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CIS 318: Ethics for the IT
Professional
Week 1
Dr. Jesús Borrego
Regis University
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scis.regis.edu ● [email protected]
Agenda
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Instructor
Course Overview
Course Materials
First Night Assignment
Chapter 1
Homework 2
Instructor
 Dr. Jesús Borrego
 Education
◦ PhD MIS; MS CS; BS CS;
BS EE
 Hometown:
◦ Colorado Springs
 Married, 5 kids
 Teaching since 1989,
various levels
 At Regis U. since 1995
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Course Introduction
Textbook:
• Reynolds, George W. (2010).
Ethics in information
technology. (4th edition)
Cengage Learning. ISBN 13:
978-1-111-53413-4
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Course Overview
• This course focuses on ethical problems that
arise in an information technology setting
• The course emphasizes the individual
decision-maker in the entry-level position as
well as at the managerial level
• The course studies the various philosophical
and social/psychological decision systems
that managers and employees alike can use
to resolve ethical problems
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Course Overview (Cont’d)
• Ethics can be a very complex and
contradictory concept to learn and study
• Many individuals spend their lifetimes
exploring ethics and its application in society
• This course is an introductory course in
ethics
• The focus is on ethical concerns and issues
related to the areas of Information
Technology
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Course Objectives
• Define ethics and your own personal ethics
statement, and identify your own personal
values.
• Describe why integrity and values are an
important part of ethics.
• Differentiate between technical,
preference, and ethical decisions.
• Discuss the three ethical theories of
teleology, deontology, and egalitarianism,
and apply one of these theories to a case
study.
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Course Objectives (Cont’d)
• Describe how ethical theories can be used
to solve ethical situations.
• Analyze an ethical dilemma using a
theoretical viewpoint.
• Define the importance of effective decision
making, and assess personal decisionmaking styles and needs.
• Identify the significant components of
decision making, and discuss decision
making in ethical situations.
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Week by Week
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Grading
Homework
Value (%)
In Class Assignments/Participation
40
Written Assignments
40
Final Project
20
Total
10
100
Written Assignments
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• An important component of this course is
the completion of written assignments
• All written work is expected to meet
undergraduate level standards
• Assignments will be graded for content
and for writing skills
• The Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA) is to be
used for written work in the College for
Professional Studies. Research papers
required in this and other courses are
expected to follow APA guidelines.
APA Format
• The Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA) is to be
used for written work in the College for
Professional Studies
• Research papers required in this and
other courses are expected to follow APA
guidelines
• Regis University provides APA resources:
http://www.regis.edu/regis.asp?sctn=ars
&p1=ws
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Final Project
• For the course final project, your task is to start
your own information technology company.
You will create the major framework for your
company’s business practices, policies, and
processes with ethics in mind.
• The final project is due in the Drop Box by
midnight (MT) Saturday of Week 8.
Resources:
• Final Project Description
• Final Project Notes and Tips
• Final Project Rubric
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Web Page
• http://academic.regis.edu/jborrego
• Click CIS318
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Introduction to Ethics
• Ethics video: Ethical Theory, by Prof. McGowan
(14:29 min.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QScIJnWQxE
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Activity 1
• Write a paragraph where you define, in
your own words, what ethics means to you
(15 min.)
• In a group, talk about each other’s
definition and create a consensus from the
group (15 min.)
• Write the group definition on the board
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Ethics
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• An attempt to study if something is
morally right of wrong
• What decides is it is right or wrong?
• Who decides?
• Are Ethics concepts universally
accepted?
• Why/Why not?
• In the business world, are ethics
important?
Ingredients
• Virtue
▫ Individual inclination to act with reason
• Vice
▫ Individual inclination to act in a manner that
is not acceptable
• Virtues and vices define an individual’s
value system
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Good versus evil
• The image of an individual
• Angel on right shoulder
• Demon on the left shoulder
• What does it mean?
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Dialectics
• Is the process where an individual’s thinking
alternates with different points of view
▫ We try to evaluate pros and cons
▫ The object is to select the best option
• Example:
▫ Is it right to use your neighbors WiFi without
permission?
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Slippery Slope
• What does it mean?
• What does it have to do with ethics?
• Patrick Kuhse: Prominence to Prison: A
Slippery Slope (3:25 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h10_yI52z
8s
• Patrick Kuhse: On Decision Making and Ethics
(3:30 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1FeBiYcN
A0
• Provide an example of slippery slope for
a typical student
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Ethics
• Moral code
▫ Rules
▫ Limits moral behavior
▫ Different rules cause confusion
• Morality
▫ Social conviction over right and wrong
▫ Widely shared
▫ Basis for general understanding
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Morality variations
Due to
• Age
• Cultural group
• Ethnic background
• Life experiences
• Education
• Gender
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Ethical or legal?
• Can something be ethical but not legal?
• Can something be legal but not ethical?
• Provide examples
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Integrity
• Integrity is the corner stone of ethical behavior
• People with integrity
▫ Act according to moral code
▫ Treat everybody with respect and consideration
▫ Apply moral code to all situations
• Lack of integrity is evident if we apply the moral
code differently based on the situation
• Ethical dilemma is not an easy issue
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Morality, Ethics, Laws
• Morality: belief that something is good or bad
• Ethics: code of behavior expected from a group
of individuals
• Laws: System of rules that indicate what can and
cannot be done:
▫ Reinforced by an institutional system
▫ Legal actions according to the law
▫ Moral acts according to individual’s beliefs
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Professional Ethics
• Professional Ethics in Engineering, Part 7: Codes
of Ethics (7:56 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4HrtcSwpV
E
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Ethics in Enterprises
• The probability of a negative impact on business
behavior that is not appropriate has increased
• WorldComm, Anderson Consulting, Enron
• Globalization creates complex issues
• Enterprises are challenged to maintain higher
profits by their share holders
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HealthSouth Empire
• Corporate corruption
• See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbhpglzmuFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds-BL8lzXuk
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Respected by the community
• Companies famous for their ethical decisions are
well respected by the community
• The business values must be communicated to
all employees
• Training in ethical issues can protect the
business
• Examples?
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Avoid negative publicity
• Negative publicity for a company can cause its
ruin
• Government contracts are not allowed to
companies perceived to be unethical
• Communities reject products or services from
unethical companies
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Ethics in Informatics
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Monitoring electronic mail
Copyright violations
Spam – unsolicited email
Identity Theft
Hackers
Students and plagiarism
Homework #1
• Ethical theories based on a case study
• The document must be in proper English, in
APA format, including title page and references
• Provide at least 2 citations and 2 references
• Submit before week 2 to WorldClass
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Homework #1 Case Study
• Context: You are the newly appointed manager of a
high-tech company that is suffering serious financial
problems. Corporate headquarters is planning layoffs,
which you know will affect your department. An
employee you supervise, who used to be a coworker prior
to your promotion, has approached you with the
following question: “Do you know if there will be layoffs
in our group? I’ve got a mortgage and a kid in college. A
layoff would be catastrophic to me at this time.”
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Homework #1 Task Description
• Task Description: Research three ethical
theories/approaches, such as utilitarianism (teleology),
relativism, deontology, egalitarianism, etc.
• Write a brief paragraph on each theory/approach. In this
paragraph, provide a definition of the theory/approach,
cite pros and cons, and state why you chose the
theory/approach.
• Next, select one of the three theories/approaches. Use
this theory/approach to frame your response to the
employee in the scenario above. Be sure to provide the
rationale for your response.
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Questions?
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