Ethics and It
1. INTRODUCTION
Ethics has been perceived as one of the most important factors in establishing good corporate governance. Information Technology (IT) plays an increasing role in helping modern organizations to achieve their goals, and it has become critical in creating and implementing effective IT governance mechanisms.
The increased use of information technology has raised many ethical issues for today’s IT professional.– Licensing of IT professionals
– Internet communication
– Intellectual property
– Employee/employer issues
The collapses of Enron, WorldCom, HIH, One.Tel and many others early this century have brought about renewed attention to corporate governance mechanisms and birth to a spate of legislation and regulations worldwide. Some countries, like the United States and its Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), have chosen coercive mechanisms, focusing on enforcement and punishment for egregious behavior, while others, like Australia and the United Kingdom, have chosen more cooperative approaches that place the burden for disclosure and explanation on the companies themselves rather than auditors and regulatory enforcement officers. Whichever approach is used, it remains that governments worldwide have ushered in a new era for business, one in which the actions of directors and executives will be closely scrutinized in order to prevent gross breaches of investor confidence, and their associated destruction of wealth, as has happened in the past.
Globalization and digital convergence in the emerging knowledge society has raised complex ethical, legal and societal issues. We are faced with complex and difficult questions regarding the freedom of expression, access to information, the right to privacy, intellectual property rights, and cultural diversity. ICT is an instrumental need of all humans for the gathering of information and knowledge, and as such, should be guaranteed as a basic right to all human beings. All over the world, rights that are
Ethics has been perceived as one of the most important factors in establishing good corporate governance. Information Technology (IT) plays an increasing role in helping modern organizations to achieve their goals, and it has become critical in creating and implementing effective IT governance mechanisms.
The increased use of information technology has raised many ethical issues for today’s IT professional.– Licensing of IT professionals
– Internet communication
– Intellectual property
– Employee/employer issues
The collapses of Enron, WorldCom, HIH, One.Tel and many others early this century have brought about renewed attention to corporate governance mechanisms and birth to a spate of legislation and regulations worldwide. Some countries, like the United States and its Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), have chosen coercive mechanisms, focusing on enforcement and punishment for egregious behavior, while others, like Australia and the United Kingdom, have chosen more cooperative approaches that place the burden for disclosure and explanation on the companies themselves rather than auditors and regulatory enforcement officers. Whichever approach is used, it remains that governments worldwide have ushered in a new era for business, one in which the actions of directors and executives will be closely scrutinized in order to prevent gross breaches of investor confidence, and their associated destruction of wealth, as has happened in the past.
Globalization and digital convergence in the emerging knowledge society has raised complex ethical, legal and societal issues. We are faced with complex and difficult questions regarding the freedom of expression, access to information, the right to privacy, intellectual property rights, and cultural diversity. ICT is an instrumental need of all humans for the gathering of information and knowledge, and as such, should be guaranteed as a basic right to all human beings. All over the world, rights that are
Bibliography: BOOBKS AND JOURNALS • Anon (2003) The ethics of nanotechnology, May 6th • Bowyer, Kevin W. (ed.) (2001) Ethics and computing, New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. • Weyker, Dennis Shayne (1994) Ethical issues in hacking, phreaking, and piracy, from Computer Underground Digest, March.