrating and problematic. Hi-tech startups should always be transformational, disruptive, radical, revolutionary, and chaotic apart from non-currency characteristics. Alternatively, individuals who make use of currencies as a store value and an exchange medium will always need them as conservative characteristics. Stability enables investments and consumption in reliable amounts among counterfeits. In most cases, counterfeits do not seem to accomplish these aspects (Lempka, 86). Generally, bit coins investment remains one of the ethical behaviors especially in the technological sectors. The positivity that comes with investment in Bit coins is less as compared to the negativity that comes with it. Bit coins investment is generally a risky type of investment (Piderit, 49). The fact that the value coins keeps fluctuating generally means that coins usage over a short period can be demanding. Some of the ethical issues that are associated with Bit coins usage include money-laundering aspect, illegal purchases of goods, fraud, hacking of Bit coin wallets. The stability of Bit coin investment value always fluctuates thus leading to the decrease in consumer confidence. The fact that Bit coins investment is a self-supporting loop gives the market a difficult and a challenging opportunity to trust it (Mullan, 39). Works Cited Guttmann, Benjamin. The Bitcoin Bible Gold Edition: All You Need to Know About Bitcoins and More. Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2014. Print. Guttmann, Benjamin. The Bitcoin Bible: All You Need to Know About Bitcoins. Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2013. Print. Koslowski, Peter. Principles of Ethical Economy. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. Print. Lempka, Robert, and Paul D. Stallard. Next Generation Finance: Adapting the Financial Services Industry to Changes in Technology, Regulation and Consumer Behaviour. Petersfield, Hampshire, Great Britain: Harriman House, 2013. Web. Minus, Paul M, and M C. Bassiouni. The Ethics of Business in a Global Economy. Boston u.a: Kluwer Acad. Publ, 1993. Print. Piderit, John J. The Ethical Foundations of Economics. Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press, 1993. Print Mullan, Philip. The Digital Currency Challenge: Shaping Online Payment Systems Through U.s. Financial Regulations. , 2014. Web. Shipley, Todd G, and Art Bowker. Investigating Internet Crimes: An Introduction to Solving Crimes in Cyberspace. Waltham, MA: Syngress, 2014. Web. Read More