1. MIS
PERSONAL, LEGAL, ETHICAL, AND ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
CHAPTER 4
Hossein BIDGOLI

2. Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
l e a r n i n g o u t c o m e s
LO1 Discuss information privacy and methods for improving the privacy of information.
LO2 Explain the effects on information privacy of , data collection, and censorship.
LO3 Discuss the ethical issues related to information technology .
LO4 Discuss the principles of intellectual property and issues related to the infringement of intellectual property.

3. l e a r n i n g o u t c o m e s (cont’d.)
Chapter 4 Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues of Information Systems
l e a r n i n g o u t c o m e s (cont’d.)
LO5 Discuss information system issues that affect organizations, including the digital divide, electronic publishing, and on the connection between the workplace and employees’ health.
LO6 Describe green computing and the ways it can improve the quality of the environment.

4. Privacy Issues Concerns about privacy in the workplace
Employers search social networking sites
Employee monitoring systems
Misuse and abuse of information gathered by:
Healthcare organizations
Financial institutions
Legal firms
Defining privacy is difficult
Information technologies have increased ease of access to information

5. Social Networking Sites and Privacy Issues
Stacy Snyder
Former student at Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Posted a photo of herself on MySpace, wearing a pirate’s hat and drinking
Millersville administrators
Considered the image unprofessional
Refused to grant her an education degree and teaching certificate

6. Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
Number of databases increasing rapidly
Enforcement of federal laws has been lax
Index and link databases using Social Security numbers
Direct marketing companies major user of this information
U.S. government began linking large databases to find information

7. Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
Federal laws now regulate collecting and using information on people and corporations
1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act
Acceptable use policies
Set of rules specifying the legal and ethical use of a system and the consequences of noncompliance
Accountability
Issues involving both the user’s and the organization’s responsibilities and liabilities

8. Privacy Issues (cont’d.)
Nonrepudiation
Method for binding all the parties to a contract
Hardware or software controls
Determine what personal information is provided on the Web

9. E-mail Presents some serious privacy issues Spam Ease of access
Unsolicited sent for advertising purposes
Sent in bulk by using automated mailing software
Ease of access
People should assume that others have access to their messages
Any s sent on company-owned computers are the property of the organization

10. Data Collection on the Web
Number of people shopping online is increasing
Many customers reluctant to make online purchases
Concerns about hackers getting access to their credit card numbers
Many credit card companies reimburse fraudulent charges
Other electronic payment systems are being developed

11. Data Collection on the Web (cont’d.)
Concerned about computers’ contents being searched while they’re connected to the Web
Information users provide on the Web
Combined with other information and technologies to produce new information
Cookies
Small text files with a unique ID tag
Embedded in a Web browser
Saved on the user’s hard drive
Many users disable cookies

12. Data Collection on the Web (cont’d.)
Log files
Generated by Web server software
Record a user’s actions on a Web site
Data collected on the Web must be used and interpreted with caution

13. Ethical Issues of Information Technologies
Ethics means doing the right thing
What is “right” can vary from one culture to another and even from one person to another
More difficult to determine than legal versus illegal

14. Ethical Issues of Information Technologies (cont’d.)
Information technology offers many opportunities for unethical behavior
Cybercrime, cyberfraud, identity theft, and intellectual property theft
Many experts believe management can reduce employees’ unethical behavior
Codes of ethics
Many associations promote ethically responsible use of information systems and technologies

15. Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people
Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work
Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s files
Thou shalt not use a computer to steal
Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness

16. Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics (cont’d.)
Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not paid
Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources without authorization
Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s intellectual output
Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write
Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect

17. Censorship Who decides what should be on the Web? Types of information
Public
Private
Whether or not something can be censored depends in part on who is doing the censoring
Restricted access to the Web
Burma, China, and Singapore
U.S. citizens don’t want the government controlling Web access

18. Censorship (cont’d.)
Parents are concerned about what their children are exposed to
Pornography, violence, and adult language
Search keywords
Guidelines to teach their children to use good judgment while on the Web
Programs such as CyberPatrol, CyberSitter, Net Nanny, and SafeSurf

19. Intellectual Property
Protections that involve copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents for “creations of the mind” developed by people or businesses
Industrial property
Inventions, trademarks, logos, and industrial designs
Copyrighted material
Literary and artistic works
May apply to online materials
Exceptions under Fair Use Doctrine

20. Intellectual Property (cont’d.)
Trademark
Protects product names and identifying marks
Patent
Protects new processes
Organizations can benefit from patents
Software piracy
Laws
Telecommunications Act of 1996
Communications Decency Act (CDA)
Laws against spamming

21. Intellectual Property (cont’d.)
Internet use policy
Avoid legal risks
Cybersquatting
Registering, selling, or using a domain name to profit from someone else’s trademark

22. Verizon’s Cybersquatting Suit
Verizon sued OnlineNic
OnlineNic registered domain names containing Verizon trademarks
myverizonwireless.com
iphoneverizonplans.com
verizon-cellular. com
Verizon won this suit

23. Social Divisions and the Digital Divide
Computers still aren’t affordable for many people
Companies installing cables for Internet connections might subject their communities to a type of economic “red-lining”
Children are often victims of this divide
Funding for computers at schools and libraries
Loaner programs

24. The Impact of Information Technology in the Workplace
New jobs for:
Programmers
Systems analysts
Database and network administrators
Network engineers
Webmasters
Web page developers
e-commerce specialists
Chief information officers (CIOs)
Technicians

25. The Impact of Information Technology in the Workplace (cont’d.)
Web designers
Java programmers
Web troubleshooters
Telecommuting and virtual work
Job deskilling
Skilled labor eliminated by introducing high technology
Job downgraded from a skilled to a semiskilled or unskilled position

26. Table 4.1
Potential benefits and potential drawbacks of telecommuting

27. The Impact of Information Technology in the Workplace (cont’d.)
Job upgrading
Clerical workers who now use computers
One skilled worker might be capable doing the job of several workers
Virtual organizations
Networks of independent companies, suppliers, customers, and manufacturers
Connected via information technologies
Share skills and costs
Have access to each other’s market

28. Information Technology and Health Issues
Reports of health-related issues caused by video display terminals (VDTs)
No conclusive study
Health problems associated with the environment in which computers are used

29. Information Technology and Health Issues (cont’d.)
Other reports of health problems
Vision
Musculoskeletal
Skin
Reproductive
Stress-related
Amount of time some people spend on the Web

30. Health and Social Issues of Online Gaming
Online games World of Warcraft and EverQuest blamed for a host of problems
Poor academic performance, divorce, suicide, and the death of a child because of parental neglect
Fantasy worlds in online games believed to be addictive and to affect marriages and careers

31. Green Computing
Computing that promotes a sustainable environment and consumes the least amount of energy
Helps an organization save on energy costs
Improves the quality of the environment in which we live and work

32. Green Computing (cont’d.)
Involves the design, manufacture, use, and disposal of computers, servers, and computing devices
Monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications equipment
Minimal impact on the environment
Implemented without the cooperation of both the private and the public sector
Goals

33. Summary Privacy issues related to information technologies
Methods for protecting privacy: Personal information and organizations’ data resources
Ethical issues related to information systems
Censorship, intellectual property laws, digital divide
Effect of information systems on the workplace and possible heath issues
Green computing
Impact on the environment