Transcript Business Ethics - eresearchcollaboratory.com

Ethics and Responsibilities
Plagiarism
Source: Turnitin Research Resources
- http://www.turnitin.com/research_site/e_home.html
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Definition: According to the MerriamWebster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize"
means
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to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another)
as one's own.
to use (another's production) without crediting the
source.
to commit literary theft .
to present as new and original an idea or product
derived from an existing source.
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All of the following are considered
plagiarism:
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Turning in someone else's work as your own: Changing the
words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent
plagiarism. If you have retained the essential idea of an
original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how
drastically you may have altered its context or presentation,
you have still plagiarized.
Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving
credit failing to put a quotation in quotation marks.
Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation.
Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a
source without giving credit.
Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes
up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not
(see our section on "fair use" rules).
What is citation?
A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that
certain material in your work came from another
source. It also gives your readers the information
necessary to find that source again, including:
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Information about the author
The title of the work
The name and location of the company that published your
copy of the source
The date your copy was published
The page numbers of the material you are borrowing
The following situations almost
always require citation:
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Whenever you use quotes
Whenever you paraphrase
Whenever you use an idea that someone
else has already expressed
Whenever you make specific reference to
the work of another
Whenever someone else's work has been
critical in developing your own ideas.
Reasons to cite sources:
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Citations are extremely helpful to anyone who
wants to find out more about your ideas and where
they came from.
Not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas
may often be more accurate or interesting than
those of your sources.
Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for
someone else's bad ideas.
Citing sources shows the amount of research
you've done.
Citing sources strengthens your work by lending
outside support to your ideas.
Citation examples:
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Amrith, S. 2001. Democracy, Globalization and Health: The
African Dilemma. Cambridge: King's College.
Ashby, W. R. 1960. Design for a Brain: The Origin of Adaptive
Behavior. New York: Wiley
Atkinson, S., Rolim Medeiros, R., Lima Oliveira, P., & Dias de
Almeida, R. 2000. Going Down to the Local: Incorporating
Social Organisation and Political Culture into Assessments of
Decentralised Health Care. Social Science &Medicine, 51:
619-636.
Atkinson, S. 2002. Political Cultures, Health Systems and
Health Policy. Social Science and Medicine, 55(1): 113-124.
Bach, J. & Stark, D. 2004. Link, Search, and Interact: The Coevolution of NGOs and Interactive Technology. Theory, Culture
& Society, 21(3): 101-117.
Evaluate your Internet sources
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http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
Ethics - Definitions
Ethics--A set of values that describe what is right or
wrong, good or bad.
Ethics Definition adapted from UNESCO/IUBS/Eubios Bioethics
Dictionary: A system of moral principles or standards governing conduct. 1.
a system of principles by which human actions and proposals may be judged
good or bad, right or wrong; 2. A set of rules or a standard governing the
conduct of a particular class of human action or profession; 3. Any set of
moral principles or values recognized by a particular religion, belief or
philosophy; 4. The principles of right conduct of an individual. Ethical
behavior requires the ability to reason, to understand the consequences and
to make choices about one’s actions. [Latin ethicus or Greek ethikos
pertaining to "ethos" or character].
Morality--A doctrine or system of ideas concerned with
right (human) conduct.
Ethical Systems
An ethical system should be generalizable. It should hold
for a broad range of cases.
Although generalizable, conflicts will always arise
between ethical principles.
Institutional Ethics
•Government
-Bill of Rights; Declaration of Independence (We hold
these truths to be self-evident...)
These are expressions of an institutional ethics.
These are also expressions of cultural ethics.
•Business
-The ethics and moral code for a business may be
different than that of the government or an individual.
•Profession
-A professional group purporting to represent a
profession makes an ethical code. This may again
differ from the ethics of an individual.
•What is the hierarchy of these codes?
Ethical Guidelines for Professionals
How are professional ethics different from personal ethics?
• The professional is an expert in a field (e.g., medicine or
computing) that the general public may know little about.
• Customers from the general public rely on the knowledge,
expertise, and honesty of the professional. To the extent that
a professional “advertises” expertise, he or she has an
obligation to provide it.
• To the extent that their expertise is required by society,
professionals have a responsibility not only to their
customers, but to the general public.
Information Ethics (Floridi, 1999)
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Responsibility and Accountability
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Virtual actions frequently leave no physical or perceptible
effect.
The virtual context separates the actor from the
consequences of his or her actions due to anonymity and
conceptual distance.
Responsibility is diffused through the marginal or
microscopic nature of virtual action.
Compartmentalization of virtual actions restricts evaluation
of their consequences.
Lack of human interaction limits perception of immorality.
The high rate of change within the virtual context of the
infosphere renders impossible the forecasting of action
consequences.
The Digital Divide
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Computer literate and illiterate
Information rich and poor
Insiders and outsiders: access and use
The Challenge and Dilemma for the
Ethical Individual
Cases
What kinds of ethical situations can a management
professional face?
What is the role of personal ethics?
Are there general, universal ethical principles that can be
formulated and applied to every case?
Cases
•Copying an Employees Files
You are a computer system manager. An employee is out sick and
another employee requests that you copy all files from the sick
person’s computer to his so he can do some work.
•Insufficient Privacy Protection
Your customer is a community clinic that works with problems of
family violence. The clinic has 3 sites and does numerous at-home
visits. The clinic director wants a networked computerized record
system for the 3 sites that contains patient records. She also wants a
few notebook computers with patient records that would be used
when visiting clients at home. At the shelter, staffers use only first
names, but the computers contain complete records. There is no
mention of passwords or encryption, and the clinic does not have
much money for the project.
Cases
•Going Public
You are a member of a team working on a computercontrolled crash-avoidance system for automobiles. You
think the system has a flaw that could endanger people.
The project manager does not seem concerned and
expects to announce completion of the project soon. Are
you ethically obligated to do something?
•Release of Personal Information
You work for the IRS, the Social Security Administration, a
medical clinic, or a large credit bureau. Someone asks
you to get a copy of a person’s file. He will pay you $500.
Cases
•Conflict of Interest
You have a small consulting business. CyberStuff plans to
acquire a new Web-hosting system, and it wants to hire
you to evaluate bids from vendors. Your spouse works for
Networkx and did most of the writing for their bid. You
read the bid, and you think it is excellent. Do you tell
CyberStuff about your spouse’s connection with
Networksx?
Managers communicate
organizational values:
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Through their reactions to problems and
crises
Through what they reward
Through what they punish
The manager’s role in creating an
ethical communications climate
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Business ethics: Applying ethical principles
to:
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How an organization conducts its business
How it treats its employees
How it interacts with the surrounding
community
The implementation of an organization’s
mission, goals and values into daily practice
Ethical communications requirements:
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Be knowledgeable about ethical issues and
understand organizational values
Participate in the decision-making process
regarding ethical issues
Communicate decisions regarding ethical issues
to employees
Keep communications channels open for all
employees to feedback information without fear of
reprisals
Ensure relevant information is passed on to those
who can act on it
Discussion Questions
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What are some of the organizational “costs” when
managers do not handle prejudiced behavior
effectively?
What action do you think a manager should take
when an organizational value conflicts with a
personal value?
How do you think the globalization of companies
and their workforces will affect organizational ethics
and values?