Applying Ethical Theories: Interpreting and Responding

Introduction

Ethical theories refer to those theories that are set aside to systemize, defend and recommend on the concepts of right and wrong conduct. They seek to resolve the questions of human morality. In the field of ICT, there are classical ethical theories that determine the conducts that are needed to ensure that there is proper delivery and good work conduct. These days, most people involve in many ethical issues in information technology (IT). These issues can either be good impact or bad impact to the people especially the youth. Theories like “Just Consequentialism” are set to ensure that good morals are instilled in the Technology Department (Armstrong, Ketz, & Owsen 2003).). As a result I examined ethical issues that all

Classical Ethical Theory

Ethics remain one of the most vital tools in our daily operations in places of work. Therefore organizations must implement various policies that aim at ensuring security in the ICT sector. Basically there are three ethical theories that aim at providing relevant information on how we need to conduct ourselves during our duties as IT professional. My case study has however specialized in exploring on the two most significant theories to ensure that IT professionals are educated on some of good and bad conduct that they may involve in during their duties. “Just Consequentialism” is a proposed theory that emphasizes the consequences of policies within the constraints of justice. This theory is a practical theory that approaches the ethical problems of computer and information ethics that holds the consequences of one’s conduct as an ultimate basis for the judgment about the right and wrong conduct of an individual. This theory maintains that ethical judgment involve claims about the state of affairs that may be intrinsically good or intrinsically bad. The wrong actions such as cybercrime and privacy violation can be analyzed and then the best balance of good effects of such actions is restored. The idea of intrinsically good morals such maintaining privacy and regulation of internet access need to be maintained. The theory of “Just Consequentialism” therefore tries to instill the good moral over the intrinsically bad morals in the field of ICT. Cybercrime for example remains one of the intrinsically bad morals that derail the integrity of services that are offered by ICT.

The second theory of ethical theory is Deontological theory. This is an important alternative to the Consequentialist theory. It maintains the statement that ‘what one need to do cannot be explained in terms of goodness or badness of consequences’ (Granitz & Loew 2007).

Privacy is an issue with both the internal and external implications within our places of work. The information relation to compensation and background data and the personal identification information such as account identifiers need to be maintained and accessed by authorized persons.

Security issues have risen in the past leading to mistrust within our places of work as IT professionals. Hackers have found it very easy to hack systems provided they are connected to internet. They use internet protocol address to access user’s computer and then collect data of the user without his or her knowledge for their own benefit. In the field of banking, online transfer of money has resulted to a lot of complains as a result of loss of money. These are hackers who are able to hack the account of a different user and transfer money to their account. This is an ethical issue that this theory tries to address to ensure that there exists integrity in banking processes.

Copyright infringement is another area where ethical issues have emerged both positively and negatively (Pratt 1994). With the gradual increase in the development in music sharing networks, users of IT can easily gain access to such sites and share data with unauthorized people. Such activities become good news to some of users as this will save the cost of downloading music. However in the long run, they may be the ones to lose a lot as such shortcut may be cut down.

These two theories have tried to reflect some of the ethical issues that are likely to affect us during our duties as IT users and professionals.

Recommendations

The aforementioned theories have reflected on some of the ethical issues that are experienced in the field of IT. As a result, my case study has conducted a well searched study to come out with some of the recommendations that army assist in regulation the wrong doing while maintaining the good doing during our duties. We as IT professionals need to ensure that we act as a good example to system users. One of the most significant recommendations that I can make concern security and related issues. Organizations must implement various policies that aim at ensuring security in the ICT sector. Conversely, these policies and controls should be regularly reviewed and reviewed to ensure that they are effective (Pratt & James1994). The other appropriate recommendation is that organizations should partner with reputable ICT organizations. In so doing, they will benchmark on their strategies and practices that make them competitive.

Conclusion

It will be advantageous to people if they use technology ethically. It should be our responsibility to ensure that we deliver the best services and morals to the office and the people we serve. We should not abuse our position. It is imperative to note that ethics in ICT play an instrumental role in shaping how people use technology (Rossouw & Van Vuuren 2013). Some of the key issues governed by ethical theories include hacking, cracking, security, violation of privacy and confidentiality and others. As such, all people involved in ICT activities should ensure that they carry themselves as prescribed by the ethical codes and standards. 

References

Armstrong, M. B., Ketz, J. E., & Owsen, D. (2003). Ethics education in accounting: Moving toward ethical motivation and ethical behavior. Journal of Accounting Education, 21(1), 1-16.

Granitz, N., & Loewy, D. (2007). Applying ethical theories: Interpreting and responding to student plagiarism. Journal of Business Ethics, 72(3), 293-306.

Pratt, C. B. (1994). Applying classical ethical theories to ethical decision making in public relations Perrier's Product Recall. Management Communication Quarterly, 8(1), 70-94.

Pratt, C. B., & James, E. L. (1994). Advertising ethics: A contextual response based on classical ethical theory. Journal of Business Ethics,13(6), 455-468.

Rossouw, D., & Van Vuuren, L. (2013). Business ethics. Oxford University Press.