Chapter 3

• ethics: the principles of right and wrong that individuals use to make choices that guide their behaviour
• utilitarian approach: states that an ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm
• rights approach: maintains that an ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of the affected parties. moral rights can include the rights to make one's own choices but about what kind of life to lead, to be told the truth, to not be injured, and to enjoy a degree of privacy
• fairness approach: posits that ethical actions treat all human beings equally, or, if unequally, then fairly, based on some defensible standard
• common good approach: highlights the interlocking relationships that underlie all societies. this approach argues that respect and compassion for all others is the basis for ethical actions. it emphasizes the common conditions that are important to the wellfare of everyone
• deontology approach: states that the morality of an action is based on whether the action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of that action
• code of ethics: a collection of principles intended to guide decision making by members of the organization
• traditional approach to resolving an ethical issues:

  1. recognize an ethical issue
  2. get the facts
  3. evaluate alternative actions
  4. make a decision and test it
• giving voice to values approach to resolving ethical issues

  1. identify an ethical issue
  2. purpose and choice
  3. stakeholder analysis
  4. powerful response
  5. scripting and coaching
• responsibility: you accept the consequences of your decisions and actions
• accountability: determining who is responsible for actions that were taken
• liability: a legal concept that gives individuals the right to recover the damages done to them by other individuals, organization, or systems
• privacy issues involve collecting, storing, and disseminating information about individuals
• accuracy issues: involve the authenticity, fidelity, and correctness of information that is collected and processed
• property issues involve the ownership and value of information
• accessibility issues revolve around who should have access to information and whether they should pay a fee for this access
• privacy is the right to be left alone and to be free of unreasonable personal intrusions
• information privacy: the right to determine when, and to what extent, information about you can be gathered or communicated to others
• court decisions in many countries have followed two privacy rules closely:

  1. the right of privacy is not absolute. privacy must be balanced against the needs of society
  2. the public's right to know supersedes the individual's right of privacy
• digital dossier: a collection of information about a person, including their online activities, that is stored on a computer
• profiling: the process of forming a digital dossier
• customer intimacy: companies that sell dossiers to companies that want to know their customers better
• electronic surveillance: tracking people's activities with the aid of computers. it is rapidly increasing, particularly with the emergence of new technologies
• url filtering: a type of web filtering that blocks access to certain websites based on their content
• privacy policies/codes: an organization's guidelines for protecting the privacy of its customers, clients, and employees
• opt-out model: informed consent permits the company to collect personal information until the customer specifically requests that the data not be collected
• opt in model: prohibits an organization from collecting any personal information unless the customer specifically authorizes it
• personal data: information that can be used to identify a person
• sensitive personal data encompass genetic data, racial information, information about religious and political views, sexual orientation, trade union membership
• data controllers: the organizations that have relationships with data subjects
• data processors: organizations that work for data controllers and processes personal data on the controller's behalf
• platform for privacy preferences (p3p): automatically communicates privacy policies between an electronic commerce website and visitors to that site. p3p enables visitors to determine the types of personal data that can be extracted by the websites they visit
• data collection

  • data should be collected on individuals only for the purpose of accomplishing a legitimate business objective
  • data should be adequate, relevant, and not excessive in relation to the business objective
  • individuals must give their consent before data pertaining to them can be gathered. such consent may be implied from the individual's actions
• data accuracy

  • sensitive data gathered on individuals should be verified before they are entered into the database
  • data should be kept current, where and when necessary
  • the file should be made available so that the individual can ensure that the data are correct
  • in any disagreement about the accuracy of the data, the individual's version should be noted and included with any disclosure of the file
• data confidentiality

  • computer security procedures should be implemented to ensure against unauthorized disclosure of data. these procedures should include physical, technical, and administrative security measure
  • third parties should not be given access to data without the individual's knowledge or permission, except as required by law
  • disclosures of data, other than the most routine, should be noted and maintained for as long a the data are maintained
  • data should not be disclosed for reasons incompatible with the business objective for which they are collected