Ethics in Information Technology

This course provides an understanding of the legal and ethical issues associated with the use of information systems in business and society. The course also explores the development and implementation of information systems in ways that satisfy legal, ethical and business requirements

Here is our final project paper:

Company Ethics Policy

CMGT330

Ethics In Information Technology

Jason Barlow

Dennis Blevins

Emily Blevins 

Redsurf.com Company Ethics Policies and Procedures

Table of Contents 

1.   Intellectual Property and Copyright Notification

2.   Software Ownership and Use

3.   Data Collection and Dissemination – Privacy

4.   E-mail/Voicemail Privacy Policy

5.   Ethics and Professional Practices for all Employees.

a)      GENERAL MORAL IMPERATIVES

b)     PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES 

6.   Summary and Conclusion

Intellectual Property and Copyright Notification 

Reproducible Material

Any material suitable for reuse (press releases, technical documents, forms, etc.) from the Redsurf.com web site or the web sites of it’s clients (web sites) may be modified or reproduced only under specific permissions set forth in user agreements by Redsurf.com.   Law expressly prohibits any other modification or reproduction.  Use of the web sites for any purpose other than those expressly provided will carry severe civil and criminal penalties.  Violators of this policy will be prosecuted to the fullest extent allowable under the law.   

Other Protections

Design, layout and other material not covered in the above definition from Redsurf.com’s web site or any other web site under the control of Redsurf.com are considered sole property of Redsurf.com.  As such, said property is protected under trade marks, trade dress and other applicable protections and may not be copied, altered, imitated (in whole or in part), retransmitted or reproduced in any other manner without express written permission from Redsurf.com.   

Software Ownership and Use 

The following guidelines refer to Redsurf.com’s (hereafter referred to as the company) policy as to software licensing, usage, inventory, and distribution. The policy states the employee’s responsibility not only to the company, but to our clients as well. 

1.      General Policy

2.      Software Acquisition

3.      Company Responsibility

4.      Responsibilities to the Customer

5.      Employee Responsibility 

1. General Policy

1. Our employees shall act consistently with the public interest.
2. Our employees shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
3. Our employees shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment.
4. Our Management shall adhere to a strict ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance.
5. Our employees will take responsibility for reporting non-compliance with this, or any policy associated with this company.
6. Personal Software may not be installed and used on any computer owned by the Company.

 2. Software Acquisition

1. The Company will legally acquire the software needed for its legitimate needs.
2. The Company will enforce internal controls to ensure adherence to licensing policy
3. The Company will prevent the making or using of unauthorized software copies
4. The Company will establish measures to verify compliance with these standards and define appropriate disciplinary actions for violations of these standards.
5. The Company has the right to use software in accordance with the terms of the software license
6. Installation and use of communications links (AOL, WWW sites, FTP sites) on state hardware must be company approved.

 3.  Company Responsibility

1. We will neither commit nor tolerate the making or using of unauthorized software copies under any circumstances.
2. We will provide legally acquired software to meet all legitimate software needs in a timely fashion and in sufficient quantities for all our computers.
3. We will comply with all license or purchase terms regulating the use of any software we acquire or use.
4. We will enforce strong internal controls to prevent the making or using of unauthorized software copies, including effective measures to verify compliance with these standards and appropriate disciplinary actions for violation of these standards.
5. We will educate our employees on their responsibilities to meet both company and legal requirements when using software in their work environment.
6. We will maintain positive control of software and will establish and maintain software libraries and software inventories.
7. We will maintain one or more software inventories to track and control software assets and maintain one or more software libraries to control access to software assets.

4. Responsibilities to the Customers

A.     The Company and Employees will the property of a client or employer only in ways properly authorized, and with the clients or employer's knowledge and consent.

B.     The Company and employees will keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work, where such confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistent with the law.

C.     The Company and employees will work to develop software and related documents that respect the privacy of those who will be affected by that software.

D.     The Company and Employees understand that all data belongs to someone. Data shall be assumed to be private and confidential unless the owner has explicitly made it available to others.

E.      The Company and Employees will take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors in software and associated documents on which they work.

5. Employee Responsibility

1. The employee will not knowingly use software that is obtained or retained either illegally or unethically.
2. The employee will follow professional standards, when available, that are most appropriate for the task at hand, departing from these only when ethically or technically justified.
3. The employee will ensure that specifications for software on which they work have been well documented, satisfy the users’ requirements and have the appropriate approvals.
4. The employee will ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software and related documents on which they work.
5. The employee will ensure adequate documentation, including significant problems discovered and solutions adopted, for any project on which they work
6. The employee will maintain the integrity of data, being sensitive to outdated or flawed occurrences.

Data Collection and Dissemination - Privacy 

The protection of your privacy and the privacy of your customers is a top commitment at Redsurf.com.  Although Redsurf.com and its sponsered web sites (web sites) may ask you or your customers for information; this information is collected in order to serve you better.  The information collected through the web sites will not be sold to external parties or used to intimidate or harass.  Information collected from the web sites may be used, but are not limited to the following:

·        Service registration

·        Email newsletters or product notifications

·        Provide content relevant to your interests

If you feel that Redsurf.com or its customers have failed to live up to the agreements set forth in this privacy notification, please contact Redsurf.com at [email protected]. 

 E-mail/Voicemail Privacy Policy 

Email 

1.      The Company reserves  the right to monitor email for legal, ethical, or safety issues.

2.      Email is to be used for business purposes only/ per supervisors’discretion

3.      Do not send confidential information over email or the Internet.

4.      All email will be held to the strictest confidence to ensure customer/client privacy.

5.      The Company uses encryption to send and receive email across the Internet.

6.      Emails sent or received over the internet are not 100% guaranteed

7.      All persons using email should adhere to moral and ethics clauses when sending and receiving email. (Pornographic material will not be tolerated.) 

Voice Mail 

8.      The Company reserves the right to monitor voice mail for legal, ethical, or safety issues.

9.      Voice mail is to be used for business purposes only/per supervisor’s discretion

10.  All voice mail will be held to the strictest confidence to ensure customer/client privacy.

11.  All persons using voice mail should adhere to moral, legal, and ethical clauses related to sending and receiving voice mail. 

Ethics and Professional Practices for all employees. 

PREAMBLE

Computer people have significant power and opportunity to do good or cause harm, to enable others to do good or cause harm, or to influence others to do good or cause harm. To ensure, as much as possible, that Redsurf.com’s web designers/employees use their power for good, they must commit themselves to making web designing and customer service a beneficial and respected profession. In order to succeed Web designers/employees shall adhere to the following Code of Ethics and Professional Practices. 

GENERAL MORAL IMPERATIVES.

As a Redsurf.com member I will 

1. Contribute to society and human well-being.

There is an obligation to protect people’s rights and to admire the diversity of all cultures. A necessary goal of professionals in the computer and technical fields is to cause as little problems in computing systems as possible, including threats to health and safety. They should also consider local and global effects.

2. Avoid harm to others.

"Harm" means injury or, such as unwanted loss of information, loss of property, property damage, or unwanted environmental impacts. This principle prohibits use of computing technology in ways that result in harm to any of the following: users, the general public, employees, and employers. Harmful actions include destruction, changing files and infection of computer viruses etc. They should also try to minimize unintentional and indirect harm to others by taking into consideration other parties that may be affected and test accordingly. 

3. Be honest and trustworthy.

The honest computing professional will not make deliberately false or deceptive claims about a system or system design, but will instead provide full disclosure of all pertinent system limitations and problems. A computer professional has a duty to be honest about his or her own qualifications. 

4. Be fair and take action not to discriminate.

It is imperative to have tolerance and respect for others. Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin, or other such factors is an explicit violation of Redsurf.com policy and will not be tolerated. 

5. Honor property rights including copyrights and patent.

Violation of copyrights, patents, trade secrets and the terms of license agreements are prohibited by law in most circumstances. Copies of software should be made only with proper authorization. 

6. Give proper credit for intellectual property.

Computing professionals are obligated to protect the integrity of intellectual property. Specifically, one must not take credit for other's ideas or work, even in cases where the work has not been explicitly protected by copyright, patent, etc. 

7. Respect the privacy of others.

It is the responsibility of professionals to maintain the privacy and integrity of data describing individuals. This includes taking precautions to ensure the accuracy of data, as well as protecting it from unauthorized access or accidental disclosure to inappropriate individuals. In criminal cases, the nature or contents of that information must be disclosed only to proper authorities. 

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

As a Redsurf.com professional I will .... 

1. Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the process and products of professional work. 

2. Acquire and maintain professional competence. 

3. Know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work. 

4. Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of web systems and their impacts, including analysis of possible risks. 

5. Honor contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities. 

6. Not steal from company or associate.

Summary and Conclusion 

The previous policies and procedures can be changed and amended at the company’s discretion. Any changes or amendments will be circulated to all affected parties and will be put in to effect at a date and time specified by the company. Employees are encouraged to comment or suggest on new or existing policies and any changes will be considered by management and noted for reference. 

All policies are for the benefit of the Employees and Clients of the Company. All policies will be strictly enforced to ensure client satisfaction and peace of mind. 

The companies overall goals are to promote a healthy, satisfying, and fulfilling work environment that promotes training, creativity, and achievement. The company also wants to ensure a happy, productive, and professional client base. 

The Company feels these guidelines will help us meet these goals.