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Essay on Ethics In a Computer Age
Viruses, cracking (sometimes called "hacking"), computer fraud, illegal software copying, and corporate sabotage using a computer are familiar topics in the popular press. These well-publicized forms of computer abuse (i.e., the unauthorized, deliberate misuse of information systems) and the perception that American business is fraught with crime and corruption have led many organizations to adopt codes of ethics to try to avoid problems.
The fact that organizations are increasingly establishing codes of ethics is shown by a Conference Board survey in which nearly half of the responding companies had enacted their codes since 1999, with the result that 8393% of U.S. firms now have a code of ethics. These corporate codes of ethics are any written corporate statement of ethics, law, or policy that define standards, either by direct articulation or by articulating values or norms, for the work group's behavior. They usually consist of a combination of directive statements for certain kinds of conduct, as well as general statements of corporate commitments to constituencies or a management philosophy.
Many managers believe corporate codes can help deter improper actions of employees. In addition, codes specific to the use of information systems, similar to or based on those of ACM, DPMA, or the British Computer Society (BCS), can provide even more specific guidance to information systems (IS) employees. This guidance may be especially important for IS employees, who, by virtue of their computer knowledge, can perpetrate crimes of greater magnitude than employees without computer knowledge. (Alexander, C.S. and Becker, H.J. 1999) Yet, despite the prevalence of codes of ethics, their effectiveness is controversial. Researchers from various fields have called for additional studies on the issues, including personality factors that may interact with codes. (Bachman, R., Paternoster, R., and Ward, S. 2001)
The number of professional groups rushing to implement codes and the number of journal articles advocating codes indicate there is a widespread belief that codes of ethics can help resolve the ethical issues facing IS employees today....
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