Computer Ethics & Social Issues

1. Computer Ethics & Social Issues Ethics of IT Organizations

2. Ethics in the IT Industry

3. Ethics in the IT Industry • Some organizational issues… • Temporary Employees • IT Outsourcing • IT Worker Visas • Whistleblowing • Green Computing • Are IT workers professionals?

4. Ethics in the IT Industry • Some industrial issues… • Product safety • Quality assurance • Espionage • Information security • We’ve looked at this in Chapter 2

5. Information Technology

6. IT Industry • Most businesses have an IT department • Small organizations • At least 1 person with general IT skills to handle day-to-day needs • Rely heavily on vendor support • Large organizations • Possibly a large department of 20 – 50+ people with various specialties • Possibly outsourcing large portion of IT needs to a third-party

7. IT Industry • Specialized IT organization • Full staff of specialists • Offer product development/testing/QA • Support clients’ IT needs • Typically well-funded, market-driven based upon supplied product and/or service • Employment is highly competitive

8. Would You Rather… • Work for a non-IT based organization in their IT department? • Opportunity to experience a more broad IT responsibility • Opportunity to rise as a member of management • Work of an IT-based organization? • Specialized field focused on particular interest • Opportunity to help shape the state of the art

9. Example • IT in Higher Education • Nature of Higher Ed allows for a more relaxed environment • Not product-driven • Focused on service and maintaining status quo • As a broad statement, morale is high overall • Innovation is not as high as private industry • Emphasis is on the teaching environment • Plenty of opportunity to improve status quo • Implementing state of the art, not creating it

10. Example • IT in Telecomm Industry • Competitive field • Businesses are looking to innovate above competition • Businesses are looking to have lower overhead than competition • Worker satisfaction? • Outsourcing • Temp workers • Harder to feel like you are a part of something

11. IT Organization

12. Outsourcing vs In-House • Outsourcing IT • IT services are contracted out to a third party • May include a full staffing service or project-based work with expected deliverables • In-House IT • Your own personal group of computer ninjas

13. Outsourcing Pros • Pool of talent • Local resources for IT hires or current catalog of skills may be lacking • Access to skilled work on demand • Liability • Contracted staffing firm or service vendor may assume all liability based upon contract • Personnel • Staffing firm may assume all payments of benefits and other employee items

14. Outsourcing Cons • Where’s the loyalty? • Contract workers typically: • Don’t integrate into organizational culture • Don’t take pride in the overall success of the organization • Have a high turnover rate • May be working on a temporary basis until a permanent position can be found • Security • Potential for espionage

15. In-House Pros • Loyaltyto organization • Pride in successful work, job satisfaction • Contribute to the organizational culture • “We are family” • Concerted efforts to develop skills through training typically result in higher morale

16. In-House Cons • What if they are good people, but just not excellent workers? • Greater emphasis on the need for management to keep track of morale • Retaining full liability means greater overhead for maintaining compliance with regulatory policies and laws

17. Offshore Outsourcing

18. Offshore Outsourcing • Pros: • $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ • Due to market conditions, a below-average wage in USA might represent an excellent pay rate abroad • 24x7 workday • “The sun never sets on the British Empire” • Greater opportunity for service • Software production speeds

19. Offshore Outsourcing • Cons: • Travel costs for management • Language barrier • Regulation and compliance • How many governments and local municipalities are involved? • Need for near-constant auditing • Reputable vendors? • Information control?

20. Whoops • Grady Memorial Hospital – Atlanta, GA • HIPPA Violations • 2008 • 45 medical records accidently disclosed on an unsecured public Indian website for weeks • Hospital outsourced medical transcription service to a Georgia company, who outsourced the work to a Nevada company, who outsourced the work out to the company in India. • 2012 • Employee of ADP, with whom Grady outsourced its ambulance billing system, stole ~900 patient records

21. Contingent Workers

22. Life as a Temp Worker • Pros: • Frequent new assignments • Opportunity for travel • Ability to “quit” current job and be reassigned elsewhere • Cons: • “Who are you?” • Less of a person than traditional workers

23. H1-B Temp Workers • Opportunity for an immigrant to get a foothold in USA via work visa • Opportunity for organization to recruit talent that might otherwise be unavailable • Native speaker for other outsourced workers • Foothold into a foreign market • Skilled labor at a “reasonable rate” • May be insufficient number of qualified US workers to accommodate demand

24. H1-B Exploitation • Unethical organizations may choose to pay these workers below market value • Doing so lowers the overall market value for native workers as well • Unethical organizations may rely on H1-B workers yet not help them to get a green card • Workers then must then leave the life they had in USA to go back home

25. Whistle-Blowing

26. Whistle-Blowing • “An effort to attract attention to a negligent, illegal, unethical, abusive, or dangerous act by a company or some other organization.” • Remember Snowden? • Ethics are in question

27. Example • Your direct supervisor also manages three other people • One of these people is Vietnamese • During a performance review, you are given high ratings and told you will receive a substantial raise based upon performance • Your supervisor mentions that the Vietnamese worker will not receive a raise because people of that ethnicity were involved in the death of your supervisor’s family • You say that’s not fair, this person has a family to feed. Your supervisor reacts violently. You report this as an ethics violation.

28. Whistle-Blowing • May be the only recourse to correct an unethical situation • False Claims Act – “Lincoln Law” • During American Civil War • Suppliers were not supplying Union Army with the goods they were promised • Whistle-blowers were rewarded for their service to their country when they notified the government of wrong doing • Qui Tam provision entitles whistle-blower to percentage of the awarded damages against the government

29. When Is It Appropriate? • Immediately going public with damaging information can seriously hurt an organization • What steps have been taken to seek remediation internally? • What result are you looking for? • Can you live with the consequences?

30. Green Computing

31. Green Computing • Is it unethical for an IT organization to ignore energy consumption, old hardware disposal, carbon footprint, etc.? • Harmful chemicals are used in technology: • Lead, mercury, beryllium, cadmium, selenium, polyvinyl chloride, brominated flame retardants, etc. • Recycling?

32. Green Computing • Government Incentives • Tax breaks • Federal funding for projects • US DoE • US EPA • State and local funding, grants, awards • Opportunity for positive publicity for an organization

33. Or, Just Embrace The Coming Technological Dystopia