Ethical Dilemma on Information and Communication Technology

In this essay the ethical dilemma related to information and communication technology at workplace will be discussed. The case study is about the whistle blowing practices in a company in which the company’s employees were involved in insider dealing. The scenario will be analyzed using doing ethics technique (DET). The ethical dilemma is related to workplace situation so artificial names will be used to explain it.

Ethics are described as “a system of moral principles that defines what is good for individuals and society as a whole” (Armstrong, Ketz and Owsen, 2003). The term ethics has evolved from Greek word “ethos” that means habit or disposition. Almost every organization holds a code of ethics document which is necessary for the employees to follow. Code of ethics evolves around principles of integrity, honesty, respect and openness. Every organization uses certain information and communication technology to stay in the globally connected world. Information and communication technology is an umbrella term that includes devices such as internet, phone, e-mails and television used for communicating inside and outside the organization (Headman and Kalling, 2001).

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In the scenario under consideration, the information and communication technology had been used by the employees of the company to illegally share certain information about design and confidential tender deal of the upcoming product outside the organization which led to substantial loss for the company. The communication devices used by the employees for sharing the confidential information regarding future project were scanners, printers and computers.

By using doing ethics technique, the company can analyze issues by considering relevant variables and facts so that the best solution can be found out.

Stage 1: What are the facts?

The management of the Exon firm analyzed that their competitors were following the similar strategy for developing a product that was under development in Exon firm. The strategies developed by Exon firm had undergone several meetings and a major breakthrough was expected after its launch. However, in few months management observed that the major competitor had launched the similar product in the market and reaped all the attention of potential customers and media. During deeper investigation, it was found out that the research and development department was involved in passing the crucial information about the upcoming product with the major competitor of Exon firm using cellular phones, fax machines, emails from official ids and scanned documents.

Step 2: What are the ethical issues?

Exon firm analyzed that the research and development department was involved in the fraduelent behavior. The whole department was involved in sharing design and development information with the major competitor of the Exon. It was analyzed by the marketing team that the product with similar attributes was being launched by the major competitor offering similar features for the same customer base. The complaint was filed by the marketing head to the directors of the company for paying attention over the issue. Exon firm tried to examine the whole situation by hiring an inspection team who conducted a SWOT analysis for finding ambiguities in the organization and existing position of the competitors. The technology system used by the employees was inspected by the inspection team to identify the department/employees involved in insider dealing and fraudulent behavior.  The inspection team also found out that the scanned documents of the product design and features were sent to the competitor using fax and emails from company’s official ids. The employees forgot their integrity and honesty for earning more money.

Step 3: Who is affected?

After the information was shared with the competitors, the shareholders of the Exon firm were negatively hit because they had invested heavily in the development of new product. Media coverage highlighted the issue and shareholders held back from holding stocks of Exon firm for such ethical failure.

Step 4: What can be done about it?

Exon firm analyzed the reason behind the breach of code of ethics by research and development department and found out that the pay scales offered to the research and development team were very low that led them towards breaching the code of ethics and accepting huge money offer from the major competitor. In order to put hold on future prospects of such ethical failure, Exon firm should revise their pay scales and compensation packages.

Step 5: What were the ethical implications in the scenario?

The ethical implications of the issue were that the management was being blamed by the shareholders. The media coverage and article publications attracted customer’s attention towards the working standards of the Exon firm in the society. The shareholders lost their trust in the management and had no guarantee that their investment would be returned back to them

Step 6: What are the options?

The first option is that the management should have set pay in line with the market standards followed by appraisals. Second option can be that management could have installed the softwares to track fraudulent behavior and insider dealing. The technological devices used by the employees should’ve been tracked on frequent basis. Third option is that the management could have appointed inspection team a little before so that the problem could have been managed earlier. An internal audit control team should have analyzed the situation before marketing team.

Step 7: What is the best option?

The second option is best because inspection by the internal audit team on frequent basis and track system for devices used by all the employees will make sure that the employee’s performance is being analyzed. All the employees will also become cautious regarding monitoring of their performance at workplace.

 

References:

Hedman, J., & Kalling, T. (2001). The business model: a means to understand the business context of information and communication technology. School of Economics and Management, Lund University.

 

Armstrong, M. B., Ketz, J. E., & Owsen, D. (2003). Ethics education in accounting: Moving toward ethical motivation and ethical behavior. Journal of Accounting Education, 21(1), 1-16.