Assignment: Ethics in Information Technology
Paper B1: a matrix mapping of a key IT-related organizational (or personal) ethical issue concerning privacy.
This assignment gives you an opportunity to analyze a key IT-related organizational (or personal, if not in the job force) ethical issue, related to privacy subject to relevant laws, regulations, and policies. Both of the following sites provide sources, and an excellent backdrop for issues relating to privacy protection and the law.
This includes sub-topics discussing information privacy, privacy laws, applications and court rulings (case law is usually an extension of the basic law based on the facts from specific cases and real-world court decisions), and key privacy and anonymity issues. While the sites provide many interesting topics, be sure to focus on our class IT topics.
1. Use the template below and the list of suggested workforce privacy topics from one of the sites above to produce a matrix to map a key organizational ethical (or personal, if not in the job force) issue and how this issue is affected by laws, regulations, and policies. Use the list of normative ethics principles below to help you complete the matrix. Choose any three (only three) of the following list of twelve (12) principles of normative ethics described below.
2. Prepare the Ethical Issue matrix and include the following explanation (200 words) -double-space your narrative-below the matrix:
1. Why I chose the dilemma;
2. Why I chose the three principles; and
3. An analysis of the research used to identify the actions in the matrix.
The completed matrix allows you to weigh the different issues involved and assign a rank as to the importance of the actions based on the effect on the stakeholders.
Normative Ethics List
Autonomy: is the duty to maximize the individual's right to make his or her own decisions.
Beneficence: is the duty to do good both individually and for all.
Confidentiality: is the duty to respect privacy of information and action.
Equality: is the duty to view all people as moral equals.
Finality: is the duty to take action that may override the demands of law, religion, and social customs.
Justice: is the duty to treat all fairly, distributing the risks and benefits equally.
Non-maleficence: is the duty to cause no harm, both individually and for all.
Understanding/Tolerance: is the duty to understand and to accept another viewpoint if reason dictates doing so is warranted.
Publicity: is the duty to take actions based on ethical standards that must be known and recognized by all who are involved.
Respect for persons: is the duty to honor others, their rights, and their responsibilities. Showing respect others implies that we do not treat them as a mere means to our end.
Universality: is the duty to take actions that hold for everyone, regardless of time, place, or people involved. This concept is similar to the Categorical Imperative.
Veracity: is the duty to tell the truth.
A sample template for the matrix is shown below. To reconstruct the sample template, you may use the Table Tool in MS Word or copy and paste this template.
Ethical issue:
Stakeholders
(Principle 1)
(Principle 2)
(Principle 3)
Step 1: Identify the ethical issue that you want to analyze, as described above. An example might be the falsification of your personal profile in a social networking site.
Step 2: Identify the stakeholders involved. You, someone who reads your personal profile in a social network site, potential employers, etc. Be sure that each stakeholder category is unique and not similar to another category you use.
Step 3: Choose any three (only three) of the principles that might apply to your issue such as autonomy, publicity, and veracity.
Step 4: identify how the ethical issue affects each stakeholder based on the principles you identified. Put this statement in the matrix next to the stakeholder.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.