Discuss about the Intelligent Decision Technology and Computational.
Advancements in technology in the past few decades have had a lot of impact in the society. Whether positive or negative, the effects of technology on various aspects in the society cannot be over emphasized. (&rarr, 2017). However ethical issues still arise on the use of technology. For example, cybercrimes has been a major issue especially among young people with the recent case of “Blue whale” being a point of reference on how technology can be used for the wrong reasons. (Anand, 2017). The purpose of this report is discuss ethical issues regarding technology management with reference to the case study above. The structure of this report will include an introduction, a body where major ethical concerns will be discussed and finally a conclusion.
In the above case study, we see a man who finds himself having been involved in a criminal offence of taking part or more specifically being involved in events that lead to rigging of elections. In many countries technology has been incorporated in the election process. From voter registration and verification, to transmission of election results technology has played an important role in the whole process of election. However with technology comes other related ethical issues. From above case study, we see Jeff, the subject, being used to develop an algorithm that is used to adjust numbers in a predefined manner. In the case above it is claimed that the algorithm was incorporated in to the election tallying system in order to adjust the results in a pre-determined way, thereby giving false results.
As we can clearly see Jeff was just an employee in a company and making the software was just like any other role in his job description. According to the information given it was unlikely that Jeff knew what the software which he developed was to be used for. Instead we can vaguely conclude that the person responsible was his boss who gave out the instructions. However, we can also raise concerns as to whether the boss knew what the software would be used for or just like Jeff he was a victim of circumstance.
In another line of thought we can speculate that Jeff knew about the software he developed and knew what it was meant to do. However, in the fear of losing his job, he went ahead and following his boss’s instructions. Considering the difficult situation Jeff is going through at home with his mother and siblings, was accepting the offer show a breach of ethical concerns? In addition maybe Jeff’s political stand also had an impact him accepting the job.
Another point to note is that during the development of the algorithm management, none of the company’s resources were used and this by itself may raise questions on if the company is to blame for the malicious software. Ideally in the event that a company is to run its businesses, the resources of the companies should be used. In addition, records should be kept for future auditing. In the above case none of these protocols was followed and this raises a lot of concerns as to if the blame should be on the company or specific individuals.
Another stakeholder that can be held responsible are the two gentlemen who gave this contract to the company. It is clear that they represented the party which was being involved in the rigging of the election. Like many other corrupt individuals, the two or their affiliates identified the niche in election technology. Because this technology is new in most developing countries, they knew there would be loopholes where they would take advantage and using a software or a code infiltrate the system and rig the results of the election.
It can be assumed that the political stand of the company’s boss may also have affected his willingness to support in the rigging of the election. Maybe the outcome of the rigged election was to favor his preferred candidate and this played a part in him being lured to accept the offer. This does not show good ethical practices especially for a chief executive officer in a company.
Irrespective of if either of the parties or stakeholders discussed above were responsible for the malicious act of election rigging or not, consequences would result in each one of them. For Jeff’s case despite the outcome of the police investigation, he will probably lose his job. He may not be found guilty upon the prove whether he knew what the algorithm was meant for or he was just following instructions from his boss. Ethical concerns go beyond just following instructions. It is knowing exactly why you are doing something and all possible consequences that may result. In this regard we can argue that Jeff was not ethical in his line of Job.
The company’s boss in all angles can definitely not argue out his ignorance in not knowing the intention of the developed algorithm. He did not observe ethics in his line of work whereby he assisted in the use of technology for the wrong reasons. It can also be claimed that it was not ethical to lure his employee in to doing a task which he knew was illegal. Although not well articulated in the case study, Possibilities that he was offered a large sum of money so that he can take part in the election rigging maybe the reason why he acted in a non-ethical manner.
The affiliate party involved in the election rigging are clearly the primary suspects in the use of technology for selfish gains and for illegal businesses. Technology was introduced in the election processes with the aim of improving the accuracy, reliability and integrity of elections. However the same technology can be used to hack into database and servers and adjust figures resulting in the rigging of the elections. This shows lack of integrity and ethical concerns in the line of duty. Notable cases include the United States elections and the Kenyan elections where there has been claims of rigging. (Diamond & Scott., 2016.)
Ethics are the principles a person uses to decide his activities and choices. In an company, code of ethics are set of principles that guide the organization in its programs, policies and decisions for the business. (Phillips, 2010) The ethical philosophy a company uses to conduct business can affect the reputation, productivity and bottom line of the business. These ethics still apply when it comes to information communication technology.
Indeed technology has made the world a global village. However ethical concerns must be put in place to prevent the wrong use of technology. For example ethical concern put in the DNA cloning technology will ensure that scientists do not clone human DNA. Enforcing rules and regulations put in place on the use of social media is important in eliminating non ethical practices like, Cyber bullying and cybercrimes.
A code of ethics is an important document for any business, and breaches of ethics can result in pronounced trouble with clients, other organizations or government authorities. Having a code of ethics makes decision-making easier at all levels of a company by reducing ambiguity and considerations of individual perspectives in ethical standards.
Codes of ethics can cover any scope, from corporate to workgroup level. Corporate level ethics standards speak in general management, idealistic terms, expressing the entire ethical vision of the organization in a single document. Ethical standards for business units are a bit more specific, applying to the particular industry in question. Codes of ethics at the departmental level, deal with highly specific issues, which are often related to experiences and trends within the department.
In conclusion we can agree that technology is a good thing and it’s here to stay. However we have to be cautious and set up ethical consideration to guide us in the prevention of misconduct either willingly or unwillingly that may result from the use of technology.
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