Analyzing An ICT Business Case Study Using A Chosen Ethical Analysis Framework

Analysis of the situation ‘Doing Ethics technique’

Analyse an ICT business case study using a chosen ethical analysis framework.

In the present scenario, it has been seen that companies can create competitive advantage by focusing on the latest technologies so that activities can be conducted in a right direction.  Also, if the company considers proper use of technology then it can be easy to bring improvisation in the activities and also it will bring enhancement in the quality of the services offered to the customers. With the use of ICT technologies in the organizations has proliferated in the past many years, and they have enabled many other organizations to bring change in the overall customer services (Gustafson et al., 2015).

 The primary benefit is related with the reducing the overall cost and bring improvisation in the overall efficiency. Also by giving focus on the advantages it has been seen that there are also many problems which are concerned with the technologies that has given adverse effect on the growth of the company (Moore, 2014). There are various ethical problems which has taken place just because of the digital disruptions. One of the disadvantages related to these technologies is related with the vulnerability of the cybercrimes. It is simple for cybercriminals to hack the overall systems of the companies when focus is given on the technologies as it helps to conduct the activities of the company (Bidgoli and Grossklags, 2016).

There are various ethical issues concerned with the use of modern technologies. The companies need to comply with the data related to ethics at the time of facing the ethical dilemma. The information related to ethics offers a connection with the ethical and moral principle by focusing on the use, collection and access of the information. The companies also need policies to implement related to IT governance so that the problems can be reduced in an effective manner.  This paper, will discuss about the case study related to Telstra and it will be analyzed by focusing on the doing ethics techniques or DET in order to evaluate the ethical problems in the overall case. This paper will also analyze the overall role of IT governance and the problems and also what the technologies should be considered by Telstra to minimize the problems faced by the company.

 The “Doing Ethics technique” or DET helps in analyzing the care from an ethical view. The technique emphasizes on asking the questions which help in analyzing the major ethical problems in a given case. The emphasis is given on the technique to evaluate the care in an ethical manner and also to search the best solution.

What’s going on?

What’s going on?

Telstra is considered as the biggest telecommunication company in Australia, the organization was established in 1975 and it offers its services in the telecommunication sector. The company has an international presence in more than 20 countries and it is one of the largest national mobile networks in Australia. The organization offers over 17.6 million services related to retail mobile services, 5.1 fixed voice services and also 3.5 million retail fixed broadband services to its consumers in Australia. To offer effective services to the customers it has been seen that the company has given focus on a digital route.

The organization has also relied on the overall digital disruptions so that the competitive advantage can be maintained in the telecom sector of Australia.  It has been evaluated that in 2010, the company has focused on the conservative engineering culture and also considered a good structure which is based on the development application with the crowd support platform (Pearce, 2017).

When these technologies are implemented, the interaction of the customers with the company was revolutionized as it offers them a choice to solve the overall queries at any moment while staying in a comfort zone. With the overall benefits, there are also many problems which are related to the technologies and also it has given adverse impact on the customers as well as on the company. Initially, the main problem is related to the overall privacy of the consumers. In crowd support infrastructure, the consumers can easily communicate with each other’s and also they can easily solve the queries and other also faces the problems. It also enhanced various privacy and security issues that are related to the individuals who are focusing on this platform.  It has been seen that there are also problems of job loss as it is based on the entire model the organization promotes which result in the job loss. A digital-based infrastructure enhances the vulnerability of the organization towards the cyber-attacks which are based on the information that could be breached by the cybercriminals (Patel et al., 2017).

What are the facts?

• Telstra has taken into consideration a digital model by introducing the mobile application which is available for 27/7 and also on the crowd support platform.
• These devices help the customers in solving the problems easily and also it enhances the experience of the customers.
• With many benefits, there are many problems that are related to the usage of the crowd support platform as it helps to raise the privacy and security issues.
• At the time of considering the platform, the information of the customers is at risk of breaching and cybercriminals can hack the accounts to gather the private information.
• This infrastructure has also enhanced the vulnerability of the organization against the cyber-attacks and the cybercriminals can hack the information to gather the data of the customers which is kept secretly (Glasser and Taneja, 2015).
• The organization can also push automation which can give an outcome in the overall job loss of the company.

What are the issues?

Different issues raised in the case of Telstra are as follows:

1. The danger of a breach of customer data has been raised significantly due to the usage of crowd support platform. Hacking accounts of people who are using crowd support and collecting their personal data are easier for the cybercriminals (Johnston, 2017).
2. Customer security is in danger and a threat of cyber-attacks are there due to the usage of crowd support platform (Hui,  Kim, and Wang, 2017).
3. Several people lose their job due to automation promotion by the company using this platform.
4. Storage of company data in the cloud makes it susceptible to cyber-attacks.

Telstra

The company itself is the main stakeholder; crowd support platform is accepted by the company for the reduction in its operating cost and delivering fast services to its customers. Implementation of this platform in the year 2010 was a digital disruption by which company was able to decrease its expenditures and accomplish the needs of its customers. There are also several problems related to technology (Deloitte, 2018).  Primarily, storage of company data in the cloud makes it susceptible to the cyber-attacks. Additionally, criticism of the company is done constantly for not taking proper actions by which privacy of customers using crowd support platform can be protected. Criticism of the company was also done due to the usage of automation while executing its operations. Several people lose their job due to this.

What are the facts?

Customers

Customers of Telstra can resolve their queries more effectively by using crowd support platform and 24/7 mobile application. Mobile application of the company is used by the customers to ask about their queries and solutions to their queries are made much faster (Congress, 2017).

Data privacy problem is faced by the members while using crowd support platform. Hacking the accounts of the company and collect the personal information of its users by the cybercriminals becomes simpler. Cybercriminals find it easier to break the security of the customers of Telstra. Thus, there are both number of benefits as well as a number of problems related to user privacy faced by the customers (Jayanthi, 2017).

Cybercriminals

Cybercriminals find it easier to hack the servers of Telstra due to the digital framework adaptation. The company has a large customer base as they are the largest telecommunication firm in Australia. This feature attracts the cybercriminals and makes it is the main target for them. Data of the users of the company can be stolen by hacking into their servers which can be used by them to get an unfair advantage or it can be used to blackmail them (Leukfeldt, Lavorgna and Kleemans, 2017).

What are the ethical issues and implications?

• Utilitarianism theory (consequence): The main issue is about the security of the user data. Digital framework adaption makes it simpler to resolve the queries for the customer but the problem regarding their data privacy is increased. By this theory morality of a situation is judged regarding the consequences of the activities. In this scenario, steps performed by the Telstra aim towards the enhancement of the experience of their customers but it negatively results in breaching the customer’s privacy. By this decision, several workers lose their jobs. Hence, these actions are proved to be unethical.
• Deontology theory (duty): It has been analyzed that in this theory judgment of the situation is made according to the actions and not by their consequences. Telstra’s main focus is to improve the service experience of their customers. It may result in breaching their privacy, but company actions are ethical (Sharma, 2014).
• Contractarianism theory (contract): Morality is judged by this theory regarding the legitimacy of the actions. Telstra aims to deliver high-quality services to their customers and take actions regarding digital disruption.  Security measures are also taken by the company for their privacy protection. Thus, actions taken by the Telstra are proved to be ethical.
• Virtue theory (character): It has been analyzed that in this theory judgment of the situation is made according to the character and honesty. Decision making by the Telstra aims towards the improvement of the service experience and satisfying the requirements of the customer. Actions of Telstra are proved to be honest and their focus is to fulfill the needs of the customers.

Several actions to enhance the cybersecurity has been taken by the company by they are not sufficient to end large cyber-attacks. Financial losses are caused to the company due to the lack of security and breaching of data may also be caused (Pathak, 2016).

What can be done about it?

Several alternative solutions are available in this scenario which a company can adopt.

A company can choose a traditional method rather than a digital framework to solve the issues regarding the privacy and security. Enhancement of the cybersecurity infrastructure can be done by taking proper actions for the data privacy protection of its customers. Awareness of the customers can be made by the company such that they can protect their data privacy by taking appropriate measures.

What are the options?

• Digital disruption model can be canceled and adoption of the traditional method of the customer service can be made by the corporation.
• For ensuring the security of the corporation as well as customers data, the company can raise their investment in the cybersecurity infrastructure.
• Awareness among the customers regarding cybersecurity can be raised by the company to make them aware of the future risk and they can take appropriate actions to secure themselves (Gregg, 2016).

Which option is best – and why?

The second option is the best among these options as it is necessary for an organization to protect the user privacy. The company recognizes the future threat in using digital framework while delivering customer service, thus proper steps should be taken by the company to secure their data as well as their customer’s data. It may also be beneficial for the company to maintain its competitive advantage (Ibrahim, 2016)

What are the issues?

IT governance 

It is related to the formal framework which helps the companies by offering them a proper structure so that goals and objectives can be achieved and also it will help in the investments.  It helps to ensure the proper and efficient usage of the services related to IT in the company and it enables the organization to accomplish overall objectives and goals in an effective manner (Diehl and Frederking, 2015).   It has been analyzed that IT governance offers a process which is necessary to consider that proper evaluation, funding of competition and also selection is done. The overall process is taken into consideration for decision making and also in the overall method of business management. It has been seen that proper use of the IT governance helps the company related with the IT to audit and also manage the risk issues related with the IT and also the focus is given on value delivery with the help of IT (Dawson et al., 2016).

IT Governance and problems 

When the focus is given on Australia, it has been seen that there are various principles that are important to be considered by the organizations and it has a link with the IT governance. There are following rules that should be taken into consideration by focusing on Telstra which has a link with the IT governance in Australia.

• Strategy: at the time of considering the IT infrastructure there should be a proper alignment of the IT structure in which the overall objectives of the company are important. It can be analyzed that the objectives of Telstra are to give effective or best services to the customers by focusing on the security and also the company focuses on investing the in the cybersecurity infrastructure (Levi, 2017).
• Responsibility: It is the responsibility of the manager to focus on the performance of the IT infrastructure and also it helps to ensure the overall results in a positive way by considering the IT structure. It is the duty of the IT structure to focus on considering the best method. If the focus is given on Telstra then it can be evaluated that company has the responsibility for a proper efficiency of the IT structure and also it is one of the best security for the members.
• Acquisition:  in the IT structure it has been analyzed that decision is related to the investment and it focuses on achieving the overall success and it has been analyzed that both the factors like internal and external should be analyzed by the organization at the time of taking decisions. It is important for the company to consider the effectiveness of the IT structure so that enhancement can take place in the investment (Dubnick and Frederickson, 2015).
• Performance: it can be analyzed that the activities and development capacity of the IT system should be managed in a balanced way so that proper services can be offered. The company should ensure that the IT structure is capable enough to give security to the customers (Rozman, 2017).
• The behavior of an individual: at the time of implementing the IT structure it has been seen that requirement of the individuals who are under the contract should be taken and it will also give impact on the structure on which focus should be given.
• Conformance: it has been seen that rules related to internally and externally which are linked with the IT should be effectively communicated to the stakeholders so that difficulty and confusion cannot be created and also it helps to ensure the enforcement (Luo and Bu, 2016).

Technologies 

There are various technologies that are considered by the company.  The following will be discussed below.

1. The company considers the outage management system so that proper size can be judged and also the duration of the overall outage can take place by focusing on the overall cost and the alarms can also be raised in a proper manner.
2. The organization provides best customer service and it serves the customer 24/7 by considering the mobile application and also it has been seen that the mobile application can be used on both Android and also IOS devices. By focusing on this application it can be easy for the customers to communicate with others on the crowd support platform where it can be simple to resolve the overall queries (Vaishnavi and Kuechler,  2015).
3. The organization considers this platform so that internet of things can be encouraged and also it helps to enable the various devices to link so that proper information can be shared in an effective manner.

Advantages 

There are various advantages like

• The company is considered as one of the best customer service support given to the customers if the comparison is made with the other companies who are providing 24/7 services.
• By focusing on the implementation of the crowd support platform, the organization can offer good services to its consumers. The consumers can also interact in an easy manner with each other and their queries can also be resolved in a proper manner.
• The company is able to minimize the operating costs by focusing on these technologies that will help to enhance the overall productivity and profitability.
• The company can also reach to a large number of the customers through the crowd support structure as it has been seen that the customer services are not restricted or based on the area in which the call centers are created.
• With the help of digital technologies, the organization can easily bring improvisation and can enhance the overall effectiveness of the activities (Ghernaouti-Helie, 2016).

It has been seen that the company has established security operations center that emphasizes on managing the overall security of the organization and also its consumers. The organization has focused on the multimillion-dollar investment which creates SOC so that security of the data can take place.

The recommendations are

• It is important for the organization to focus on the budget so that the use of the world-class security can be protected and also it helps in maintaining the privacy of the customers.
• The organization should emphasize on enhancing the customer awareness by focusing on the crowd support platform. It will help to boost them to take into consideration the strong passwords an also other various attractive features that will enhance the security of the information.   

Conclusion 

By focusing on the report it has been concluded that the company is able to achieve the competitive advantage by giving good quality of the services to its customers.  Also, the company is focusing on offering services so that satisfaction level can be enhanced. In the last phase, recommendations are made that can help to bring improvisation to the overall security of the consumers and also help to survive in the competitive market.

References

Bidgoli, M. and Grossklags, J., 2016, June. End user cybercrime reporting: what we know and what we can do to improve it. In Cybercrime and Computer Forensic (ICCCF), IEEE International Conference on (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Who is affected?

Congress, E.P., 2017. What social workers should know about ethics: Understanding and resolving practice dilemmas. Social Work Ethics, p.1909.

Dawson, G.S., Denford, J.S., Williams, C.K., Preston, D. and Desouza, K.C., 2016. An examination of effective IT governance in the public sector using the legal view of agency theory. Journal of Management Information Systems, 33(4), pp.1180-1208.

Deloitte.,2018. Digital disruption – Harnessing the ‘bang’. [Online] Deloitte. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/tl/en/pages/building-lucky-country/articles/digital-disruption-case-studies.html [Accessed on 5th May 2018].

Diehl, P.F. and Frederking, B. eds., 2015. The politics of global governance: international organizations in an interdependent world. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Dubnick, M.J. and Frederickson, H.G. eds., 2015. Accountable governance: Problems and promises. ME Sharpe.

Ghernaouti-Helie, S., 2016. Cyber Power: Crime, Conflict and Security in Cyberspace. EPFL Press.

Glasser, D. and Taneja, A., 2015. A routine activity theory-based framework for combating cybercrime. In Handbook of research on digital crime, cyberspace security, and information assurance (pp. 398-406). IGI Global.

Gregg, P. ,2016. Creating a sustainable future with tech. [Online] Telstra Exchange. Available at: https://exchange.telstra.com.au/creating-sustainable-future/ [Accessed on 5^th May 2018].

Gustafson, D.H., McTavish, F., Mahoney, J.E., Johnson, R.A., Lee, J.D., Quanbeck, A., Atwood, A.K., Isham, A., Veeramani, R., Clemson, L. and Shah, D., 2015. The effect of an information and communication technology (ICT) on older adults’ quality of life: study protocol for a randomized control trial. Trials, 16(1), p.191.

Hui, K.L., Kim, S.H. and Wang, Q.H., 2017. Cybercrime deterrence and international legislation: Evidence from distributed denial of service attacks. Mis Quarterly, 41(2), p.497.

Ibrahim, S., 2016. Social and contextual taxonomy of cybercrime: Socioeconomic theory of Nigerian cybercriminals. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 47, pp.44-57.

Jayanthi, M.K., 2017, March. Strategic Planning for Information Security-DID Mechanism to befriend the Cyber Criminals to assure Cyber Freedom. In Anti-Cyber Crimes (ICACC), 2017 2nd International Conference on (pp. 142-147). IEEE.

Johnston, A., 2017. Privacy law: Data, metadata and personal information: A landmark ruling from the federal court. LSJ: Law Society of NSW Journal, (31), p.82.

Leukfeldt, E.R., Lavorgna, A. and Kleemans, E.R., 2017. Organised cybercrime or cybercrime that is organised? An assessment of the conceptualisation of financial cybercrime as organised crime. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 23(3), pp.287-300.

Levi, M., 2017. Assessing the trends, scale and nature of economic cybercrimes: overview and Issues. Crime, Law and Social Change, 67(1), pp.3-20.

Luo, Y. and Bu, J., 2016. How valuable is information and communication technology? A study of emerging economy enterprises. Journal of World Business, 51(2), pp.200-211.

Moore, R., 2014. Cybercrime: Investigating high-technology computer crime. Routledge.

Patel, P., Kannoorpatti, K., Shanmugam, B., Azam, S. and Yeo, K.C., 2017, January. A theoretical review of social media usage by cyber-criminals. In Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI), 2017 International Conference on (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Pathak, P.B., 2016. Malware a Growing Cybercrime Threat: Understanding and Combating Malvertising Attacks. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science, 7(2).

Pearce, R., 2017.Updated: Telstra prepares to slash 1400 jobs. [Online] Computer World. Available at: https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/620659/telstra-prepares-slash-1400-jobs/ [Accessed on 5^th  May 2018].

Rozman, R., 2017. The organizational function of governance: Development, problems, and possible changes. Management: journal of contemporary management issues, 5(2), pp.94-110.

Sharma, M., 2014. Telstra breaches privacy of thousands of customers. [Online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/technology/telstra-breaches-privacy-of-thousands-of-customers-20140311-hvh92.html [Accessed on 5^th May 2018].

Vaishnavi, V.K. and Kuechler, W., 2015. Design science research methods and patterns: innovating information and communication technology. Crc Press.