Contemporary Management in Information Technology - Coursework Example

Contemporary Management By Contemporary Management in Information Technology Introduction Amazon.com is among the leading online market in the world. It specializes in the use of information systems to buy and sell products to its customers across the world. As such, it makes massive usage of information technology in the management and undertakings of its operations. Consequently, the usage of technology enables it to reach out to a massive customer base across the entire world, and this increases its sales volume and output. However, the usage of technology to undertake business practices requires discipline and appropriate management otherwise it may result in production inefficiencies and soil the reputation of the company before its customers. As a result, the company employed a high level of information systems and information technologies in improving its efficiencies, as well as, guaranteeing success for its business projects. However, it is imperative to note that the use of information systems and information technology may arise in legal and business hurdles if not maintained within the set framework of professionalism and ethics. As such, it is important to analyze the ethical, social, as well as, political issues that arise from the usage of information systems, and their effect on the business environment, and the mainline operations of the business. Amazon Corporation has to consider all the social and ethical issues that arise in its usage of the Information Technology platform in undertaking its business operations. In fact, it requires following up the specific principles of conduct that guide and govern the execution of ethical decisions in relation to IT. On the other hand, it is important for the company to consider the reason why contemporary information technology systems as well as the internet pose challenges to the protection of individual privacy and intellectual property, especially judging on how IT affects everyday lives of its customers. Social and Ethical Issues of IT A company like Amazon that relies on information technology to conduct its core business practises requires to be very keen when undertaking the usage of IT across various platforms so that it does not contravene of breach both ethical, as well as, social constructs within the business environment. Ethics refers to the principles of right and wrong that an individual or the company use to make choices or decisions in guiding their behaviours or normal practices whilst acting as free moral agents. As such, these ethical codes of conduct enable the Amazon Corporation to structure disciplined strategies of conducting its business and as such, only do what the business community as well as the social society right and ethically accept. Ethical issues in IT is a modern contemporary issue in the business world especially considering leading examples of companies that recently recorded cases of failed ethical judgements in business, such as Pfizer, Minerals Management Service, and Lehman Brothers. Most of these companies mentioned above used information systems to bury decisions from public scrutiny, which in turn makes them lose a brand command within the market sphere. The usage of information systems in conducting daily business operations of an organization raises a number of questions, as well as, ethical and social issues to control. This is majorly because IT is a new invention introduced into the market, and as such, its adoption and assimilation into he business community provides loopholes for a failure in various modalities. For instance, information systems raise new ethical questions within the business community owing to their creation of new opportunities for advanced crime, such as hacking and cyber theft, as well as, enhanced intensity in social change, which in turn threaten the existing distributions of power, money, rights, and obligations. Consequently, an organization using information systems entirely for its business operations like the Amazon Corporation has to consider all the above aspects in order to improve its efficiencies while conducting business. This will enable it block loopholes for cyber crimes and theft, such as hacking of customer accounts when they use their credit cards to make online payments for the goods and services that they purchase from the company. The relationship between ethical, social and political issues in an information society is the aspect that this company has to pay keen attention in management and monitoring such that no part subdues or affects the effective performance of the other. Consequently, the introduction of new information technology into the business society arouses a ripple effect, thereby raising new cases of ethical, political, as well as, social issues that the company has to deal with across various platforms, such as political, social, and individual. These issues arise in five different moral dimensions, which include quality of the system, quality of life, accountability and control, property obligations and rights, as well as, information obligations and rights. Modern Technology Trends Raising Ethical Issues The fast advancement and innovation experienced in the technology world leads to the emergence of various ethical issues and social complications. For instance, some key technology trends that raise ethical issues include doubling of computer power, networking advances and the internet, as well as, the rapid decline of data storage costs and advances in data analysis techniques. The modern world economy is experiencing an upsurge or doubling in computer power because most companies and organizations are shifting from hard labor to computerized machinery and equipment owing to their fast adoption of technology and information systems. These companies are organizations are now turning from labor-intensive practices to computerized operations. This leads to these organizations depending on the computer systems for conducting most of its critical operations, if not all of its operations, such as online payments online shopping, online meetings, as well as, quick feedback in during business communications. This is majorly due to the massive cost efficiencies brought about by the right technology in a business setting. Technology provides a lot of efficiencies and saves the company large volumes of cash. For instance, Amazon Corporation is able to sell its products to its customers across the farthest ends of the earth from its base in the United States, collect payment, and deliver their orders without physically meeting their customers. This is all thanks to the availability of internet and information systems across the globe, which enables it to have online transactions with its customers, undertake their purchase transactions, advertise new products and services from their suppliers, all in a single online platform, or website. Another worrying trend with the growth of new technology is the rapidly declining data storage costs, which makes organizations to afford to maintain easily detailed databases n individuals. As such, the expanse on the usage of IT by these companies becomes phenomenal as every organization conducts its own database, which creates even more room for breach of social and ethical norms within the society. The advances experienced in networking, as well as, the internet, also create more room for social disturbance and ethical strife. Nowadays it is much easier to copy data from one location to another, as well as, accessing personal data from remote locations. Advances in data analysis techniques are also critical in the ethical issues related to the adoption of Information Technology in the modern world economy. Companies are now in a better position to analyze vast quantities of the data that gather on individual or markets for profiling or NORA. Profiling refers to the combination of data from various sources in order to create dossiers of detailed information on individuals. This compilation of information or profiles from an individual may be a breach or intrusion into their privacy, especially if the information profiled is confidential. NORA is an acronym for Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness and entails combining data from multiple sources in order to find obscure hidden connections that might help in identifying criminals or terrorists. As such, Amazon Corporation stands at a crossroads in that it has to profile necessary information about its customers and clients, yet it still has to share this information with law enforcing agents in case it finds information that is suspicious. Companies using NORA technology can acquire information about people from disparate sources and find obscure non-obvious relationships. For instance, it may discover that an applicant for a job at a casino shares the same telephone number with a known criminal, and this issues an alert to the hiring manager. On the other hand, Amazon Corporation can also utilize NORA to determine obscure non-obvious relationships such as a payment account used by one of its customers that links to a known terrorist group such as the Al Qaeda or the Al Shabab. Nature of Effective Management and Managers In order for Amazon to maintain effectiveness in its management structure through the usage of technology, it has to understand the basic concepts skewed in the analysis of the ethical considerations of using information technology. These include responsibility, by accepting the potential costs, duties and obligations arising from the decisions made, liability by permitting individuals and companies to recover damages done against them, and due process by ensuring perfect knowledge and understanding of laws with the ability of appealing to higher authorities. Furthermore, the company also has to consider and uphold the Six Candidate Ethical Principles affecting information systems within the society. These rules include the Golden Rule, which states that one should do to the other what they expect done to them, Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative which states that if an action is not right for anyone to take, the act is not right for anyone at all. The other rules are the Descartes’ Rule of change, which states that an action is right to take only if it can be take repeatedly, and the Utilitarian principle, which advocates that one should only take those actions that lead to the achievement of higher or greater value. The Risk Aversion Principe dictates that a company should take an action that produces least harm or potential cost, while the ethical :no free lunch” Rule assumes that someone owns virtually all intangible as well as tangible objects unless these is a specific declaration otherwise. Managers also need to be aware of the professional codes of conduct that govern the use and practice of information systems. This includes the codes promulgated by associations of professional such as AMA, ABA, AITP and ACM, as well as, the promises made by professions to regulate themselves for the general interest of the society. This should also be in consideration of the five moral dimensions experienced in the information age and privacy of the clients and customers doing business with the company. Privacy and the Effect of Information Technology on Individuals The management of Amazon Corporation should always ensure that it maintains the privacy and confidentiality of all information given to it by its clients. This is through usage of a secure payment system, and failure to disclose or share such information, unless otherwise instructed by the customer or client. Privacy is a growing concern in the modern information age with the United States taking the first steps in setting up privacy acts such as the First Amendment (freedom of speech), and the fourth amendment (unreasonable search and seizure). This is also in relation to the FTC FIP principles, which are enforcement, security, access or participation, choice or consent, as well as, notice or awareness which are core principles. The company strives to overcome various challenges to privacy, some of which are cookies, spyware, and web beacons or bugs. This encompasses some of the major issues that may raise challenges for the corporation to maintain privacy of all the information it access or retrieves from its customers and clients. In maintaining privacy, the company is able to maintain confidentiality and privacy of its customers and client’s information, thereby developing more confidence, creating a reputable brand image, as well as, commanding loyalty within the market sphere. The company also has to consider the health risks associated with the usage of information systems as the main platform for trade. Some of the common cases of health implications arising from information systems include Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) such as computer keyboards and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Technostress, computer vision syndrome (CVS), and the roles of radiation, low-level electromagnetic fields and screen emissions also form part of the health complications arising from the usage of information systems. Conclusion In conclusion, the Amazon Corporation needs to be aware of all the ethical, political, as well as, social issues that arise due to its practice and usage of information systems in the management of its activities. This enables it to consider all aspects related to this new technological platform, and as such, end up enhancing its efficiencies and productivity. Appendices Figure 1: The Relationship between Ethical, Social, and Political Issues in an Information Society Figure 2: Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness (NORA) Reference List Boddy, D., 2011, Management: An Introduction (5th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Financial Times Press. Chaffey, D. & White, G., 2011, Business Information Management: Improving Performance Using Information Systems (2nd Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Financial Times Press. Jones, G. & George, J., 2010, Essentials of Contemporary Management (4th Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Laudon, K. & Laudon, J., 2014, Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (13th Edition), (Global Edition) Pearson. Magal, S. & Word, J., 2009, Essentials of Business Processes and Information Systems Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Global Education. Rainer, R., Prince, B. & Watson, H., 2012, Management Information Systems, 2nd Edition, Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Global Education. Rainer, R., Turban, E., Potter, R., Cegielski, C., 2010, Introduction to Information Systems: Enabling And Transforming Business (3rd Edition), Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. Reid, R. & Sanders, N., 2010, Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, Minnesota, University Of Minnesota. Reynolds, G. & Stair, R., 2008, Succeeding with Technology, Stamford Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Reynolds, G. & Stair, R., 2013, Fundamentals of Information Systems, Stamford Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Reynolds, G. & Stair, R., 2013, Principles of Information Systems, Stamford Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Robbins, S. De Cenzo, D. & Coulter, M., 2010, Fundamentals of Management (7th Edition). Mymanagementlab Pack. Read More