Unit 1

An Overview of Ethics
Information System Ethics

Hempal Shrestha
Tech-Know-Legal & Knowledge Management Specialist
Visiting Faculty - Kathmandu University 2023
Objectives
1. What is ethics, and why is it important to act
according to a code of principles?
2. Why is business ethics becoming increasingly
important?
3. What are corporations doing to improve
business ethics?
Objectives
4. Why are corporations interested in fostering
good business ethics?
5. What approach can you take to ensure
ethical decision making?
6. What trends have increased the risk of using
information technology unethically?
Unit -01 - Outline
1. Definition of Ethics
2. The Importance of Integrity
3. The Difference between Morals, Ethics, and
Laws
4. Ethics in the Business World
5. Including Ethical Considerations in Decision
Making.
6. Ethics in Information Technology.
 With Great Power!
Comes Greater Responsibility!!
Ethics!!!
Code of Ethics keeps your feet Grounded
What is Ethics?
● Each society forms a set of rules that
establishes the boundaries of generally
accepted behavior.
● These rules are often expressed in statements
about how people should behave, and they fit
together to form the moral code by which a
society lives.
What is Ethics?
● Morals are one’s personal beliefs about
right and wrong.
○ Moral acts conform to what an individual
believes to be the right thing to do.
● Ethics is the set of beliefs about right and
wrong behavior.
What is Ethics?
● Ethical behavior conforms to generally accepted
social norms, many of which are almost universal.
● Virtues are habits that incline people to do what is
acceptable, and vices are habits of unacceptable
behavior
● People’s virtues and vices help define their value
system – the complex scheme of moral values by
which they live
Definition of Ethics…
● Ethics (नै तकता) - set of beliefs about right and wrong
behavior
● Ethical behavior conforms to generally accepted social
norms (मापदण्डहरू)
● Virtues (सद्गुण / सदगुण) - Habits that incline people to do
what is acceptable
● Vices (दुगणुर्गु ) - Habits of unacceptable behavior
● Value system (मान प्रणाली/ मुल्य मान्यता) - Scheme of moral
values
What is Ethics?
● Moral code
○ Set of rules
○ Establishes boundaries of generally accepted
behavior
○ Different rules often have contradictions
● Morality
○ Social conventions about right and wrong
○ Widely shared
What is Ethics?...
● Morality may vary by:
○ Age
○ Cultural group
○ Ethnic background
○ Religion
○ Gender
○ Economic Status
○ Understanding / Knowledge of the Issue
○ Life Experiences / Struggles
 Integrity!!!
is doing the right thing, even when nobody is
watching.
—Anonymous
The Importance of Integrity (अखंडता/सत्य नष्ठा)
● Integrity is a cornerstone of ethical behavior
● People with integrity
○ Act in accordance with a personal code of
principles
○ Extend to all people the same respect and
consideration that you desire
○ Apply the same moral standards in all
situations
Source: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/integrity-importance-and-challenges/
The Importance of Integrity (अखंडता/सत्य नष्ठा)
● However, as an adult facing more complex decisions, you
often reflect on your principles when you consider what to
do in different situations.
● Unfortunately, consistency can be difficult to achieve,
particularly when you are in a situation that conflicts with
your moral standards.
● Clearly, many ethical dilemmas are not as simple as right
versus wrong but involve choices between right versus
right.
 The
Difference Between

Morals!
Ethics!!
&

Laws!!!
Morals, Ethics, and Laws
● Morals are one’s personal beliefs about right
and wrong.
○ Moral acts conform to what an individual
believes to be the right thing to do.
● Ethics describes standards or codes of
behavior expected of an individual by a group
(nation, organization, profession) to which an
individual belongs.
Professional Code of Ethics (Example - others)
● https://nmc.org.np/files/4/Code%20of%20Ethics_Print_version.pdf
● http://nnc.org.np/web-content/upload/The-code-of-ethics-programme.pdf
● https://en.ican.org.np/_browsable/file/resouces/Code-of-Ethics-2018.pdf
● https://medium.com/onlinemedia-nepal/proposing-a-code-of-ethics-for-online-
media-and-journalists-ff19958adbcb
● https://www.can.org.np/uploads/web-uploads//files/Aanchar%20Sanhita.pdf
● http://www.can.org.np/uploads/web-uploads//files/Aanchar%20Sanhita.pdf
● http://www.can.org.np/assets/upload/files/Nirwachan-Aachar-samhita.pdf
● http://sona.org.np/post/79
● https://oag.gov.np/menu-category/1122/en
● https://nepalbarcouncil.org.np/en/code-of-conduct/
Professional Code of Ethics (IT/CS/others)…
● https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ethics_for_IT_Professionals/Professional_Code_
of_Ethics
● Most IT Professionals, unlike doctors and other professionals, do not have a
general rule making body, they may have many professional organizations
specialized to specific groups.
○ Association of Information Technology Professionals(AITP)
○ CyberSecurity Institute (CSI)
○ Independent Computer Consultants (ICCA)
○ Information Systems Security Association (ISSA)
○ Association for Computer Operations Management(AFCOM)
○ Computing Technology Industry Association(CompTIA)
● https://www.computer.org/education/code-of-ethics
Professional Code of Ethics (IT/CS/others)…
● https://cse.gndec.ac.in/csi/?q=node/3
● https://www.acm.org/code-of-ethics
● https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/projec
t-managers-code-of-ethics-10343
Morals, Beliefs, and Laws…
● Law is a system of rules that tells us what we can and
cannot do.
● Laws are enforced by a set of institutions (the police,
courts, law-making bodies).
○ Legal acts are acts that conform to the law.
○ Laws can proclaim an act as legal (or Illegal), although
many people may consider the act immoral—for
example, abortion (in some population).
 Ethics
in the
Business
World!!!
Ethics in the Business World
● Ethics has risen to the top of the business
agenda because the risks associated with
inappropriate behavior have increased,
both in their likelihood and in their
potential negative impact.
Ethics in the Business World
● Risks associated with inappropriate behavior have increased
due to
○ Globalization
○ Heightened vigilance by
■ Employees
■ Shareholders
■ Regulatory agencies
○ Recent scandals in IT companies
● Risk is the product of multiplying the likelihood of an event by
the impact of its occurrence
Why Fostering Good Business Ethics Is
Important
1. To gain the goodwill of the community
2. To create an organization that operates
consistently
3. To produce good business
4. To protect the organization and its employees
from legal action
5. To avoid unfavorable publicity
… Gaining the Goodwill of the Community
● Basic responsibilities to society
○ Declared in formal statement of company’s
principles or beliefs
○ Include:
■ Making contributions to charitable
organizations and nonprofit institutions
● Providing benefits for employees in
excess of legal requirements
… Gaining the Goodwill of the Community
● Basic responsibilities to society
○ …Include:
■ Choosing economic opportunities that
might be more socially desirable than
profitable.
○ Goodwill that socially responsible activities
create can make it easier for corporations
to conduct business
Why Fostering Good Business Ethics Is
Important
1. To gain the goodwill of the community
2. To create an organization that operates
consistently
3. To produce good business
4. To protect the organization and its employees
from legal action
5. To avoid unfavorable publicity
… Creating an Organization That Operates
Consistently
● Many business values include:
○ Operating with honesty and integrity,
staying true to corporate principles
○ Operating according to standards of
ethical conduct, in words and action
○ Treating colleagues, customers, and
consumers with respect
… Creating an Organization That Operates
Consistently
● … Many business values include:
○ Striving to be the best at what matters most to
the company
○ Accepting personal responsibility for actions
○ Valuing diversity
○ Making decisions based on facts and
principles
Why Fostering Good Business Ethics Is
Important
1. To gain the goodwill of the community
2. To create an organization that operates
consistently
3. To produce good business
4. To protect the organization and its employees
from legal action
5. To avoid unfavorable publicity
… Good Ethics Can Mean Good Business

● Produce safe and effective products

○ Avoid costly recalls and lawsuits
● Develop and maintain strong employee
relations
○ Suffer less turnover
○ Enjoy better employee morale
… Good Ethics Can Mean Good Business

● Provide excellent service

○ Maintain customers
● Suppliers and other business partners prefer
companies that operate in a fair and ethical
manner
● Bad ethics can lead to bad business results
Why Fostering Good Business Ethics Is
Important
1. To gain the goodwill of the community
2. To create an organization that operates
consistently
3. To produce good business
4. To protect the organization and its employees
from legal action
5. To avoid unfavorable publicity
… Protecting the Corporation and Its
Employees from Legal Actions

● Recent case of a Company CEO in Nepal

being imprisoned for deletion of Client’s data
from their cloud server.
● Issue of Software Code of an Nepalese
software company being copied and exploited
by their ex-employees.
Why Fostering Good Business Ethics Is
Important
1. To gain the goodwill of the community
2. To create an organization that operates
consistently
3. To produce good business
4. To protect the organization and its employees
from legal action
5. To avoid unfavorable publicity
… Avoiding Unfavorable Publicity
● Public reputation of company strongly influences
○ Value of its stock
○ How consumers regard products and services
○ Degree of oversight received from
government agencies
○ Amount of support and cooperation received
from business partners
Improving
the
Corporate
Ethics!!!
Improving Corporate Ethics

● The risk of unethical behavior is increasing, so

the improvement of business ethics is
becoming more important. Following are some
of the actions corporations can take to
improve business ethics.
Improving Corporate Ethics

1. Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer

2. Ethical Standards Set by Board of Directors
3. Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics
4. Conducting Social Audits
5. Requiring Employees to Take Ethics Training
6. Including Ethical Criteria in Employee Appraisals
1… Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer
● Corporate ethics definition includes
○ Ethical conduct
○ Legal compliance
○ Corporate social responsibility
● Corporate ethics officer
○ Is a senior-level manager
○ Provides vision and direction in the area of business
conduct
○ Tries to establish an environment that encourages
ethical decision making
1 Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer

● Responsibilities include:
○ Complete oversight of the ethics function
○ Collecting and analyzing data
○ Developing and interpreting ethics policy
○ Developing and administering ethics
education and training
○ Overseeing ethics investigations
Improving Corporate Ethics

1. Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer

2. Ethical Standards Set by Board of Directors
3. Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics
4. Conducting Social Audits
5. Requiring Employees to Take Ethics Training
6. Including Ethical Criteria in Employee Appraisals
2… Ethical Standards Set by Board of Directors
● Board responsible for supervising management
team
● Directors of company are expected to
○ Conduct themselves according to the highest
standards of personal and professional
integrity
○ Set standard for company-wide ethical
conduct
○ Ensure compliance with laws and regulations
Improving Corporate Ethics

1. Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer

2. Ethical Standards Set by Board of Directors
3. Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics
4. Conducting Social Audits
5. Requiring Employees to Take Ethics Training
6. Including Ethical Criteria in Employee Appraisals
3… Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics
● Code of ethics:
○ Highlights an organization’s key ethical issues
○ Identifies overarching values and principles important
to an organization
○ Focuses employees on areas of ethical risk
○ Cannot gain company-wide acceptance unless
■ Developed with employee participation
■ Fully endorsed by organization’s leadership
○ Must continually be applied to company’s decision
making
Improving Corporate Ethics

1. Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer

2. Ethical Standards Set by Board of Directors
3. Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics
4. Conducting Social Audits
5. Requiring Employees to Take Ethics Training
6. Including Ethical Criteria in Employee Appraisals
4… Conducting Social Audits
● Social audit
○ Identifies ethical lapses committed in the
past
○ Sets directives for avoiding similar
missteps in the future
… Corporate Satisfaction with their Codes of
Ethics
Improving Corporate Ethics

1. Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer

2. Ethical Standards Set by Board of Directors
3. Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics
4. Conducting Social Audits
5. Requiring Employees to Take Ethics Training
6. Including Ethical Criteria in Employee Appraisals
5… Requiring Employees to Take Ethics
Training
● Comprehensive ethics education program
encourages employees to act responsibly and
ethically
○ Often presented in small workshop formats
● Principle-based decision making is based on
principles in corporate code of ethics
Improving Corporate Ethics

1. Appointing a Corporate Ethics Officer

2. Ethical Standards Set by Board of Directors
3. Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics
4. Conducting Social Audits
5. Requiring Employees to Take Ethics Training
6. Including Ethical Criteria in Employee
Appraisals
6… Including Ethical Criteria in Employee
Appraisals
● Some companies base a portion of employee
performance evaluations on:
○ Treating others fairly and with respect
○ Operating effectively in a multicultural
environment
○ Accepting personal accountability
○ Continually developing themselves and others
○ Operating openly and honestly with suppliers,
customers, and other employees
Characteristics of a successful ethical program
The Ethics Resource Center has defined the following
characteristics of a successful ethics program:
● Employees are willing to seek advice about ethics issues.
● Employees feel prepared to handle situations that could
lead to misconduct.
● Employees are rewarded for ethical behavior.
● The organization does not reward success obtained through
questionable means.
● Employees feel positively about their company.
… When Good Ethics Result in Short-Term
Losses
● Operating ethically does not always
guarantee business success
● But, it is expected that the good ethics will
prove to be good business in the long term
… Creating an Ethical Work Environment
● Good employees sometimes make bad
ethical choices
● May be encouraged to do “whatever it takes”
to get the job done
● Employees must have a knowledgeable and
potent resource available to discuss
perceived unethical practices
… How Management Can Affect Employees’
Ethical Behaviour
… How Management Can Affect Employees’
Ethical Behaviour….
… Manager’s Checklist….
 Including

Ethical
Considerations
in

Decision Making.!!!
7 Steps to Ethical Decision Making
1. Get the facts
2. Identify stakeholders and their positions
3. Consider the consequences of a decision
4. Weigh various guidelines and principles
5. Develop and evaluate options
6. Review a decision
7. Evaluate the results of a decision
Four Philosophical Theories for Ethical
Decision Making
 Ethics
in
Information Technology
Ethics in Information Technology
Here are some examples that raise public concern about the ethical use of
information technology:
● Many employees might have their e-mail and Internet access monitored
while at work, as employers struggle to balance their need to manage
important company assets and work time with employees’ desire for
privacy and self-direction.
● Millions of people have downloaded music and movies at no charge and in
apparent violation of copyright laws at tremendous expense to the owners
of those copyrights.
● Organizations contact millions of people worldwide through unsolicited
e-mail (spam) as an extremely low-cost marketing approach.
Ethics in Information Technology
Here are some examples that raise public concern about the ethical
use of information technology:
● Hackers break into databases of financial and retail institutions to
steal customer information, and then use it to commit identity
theft—opening new accounts and charging purchases to
unsuspecting victims.
● Students around the world have been caught downloading
material from the Web and plagiarizing content for their term
papers.
● Web sites plant cookies or spyware on visitors’ hard drives to track
their online purchases and activities.
Ethics in Information Technology
● Public concern about the ethical use of
information technology includes:
○ E-mail and Internet access monitoring
○ Peer-to-peer networks violation of copyright
○ Unsolicited e-mail
○ Hackers and identity theft
○ Plagiarism
○ Cookies and spyware
Ethics in Information Technology…
● The general public has not realized the
critical importance of ethics as applied to IT
● Important technical decisions are often left to
technical experts
● General business managers must assume
greater responsibility for these decisions
Ethics in Information Technology…
● They must be able to make broad-minded,
objective, ethical decisions based on technical
savvy, business know-how, and a sense of
ethics
● They must also try to create a working
environment in which ethical dilemmas can
be discussed openly, objectively, and
constructively
 Ethics
in
Summary!
Ethics in Summary
● Ethics is a set of beliefs about right and
wrong behavior
● Ethics in business is becoming more
important because the risks associated with
inappropriate behavior have grown
● Corporations want to protect themselves and
their employees from legal action
Ethics in Summary
● 7-step approach to ethical decision making
● Trends contributing to the risk of using
information technology unethically include:
○ Growth of the Internet
○ Ability to capture and store vast amounts
of personal data online
○ Greater reliance on information systems